Note on Malapropism

Note on Malpropism

Note on Malapropism

Note on Malapropism

‘Malapropism’ is a term that means ludicrous misuse of words, especially in mistake for one resembling it. The term has been derived from Mrs. Malaprop, a ludicrous character in Sheridan’s well-known drama, ‘The Rivals’. In this play Mrs. Malaprop provides great amusement by confusing words and inventing new ungrammatical and illogical words that have a little likeness to the actual words. The outstanding example that has been found in what Mrs. Malaprop says in the drama, is:

‘Sure if I reprehend anything in this world, it is the use of my oracular tongue and a nice detangement of epitaph’.

Almost in every play of Shakespeare, there is an abundant use of malapropism. Dogberry, a character of Shakespeare’s comedy ‘Much Ado About Nothing’ plays a Malapropic role when he says, as:

Most senseless and fitman for the constable of the water.

In Mid-summer Night’s Dream Bottom, a character says:

There we may rehearse must obscenely and courageously. 

In Merchant of Venice Old Gobbo says:

That is the very defect of the matter, sir.

In these sentences, the words: senseless, obscenely and defect plays malapropic roles because they are used ungrammatically.

Malapropism is generally a misuse of words due to grammatical ignorance. Thus in our day-to-day speaking we fall often into word confusion, as we use ‘ceremonial’ for ‘ceremonious’, ‘contemptible’ for ‘contemptuous’, ‘acception’ for ‘acceptation’ which are malapropic in character. 0 0 0

Note on Malapropism