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| [[File:lighterstill.jpg]][[File:Flattery.jpg|right|frame]] | | [[File:lighterstill.jpg]][[File:Flattery.jpg|right|frame]] |
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− | *[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/14th_century 14th Century] | + | *[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/14th_century 14th Century] |
| ==Definitions== | | ==Definitions== |
| *1a : the [[act]] or [[practice]] of flattering | | *1a : the [[act]] or [[practice]] of flattering |
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| '''Flattery''' (also called adulation or blandishment) is the [[act]] of giving excessive compliments, generally for the [[purpose]] of ingratiating oneself with the subject. | | '''Flattery''' (also called adulation or blandishment) is the [[act]] of giving excessive compliments, generally for the [[purpose]] of ingratiating oneself with the subject. |
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− | 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 [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edmund_Spenser Edmund Spenser] flattered [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queen_Elizabeth_I Queen Elizabeth I] in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Faerie_Queene The Faerie Queene], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Shakespeare William Shakespeare] flattered [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_I_of_England King James I] in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macbeth Macbeth] and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niccol%C3%B2_Machiavelli Niccolò Machiavelli] flattered [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lorenzo_II_di_Piero_de%27_Medici Lorenzo II di Piero de' Medici], ruler of Florence and Duke of Urbino, in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Prince The Prince]. | + | 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 [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edmund_Spenser Edmund Spenser] flattered [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queen_Elizabeth_I Queen Elizabeth I] in [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Faerie_Queene The Faerie Queene], [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Shakespeare William Shakespeare] flattered [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_I_of_England King James I] in [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macbeth Macbeth] and [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niccol%C3%B2_Machiavelli Niccolò Machiavelli] flattered [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lorenzo_II_di_Piero_de%27_Medici Lorenzo II di Piero de' Medici], ruler of Florence and Duke of Urbino, in [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Prince The Prince]. |
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| Flattery is also used in pick-up lines used to attempt to initiate [[romantic]] [[courtship]]. | | Flattery is also used in pick-up lines used to attempt to initiate [[romantic]] [[courtship]]. |
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− | Most associations with flattery, however, are [[negative]]. Negative descriptions of flattery range at least as far back in [[history]] as The [[Bible]]. In the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Divine_Comedy Divine Comedy], Dante depicts flatterers wading in human excrement, stating that their [[words]] were the equivalent of excrement, in the 8th Circle of Hell. | + | Most associations with flattery, however, are [[negative]]. Negative descriptions of flattery range at least as far back in [[history]] as The [[Bible]]. In the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Divine_Comedy Divine Comedy], Dante depicts flatterers wading in human excrement, stating that their [[words]] were the equivalent of excrement, in the 8th Circle of Hell. |
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− | An insincere flatterer is a stock character in many [[literary]] works. Examples include [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gr%C3%ADma_Wormtongue Wormtongue] from J. R. R. Tolkien's [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lord_of_the_Rings The Lord of the Rings], Goneril and Regan from King Lear, and Iago from Othello. | + | An insincere flatterer is a stock character in many [[literary]] works. Examples include [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gr%C3%ADma_Wormtongue Wormtongue] from J. R. R. Tolkien's [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lord_of_the_Rings The Lord of the Rings], Goneril and Regan from King Lear, and Iago from Othello. |
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| "To flatter" is also used to refer to artwork or clothing that makes the subject or wearer [[appear]] more [[attractive]]. | | "To flatter" is also used to refer to artwork or clothing that makes the subject or wearer [[appear]] more [[attractive]]. |