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Be it never so old

nekocat

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"A Friday night's dream on Saturday told, Is due to come true be it never so old"
​

Which does the bold part mean?

1. Though it may take some time before your dream comes true
2. I hope it won't take long before your dream comes true
 
Poetry is usually pretty ambiguous but I'll give my interpretation of it. You really have to look at the whole sentence to really get the meaning behind it. "A Friday night's dream on Saturday told" is just a metaphor for going for a dream that you had from long ago. "Is due to come true be it never so old" means that it doesn't matter if your dreams are old or not, they will come true just as if they were new. The bold part can be reworded to say "Is due to come true as though it wasn't old" or "Is due to come true like it wasn't old."

I'd get a second opinion though.
 
This is one that I wouldn't really understand without hearing someone else's interpretation. Geostigma's idea sounds right - that the dream will never really be old.
 
To me: neither. It seems to say that the dream is too old to become true.

For example, if I had had a great ambition to be an actor since I was very young, and last night I had a dream that I did finally become an actor, I cannot now believe my dream predicted the future , because it's been too long in my mind.

Hope that makes sense, and that's just my idea
 
I really have no idea..

'be it' somtimes means 'it is', but it can also mean 'whether it is' if another choice is given.

..perhaps 'be it never so old' means 'it is never too old', as in, the dream is never too old to come true.
 
bakaKanadajin said:
I really have no idea..
'be it' somtimes means 'it is', but it can also mean 'whether it is' if another choice is given.
..perhaps 'be it never so old' means 'it is never too old', as in, the dream is never too old to come true.
Click to expand...

Interesting stuff!

I guess a lot of it is personal, the way you read it given your cultural and personal background etc etc. To me 'be it never so old' leaps out as meaning 'if it weren't so old' but perhaps that's just me.

(I don't have any background in poetry btw, just regard myself as a reasonably well-educated Brit)

Nekocat, I think we need more info! What nationality is the writer, and what period of history are they from, etc?
 
My first impression of "be it never so old", without analyzing, is that the dream will never be old or that the writer hopes the dream will never be old. But yes, more information might be helpful!
 
Thanks! I'll provide more context and info tomorrow. ありがとねー！
 
Well, i've thought a little more about this, and I don't think my original idea is correct, but neither have I found any other insight into what this little saying might mean.

I rather think that without the specific, necessary contextual or historical background, this saying is meaningless to British English speakers (a quick Google search makes me think that it is British)...?

Nekocat chan, it seems to me that many of your questions suggest that you're a student of British literature, rather than modern spoken English. Are the questions posed by your professor (or other kind of tutor)? For example, on this thread:

Which does the bold part mean?

1. Though it may take some time before your dream comes true
2. I hope it won't take long before your dream comes true
Click to expand...

This is important because, if it's a question your tutor has asked, and you must choose either (1) or (2), then people here can simply vote to choose the correct answer. In that case I'd guess at (2) myself.

If the two options are your own ideas, then people on the forum need to spend a lot more time analysing your ideas and trying to correct them/advise/teach you.

cheers, ganbatte!

mos
 
Thanks for clarifying that nekocat chan.

This saying has certainly intrigued me, I wish I knew exactly what it means!

A quick search on the internet led me to one website where it said the phrase was from Shropshire (England). Another page found here has some interesting information about Friday in English folklore, including the following, which offers an interpretation of the meaning (right or wrong, who knows!):

"The night between Friday and Saturday is also significant. Dreams that come then are trustworthy; a current saying runs:

Friday's dream on Saturday told
Is bound to come true, be it never so old."

If it is a current phrase I do hope someone from the UK who knows the meaning will come on here and tell us all!

made of google
 
There's a certain interpretation of this, though I don't really think it fits learning English very well.... I won't say it's a poem, so much a as a nursery rhyme, poetic form being more densely packed with metaphor...

Stasis in darkness.
Then the substanceless blue
Pour of tor and distances.

God's lioness,
How one we grow,
Pivot of heels and knees! - The furrow

Splits and passes, sister to
The brown arc
Of the neck I cannot catch,

I don't really want to speculate on the meaning of whatever this minor verse is (not mine quoted, which I could easier give you the exact meaning of)... but... Surely, there is a specific interpetation of this--- but I really don't think it's important for learning English--- maybe for your grade, but not for learning English.
 
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