Brave New World

Brave New World Brave New World Brave New World By Maeve Maddox The phrase â€Å"brave new world† is popular in headlines used to introduce a variety of topics: High School Basketball: Brave new world in regionals The Brave New World of Ferraris in China The Brave New World of  Food Oldman’s Brave New World of Wine Why We Need To Talk Now About The Brave New World Of Editing Genes Internet Eavesdropping: A Brave New World of Wiretapping Welcome To The  Brave New World Of  The Corporate-Sponsored Artist   Cubicles Rise in a Brave New World of Publishing Because â€Å"brave new world† is an expression loaded with negative connotations, some of these uses are more appropriate than others. The phrase originated with Shakespeare. When he put the expression in Miranda’s mouth in The Tempest, he was being ironic. O, wonder! How many goodly creatures are there here! How beauteous mankind is! O brave new world, That has such people in’t! Miranda is speaking of the men whom her father- Prospero, rightful Duke of Milan- has caused to be shipwrecked on their island. The irony is that five of the eight men who come ashore are not â€Å"goodly† at all; they are dirty rotten scoundrels who represent all that is evil and corrupt in the â€Å"civilized† world of Europe. When Aldous Huxley chose the phrase as the title of his 1932 novel about a future in which society is carefully organized and monitored, he was echoing the idea that what might appear to be wondrous at first glance may in fact be evil. Writers who use the phrase as if it has a positive connotation misunderstand Shakespeare’s use of brave. Modern speakers use brave to mean courageous, daring, intrepid, and stouthearted. We speak of â€Å"brave soldiers† and â€Å"brave explorers† who risk danger to do their work. In Shakespeare’s day brave could mean splendid, showy, grand, fine, and handsome. Miranda, impressed by the appearance of the courtly strangers, was probably using the word with this meaning. In any case, to speak of â€Å"a brave new world† of wine or basketball doesn’t make a lot of sense. The second set of headline examples seems to have been written by people who know what Huxley’s novel is about. Brave New World is set in a future in which technology has reorganized human reproduction so as to produce babies in laboratories. The goal is to eliminate such inconveniences as disease and human dissatisfaction. DNA is manipulated so as to produce three castes of people designed to be happy with different types of work. Should any of these designer people grow up to be nonconformists, they are exiled to remote locations. The headline about gene editing is especially on point. Careful writers will not use the phrase â€Å"brave new world† if all they mean is â€Å"a new set of circumstances.† The phrase belongs only in a context of dehumanization or oppressive surveillance. Brave New World entered the public domain in 2008. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Expressions category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Program vs. Programmeâ€Å"As Well As† Does Not Mean â€Å"And†The Difference Between "Shade" and "Shadow"