The Name of the Rose â€� Reader Q&A

Questions About The Name of the Rose

by Umberto Eco

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Answered Questions (17)

has anyone read this book? I think i saw it as a movie back in the day...does anyone know if it is a compelling read??

Mark Koster Absolutely! It's a murder mystery in the 1100's with monks, what's not to like? :) The book is slow paced, but incredibly well written. Make sure yourâ€¦m´Ç°ù±ðAbsolutely! It's a murder mystery in the 1100's with monks, what's not to like? :) The book is slow paced, but incredibly well written. Make sure your version has an explanation of all Latin terms in the back. First time I read the book, I never noticed the section until I finished the book :)(less)

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When did Brother William recover his original pair of glasses?

zaff

This answer contains spoilersâ€� (view spoiler)

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I'm having trouble getting into and paying attention to this book. Should I stick with it, will it get better?

Bonnie Staughton The story does get better and moves along faster once you get to the investigation of the murders.

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This question contains spoilers... (view spoiler)

Momo Let's ask Umberto Eco himself (from his website):

"Stat rosa pristina nomine; nomina nuda tenemus."
(Yesterday's rose endures in its name; we hold empâ€¦m´Ç°ù±ðLet's ask Umberto Eco himself (from his website):

"Stat rosa pristina nomine; nomina nuda tenemus."
(Yesterday's rose endures in its name; we hold empty names.)
â€� meaning that in this imperfect world, the only imperishable things are ideas.

For Bernard and Adso, this verse would express the impermanence of physical objects. For Eco, however, the "empty name" represents an indefinite semiotic sign. The rose of the title is a symbol so rich in meaning that it now means everything and nothing. It is empty space which readers can fill in with their own interpretation.

"Since the publication of The Name of the Rose I have received a number of letters from readers who want to know the meaning of the final Latin hexameter, and why this hexameter inspired the book's title. I answer that the verse is from De contemptu mundi by Bernard of Morlay, a twelfth-century Benedictine, whose poem is a variation on the "ubi sunt" theme (most familiar in Villon's later "Mais ou sont les neiges d'antan"). But to the usual topos (the great of yesteryear, the once-famous cities, the lovely princesses: everything disappears into the void), Bernard adds that all these departed things leave (only, or at least) pure names behind them. I remember that Abelard used the example of the sentence "Nulla rosa est" to demonstrate how language can speak of both the nonexistent and the destroyed. And having said this, I leave the reader to arrive at his own conclusions."(less)

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Ok, I've tried reading this book twice now. I can't do it. Unless you know Latin and French, I don't see how you get anything out of it. I guess being Catholic might help, too, but for me, a middle class Protestant who knows only a smattering of Latin, I absolutely get NOTHING out of this book. It just drags and drags and drags and drags. I gave up after about a hundred pages. Life is too short. Anybody else?

Desiree A friend sent me this resource with translations, and I found it very useful. The few things it missed, Google Translate picked up on!

â€¦m´Ç°ù±ðA friend sent me this resource with translations, and I found it very useful. The few things it missed, Google Translate picked up on!

Whether it's enough to make the book more engaging, though, I don't know, haha!(less)

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