Shadowing Practice: The Victorian Language of Flowers, Explained - Learn English Speaking with Video
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Nowadays, if you receive a rose, you usually know what it means.
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It means love.
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But in Victorian times, every flower carried a meaning, and sometimes it wasn't what you'd expect.
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A daisy could symbolize innocence, but yellow carnations might mean rejection, and a simple bouquet could be hiding an entire story.
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uncover its origins, how people actually used it in everyday life, and why our modern understanding of Victorian floriography is misleading.
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And finally, we'll look at a selection of flowers and their original Victorian meanings.
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Thanks so much to ExpressVPN for sponsoring, and now back to the video.
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Victorians themselves believed the language of flowers started in the East, specifically in Ottoman Turkey.
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In the early 18th century, a woman named Lady Mary Wortley Montague, the wife of the British ambassador to the Ottoman Empire,
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described in one of her many letters back home a court played by members of the Imperial Harem, called Salaam.
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Salaam was, according to Montague, a system of secret communication,
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used by members of the King's harem to send messages to lovers they had outside the walls without being exposed.
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Salaam used many objects, not just flowers, to convey hidden meanings.
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According to Montague, "There is no color, no flower, no weed, no fruit, herb, pebble, or feather that has not a verse belonging to it,
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and you may quarrel, reproach, or send letters of passion, friendship, or civility, or even of news, without ever inking your fingers.
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You may have noticed the part of the quote has not a verse belonging to it.
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This tells us how Salaam worked.
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Unlike the later language of flowers that used metaphor and symbolism to ascribe meaning to the flowers, Salaam worked in a different way.
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The interpretation of the message was revealed through rhyme.
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The names of the objects would rhyme with well -known phrases in Turkish.
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Let me give you an example.
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A pearl is called "Ingı" in Turkish, and that rhymes with the last word of the phrase "Senzen Uzeleren Gingı".
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translating to "Fairest of the Young." Excuse my terrible Turkish pronunciation.
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So according to Lady Montague, a woman of the harem would wrap a number of objects in a leather bag
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and somehow or another get the bag to her lover.
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He would then be able to decipher the love letter by reading the object.
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We know now that Lady Montague misunderstood the practice, as it would have been an impractical mode of communication.
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After all, a small note would certainly be easier to transport than a sack of objects, and if the Salaam language was apparently known to all,
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it wouldn't encode the message as well as was hoped.
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Most scholars now recognize Salaam as a sort of game played by women of the harem amongst themselves.
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Still, Lady Montague's letters were published after her death in 1762,
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and the letter containing an explanation of Salaam caught the attention of upper -class ladies in England.
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However, the European language of flowers didn't start in England.
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It started in France, as Lady Montague's letters were translated into a number of languages.
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Now, You may have noticed that the Turkish "Salam" was not in fact a language of flowers, it was a language of objects.
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But when the idea travelled westward, the European preoccupation with flowers, especially in the Romantic era of the 18th and 19th centuries, all other objects were dropped,
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and only a language of flowers remained.
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The first mention of a language of flowers in writing was
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in 1809 with the French book Dictionnaire du Language de Fleur by Joseph Hammer Pergstall.
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But the most popular French publication was Le Langage de Fleur by Charlotte de La Tour, published in 1819.
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Le Langage de Fleur was extremely popular and it became the blueprint for many books that succeeded it.
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It listed its flowers by season, with each chapter named for month.
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Each flower had a listed meaning, as well as an explanation for that meaning.
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Explanations ranged from religion, mythology, medieval heraldry, history, poetry, and symbolism surrounding the characteristics of the plant.
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For instance, the color, height, number of petals, growing pattern, etc. Most later books listed their flowers alphabetically,
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but the contents were usually the same.
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By the 1820s, the language of flowers had become a phenomenon, with language of flower books becoming go -to gifts, for young women.
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The most popular flower book in England was Floral Emblems by Henry Phillips.
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It was essentially a translation of Latour's La Langage de Fleur, but with a few noteworthy changes.
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As you'll probably know, England has always been more conservative than France in terms of love and romance,
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so any and all, sexual or explicit meanings given in Latour's book were toned down for the ever -Puritanical English Victorians.
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In the modern imagination, the Victorian language of flowers goes something like this:
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floriography was a way for young lovers to deliver covert messages
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to each other in a society where such outward showings of affection were frowned upon.
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This understanding is decidedly wrong.
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And it's not anyone's fault, as this is more or less the way books from the period describe it.
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So, does this mean there was no language of flowers at all?
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That it's a total modern invention?
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Well no, not exactly.
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Evidenced by the mere existence of the floral dictionaries we've already discussed, flower symbolism was indeed a real pastime of the Victorian age,
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popular mostly with upper class women.
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Starting in the 18th century, botany and gardening became popular hobbies for both the upper class and the growing middle classes.
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acceptable for women, and an interest in nature, and especially flowers, was one of them.
