heartsease

   An unusual vocative used by a young Scottish man to a girl in Magnus Merriman, by Eric Linklater.

   The same speaker calls her ‘honeyheart’ and ‘beatitude’, neither of whicsh is a frequently-occurring endearment. ‘Heartsease’ means tranquility, peace of mind, though it is also a name for the pansy. The young man who uses it in the novel is described as a passionate admirer of Shakespeare, and is presumably recalling the wellknown passage in Romeo and juliet (4:v) when Peter says: ‘Musicians, O musicians, “Heart’s ease, Heart’s ease!” O, an you will have me live, play “Heart’s ease.”’ ‘Why “heart’s ease”?’ asks one of the musicians. ‘Because my heart itself plays “My heart is full of woe,”’ Peter replies. There is nothing particularly Shakespearean about ‘honeyheart’ and ‘beatitude’, however.