Communities

Writing
Writing
Codidact Meta
Codidact Meta
The Great Outdoors
The Great Outdoors
Photography & Video
Photography & Video
Scientific Speculation
Scientific Speculation
Cooking
Cooking
Electrical Engineering
Electrical Engineering
Judaism
Judaism
Languages & Linguistics
Languages & Linguistics
Software Development
Software Development
Mathematics
Mathematics
Christianity
Christianity
Code Golf
Code Golf
Music
Music
Physics
Physics
Linux Systems
Linux Systems
Power Users
Power Users
Tabletop RPGs
Tabletop RPGs
Community Proposals
Community Proposals
tag:snake search within a tag
answers:0 unanswered questions
user:xxxx search by author id
score:0.5 posts with 0.5+ score
"snake oil" exact phrase
votes:4 posts with 4+ votes
created:<1w created < 1 week ago
post_type:xxxx type of post
Search help
Notifications
Mark all as read See all your notifications »
Q&A

Post History

50%
+0 −0
Q&A Showing friendship between people of different ranks - maintain formality, or drop it?

There is a prince. (Or some other person of high rank.) And there is that prince's good friend, who, naturally, holds a somewhat lower rank. There are two ways I could show the close relationship ...

5 answers  ·  posted 5y ago by Galastel‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

#4: Attribution notice removed by user avatar System‭ · 2019-12-12T21:57:35Z (almost 5 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/q/42541
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#3: Attribution notice added by user avatar System‭ · 2019-12-08T10:59:47Z (almost 5 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/q/42541
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#2: Initial revision by (deleted user) · 2019-12-08T10:59:47Z (almost 5 years ago)
There is a prince. (Or some other person of high rank.) And there is that prince's good friend, who, naturally, holds a somewhat lower rank.

There are two ways I could show the close relationship between the two:

1. **They can maintain the rank distinction**. Horatio addresses Hamlet "good my lord" and "sweet prince". Sam addresses Frodo exclusively as "Master Frodo". Their close relationship is shown by other means. For example, Hamlet would not let Horatio speak ill of himself, and speaks to him openly about things that are close to his heart:

> **Hamlet:** But what in faith make you from Wittenberg?  
> **Horatio:** A truant disposition, good my lord.  
> **Hamlet:** I would not have your enemy say so,  
> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Nor shall you do mine ear that violence  
> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;To make it truster of your own report  
> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Against yourself. I know you are no truant.  
> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;But what is your affair in Elsinore?  
> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;We'll teach you to drink deep ere you depart.  
> **Horatio:** My lord, I came to see your father's funeral.  
> **Hamlet:** I prithee do not mock me, fellow student;  
> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;I think it was my mother's wedding.  
> **Horatio:** My lord, it followed hard upon.  
> **Hamlet:** Thrift, thrift, Horatio. The funeral baked meats  
> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Did coldly furnish forth the marriage tables.  
> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Would I had met my dearest foe in heaven  
> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Ere I had ever that day, Horatio.

1. **They can throw rank distinction aside**. This too is not unprecedented. In _La Dame de Monsoreau_, Chicot routinely addresses King Henri III by his first name, and even by endearments, like 'Henriquet'. He also uses '_tu_' rather than '_vous_' in addressing him (see [T-V distinction](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T%E2%80%93V_distinction)). This is all based on reality, according to wikipedia.

In a fantasy setting (that is, a setting where I need not be bound by "what actually happened"), what are the advantages and disadvantages of each approach?

#1: Imported from external source by user avatar System‭ · 2019-02-24T00:45:15Z (over 5 years ago)
Original score: 4