Flattery
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
|
Related e |
|
Wikipedia
Featured:  |
Flattery (also called adulation or blandishment) is the act of giving excessive compliments, generally for the purpose of ingratiating oneself with the subject.
Historically, flattery has been used as a standard form of discourse when addressing a king or queen. In the Renaissance, it was a common practice among writers to flatter the reigning monarch, as Edmund Spenser flattered Queen Elizabeth I in The Faerie Queene and William Shakespeare flattered King James I in Macbeth.
Flattery is also used in pick-up lines used to attempt to initiate romantic courtship.
Most associations with flattery, however, are negative. Flatterers are sometimes described by pejorative phrases, such as "suck-up", "ass-kisser", or "brown-noser". Negative descriptions of flattery range at least as far back in history as The Bible. In the Divine Comedy, Dante depicts flatterers wading in human excrement, stating that their words were the equivalent of excrement, in the 8th Circle of Hell.
An insincere flatterer is a stock character in many literary works. Examples include Wormtongue from J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, Goneril and Regan from King Lear, and Iago from Othello.
"To flatter" is also used to refer to artwork or clothing that makes the subject or wearer appear more attractive, as in:
- The King was pleased with the portrait, as it was very flattering of his girth.
- I think I'll wear the green dress because it flatters my legs.
See also
- Appeal to flattery
- Shakespeare's sonnets#Dedication to Mr. W.H.
- The Faerie Queene
- Flattering colors
- Cape Flattery, disambiguation page
- Blarney Stone
- Affection