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Sentimental flower books, books of flower poetry or flower folklore,
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became increasingly popular, and the language of flower books were the last in a long line of these types of works.
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They were often given as gifts, as the publishers did their best to make the books beautiful with detailed illustrations.
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you Most well -to -do households would own a book on floriography.
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This might suggest that the language of flowers was a popular way of communicating, no?
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Well, here's the problem: we have little to no direct evidence of flowers being used this way.
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No letters explaining how a suitor sent a coded message with his flower bouquet.
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No diary entries reminiscing on a romantic exchange of flowers and their meanings.
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Nothing of the sort.
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Of course, flowers were sent as romantic gifts.
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And certain flowers were seen as appropriate for such an occasion, while other flowers were not.
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But actual secret code or specific messages contained in the flowers doesn't seem to have been an actual thing.
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Another problem is with the books themselves.
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There were many floral dictionaries published, and while some were more popular than others, if you compare the meaning of a flower in one book against another,
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you won't always find the same meaning.
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So if you wanted to send a specific message to a friend, suitor, or lover, you'd have to be sure they owned the same book that you did,
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or at least hope that the meanings ascribed were the same.
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And I should say that many flowers did have common meanings.
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It's not as though every language of flower book contained a completely unique set of meanings for their flowers.
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Quite the opposite, honestly, as most of these books copied from the more popular publications.
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But still, for more unique flowers, the meanings often differed based on the book.
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Lastly, we have the problem of grammar.
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Any true language needs grammar, a way of combining meanings in a comprehensible way.
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Early language of flower books gave no indication of grammar at all.
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Obviously, this wouldn't always be a problem, especially if you sent a single flower with a single meaning.
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or a bouquet of flowers all with similar meanings.
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But if you wanted to send a more complex message, you might have had some trouble.
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For example, say you wanted to send a message saying "I'm crazy in love with you." A bouquet with scarlet geranium,
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meaning folly, and myrtle, meaning love, would make sense.
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But how would the recipient know how to read the bouquet?
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They may accidentally read it backwards and get the wrong message.
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Some later authors attempted to create a grammar for the language of flowers.
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It was said, for instance, that the way a flower was presented, and the direction it leaned was supposed to hold meaning.
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If a woman pinned a flower to her left bosom versus her right, that also held meaning.
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Once again, there's no evidence any of this was really used by Victorian people, but at least some authors recognized that if you were to use flowers for communicating,
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you would need a bit more complexity.
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I should say that the possibility of miscommunication alone does not disprove the language of flowers.
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After all, miscommunication happens in spoken and written language all the time.
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But with the other problems I already talked about, I think it's clear that sending secret messages with flowers was at the very least uncommon.
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That doesn't mean phalloriography had no place in Victorian society at all.
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It's true that in the early Victorian period, books on the language of flowers often emphasized not to take it too seriously.
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Flora's Dictionary by E.
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W. Wirt, from 1829 explains: "The lady who has given her leisure hours to this little play of fancy
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has not the vanity to attach any serious consequence to it.
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It has been an innocent recreation to herself.
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However, in a later publication,
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Gaskell's Compendium of Forms, which was a book meant for social climbers to better understand and adapt to higher class society,
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explained that the language of flowers was important to know and understand.
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So what's the verdict?
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If you want my takeaway from the research I've done, I think the language of flowers served two purposes.
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One was a fun, but ultimately unserious, parlor game between women who had little better to do.
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And the other was a kind of etiquette.
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The Victorians seldom used floriography for correspondence, true, but they did seem to have a respect for the symbolism surrounding flowers.
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and therefore it was important to understand which flowers were right for which occasion.
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and to avoid flowers and plants that may send the wrong message.
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Regardless of the true use of floriography by Victorians, the symbolism they ascribe to flowers is still quite fun and interesting.
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The meanings came from a variety of places, often religious or mythological, but they also came from the characteristics of the flower.
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The colors of a flower held meaning, for instance.
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red for love, white for purity, blue for virtue, and so on, with the most interesting being yellow.
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In a modern context, yellow flowers usually signify friendship and happiness, but in Victorian England it was a decidedly bad color,
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usually signifying jealousy or falsehood.
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Roses, lilies, and violets were the most common flowers and all had universal meaning.
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Red roses of course symbolized romantic love and passion, The rose had a long history of meaning in Europe,
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going back to classical Greece and Rome where it was a flower associated with Venus, the goddess of love and beauty.
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In medieval Europe, once flowers lost their pagan identity, roses became associated with Jesus, especially the five wounds of Christ.
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For this, roses represented the sacrificial love of God.
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Lilies represented purity and innocence.
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White lilies, also called Madonna lilies, were connected to the Virgin Mary.
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Because of the religious connotation, they were and are common flowers for both weddings, where they represent true love, and funerals, where they represent the soul.
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Violets held the meaning of humility.
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This meaning is a bit more mysterious, but it seems violets were also associated with the Virgin Mary, and instead of representing her purity, they represented her humility.
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So those were some very common flowers, but let's look at some more unique ones.
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If you wanted to reject someone's advances, you could send an Ibaris, which represented indifference.
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Funnily enough, in floral emblems, a second meaning is given.
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Architecture.
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How architecture could be used in a love letter, I'll never know.
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Some meanings were very on -the -nose.
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Forget -me -nots held the same meaning as their name and catchflies meant ensnare, or trap.
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There were mythological meanings.
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The Narcissus flower meant narcissism, naturally, taken from the Greek myth of Narcissus, a man who loved himself so much that he was punished,
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or blessed, depending on how you look at it, by being turned into a flower.
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Let's do one more.
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Ah, here we go, I think I found the official YouTuber flower, the Hostonia, which meant: Content.
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Okay, it really means content, as in contentedness.
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But hey, we can just pretend.
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The language of flowers declined in popularity in the late 19th century.
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The reasons for this are varied, but it seems the language of flowers had fallen prey to a sort of oversaturation.
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Publishers pushed out more and more books, many of which were a far cry from the beautiful works of the early part of the century.
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Writers and humorists started to make fun of this latest obsession as well, especially in France.
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Perhaps most famous parody was Le Fleur Animé by Taxil Delors.
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It is a rather long collection of stories surrounding a group of flowers turned into humans.
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One of the stories sees a romance go awry when the wrong flowers are sent as an invitation.
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While the book's satire would probably go over our heads nowadays,
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at the time it was understood that Delore was making fun of the overt sentimentality surrounding flowers in the Victorian era.
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In recent years though interest in the language of flowers has really taken off.
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At the royal wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton, the Duchess of Cambridge's bouquet included flowers with very specific meanings.
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Lilies of the valley represented trustworthiness.
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Sweet Williams meant gallantry and obviously shared a name with her groom, and Hyacinth symbolized both sports,
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as William and Kate are avid tennis players, and loveliness.
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So regardless of the truth surrounding the Victorian language of flowers, next time you gift a bloom to someone you love or just want some flowers for a decoration,
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why not take a note from the long lost Victorians and pick up a dictionary on the language of flowers.
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you Thanks for watching.
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I'd like to thank my Patrons for helping make the video possible.
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If you're willing and able, pop over to my Patreon to support me and the channel.
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Link is in the description.
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Don't forget to like, comment, subscribe, hit the bell icon, all that jazz, and we'll see you next time.
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Bye.
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Context & Background
The video titled "The Victorian Language of Flowers, Explained" delves into the fascinating world of floriography during the Victorian era, where flowers were imbued with deep meanings beyond their beauty. The speaker explores the origins of this language, tracing it back to Ottoman Turkey and highlighting how flowers were used for secret communication among individuals, particularly in romantic contexts. The context illustrates a rich cultural practice that reflects the complexities of human emotions and social norms. Understanding such historical nuances not only enriches your knowledge but also provides a unique angle for English speaking practice, as you engage with intriguing narratives from the past.
Top 5 Phrases for Daily Communication
In the video, the speaker introduces various phrases that resonate with the themes of love, secrecy, and expression, all essential for enhancing your english speaking practice. Here are five phrases that can inspire your daily communication:
- "A daisy could symbolize innocence." - Use this phrase to articulate feelings of purity or honesty.
- "Yellow carnations might mean rejection." - This expression can help convey complex emotions in conversations about relationships.
- "Every flower carried a meaning." - A great phrase for discussing symbolism in various situations.
- "A bouquet could be hiding an entire story." - Use this to indicate that appearances can be deceiving.
- "A secret communication system." - Perfect for discussing methods of discreetly sharing information.
Step-by-step Shadowing Guide
To effectively utilize the shadowing technique showcased in this video, follow these steps to improve your English pronunciation and comprehension skills:
- Watch the Video: Begin by watching the video once without any interruptions, familiarizing yourself with its content and emotional nuances.
- Select Short Segments: Choose 1-2 minute segments to focus on. This makes it easier to absorb information without feeling overwhelmed.
- Listen and Repeat: Play the segment and imitate the speaker's tone, pace, and rhythm. Pay attention to pronunciation and intonation, which are crucial in mastering english speaking practice.
- Analyze the Vocabulary: Note down any unfamiliar phrases or words. Research their meanings and usage to enrich your vocabulary.
- Practice Recitation: After sufficient shadowing, attempt to speak the sentences aloud without the audio. This reinforces memory and helps in building confidence.
Incorporating these steps within your practice routine on a reliable shadowing site can significantly enhance your speaking skills, enabling you to express complex ideas as effectively as the speaker in the video.
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | is sponsored · being exposed · was revealed |
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | Have you ever wondered · has always been · we've already discussed |
| Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing | Forms, which was · women who had · man who loved |
What is the Shadowing Technique?
Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.