‘Once Upon A Time’……..traditionally most
every story or fairy tale nearly always begins with the words “Once upon a
time” and the 16th episode of ‘the Prisoner’ is no different, at
least as far as the title of the episode is concerned!
Number 6’s mind is regressed back to his
childhood. However it’s not all child’s play for Number 2, who spends the night
reciting nursery rhymes to the slumbering Number 6 with the pulsator just above
his head.
“Humpty
Dumpty sat on a wall,
Humpty
Dumpty had a great fall.
All
the King’s horses and all the King’s men couldn’t put Humpty together again!”
Humpty Dumpty was a colloquial term used in
fifteenth century England describing someone who was obese. This
gave rise to various but inaccurate theories surrounding the identity of Humpty
Dumpty. The image of Humpty Dumpty was made famous by the illustrations
included in the ‘Alice Through The Looking Glass’ novel by
Lewis Carroll. However Humpty Dumpty was not a person pilloried in the famous rhyme.
Humpty Dumpty was in fact a large canon! It
was used during the English Civil War {1642-1649} in the siege of Colchester {June 13th
1648-August 27th
1648}. Colchester was strongly fortified by the
Royalists and was laid to siege by Parliamentarians {Roundheads}. In 1648 Colchester was a walled town with a castle and
several churches and was protected by the city wall.
Standing immediately adjacent to the city
wall, was St. Mary’s Church. A canon, colloquially called Humpty Dumpty, was
strategically placed on the wall next to St. Mary’s Church.
June 15th
1648 – St.
Mary’s church was fortified and a large canon was placed on the roof which was
fired by ‘One-eyed Jack Tompson’.
July14th/15th
1648 – The Royalist fort within the city walls at St. Mary’s Church was blown
to pieces and their main canon battery {Humpty Dumpty} was destroyed.
August 28th
1648 – The
Royalists laid down their arms, opened the gates of Colchester and surrendered to the
Parliamentarians.
A shot from a Parliamentary canon succeeded
in damaging the wall beneath Humpty Dumpty which caused the canon to tumble to
the ground. The Royalists or Cavaliers, ‘All the King’s men’ attempted to raise
Humpty Dumpty on another part of the wall. However, because the canon, or
Humpty Dumpty, was so heavy ‘All the King’s horses and all the King’s men
couldn’t put Humpty together again.
This
had a drastic consequence for the Royalists as the strategically important town
of Colchester fell to the Parliamentarians after a
siege lasting eleven weeks. Earliest publication was in1810.
“Jack
and Jill went up the hill to fetch a pail of water.
Jack
fell down and broke his crown,
And
Jill came tumbling after.
Up
got Jack, and home did trot
As
fast as he could caper.
He
went to bed and bound his head,
With
vinegar and brown paper.”
The roots of this story, or poem, of Jack
and Jill lay in France. Jack and Jill referred to, are said
to be King Louis XVI - Jack who was beheaded {who lost his crown} followed by
his Queen Marie Antoinette - Jill, {who came tumbling after}. The words and
lyrics to the Jack and Jill poem were made more acceptable as a story for
children by providing a happy ending! The actual beheadings occurred during the
‘Reign of Terror’ in 1793.
The first publication date for the lyrics
of Jack and Jill poem is 1795 – which ties in with the history and origins. The
Jack and Jill poem is also known as Jack and Gill – the miss-spelling of Gill
is not uncommon in nursery rhymes as they are usually passed on from generation
to generation by word of mouth.
It was the device known as the Guillotine,
or Madame Guillotine which was used extensively during that ‘Reign of Terror’
in 1793. Yet the origins of the Guillotine are to be found here in England, contained in the following nursery
rhyme.
“Mary,
Mary, quite contrary,
how
does your garden grow?
With
silver bells and cockleshells
And pretty maids all in a row.”
This nursery rhyme doesn’t appear in ‘the
Prisoner’, but bear with me for a moment, as it does demonstrate the origins of
the Guillotine. Mary of course is Mary Tudor the daughter of Henry VIII. Queen
Mary was a staunch Catholic and the garden referred to is an allusion to
graveyards which were increasing in size with those who dared to continue to
adhere to the protestant faith – protestant martyrs.
The ‘Maiden’ shortened to ‘Maids’ in the
nursery rhyme was in fact the original Guillotine. The ‘silver bells’ were in
fact thumbscrews! And ‘cockleshells’ are believed to have been instruments of
torture, which were attached to the genitals!
But
that’s another story………..
“The
Grand of Duke of York he had ten thousand men,
He
marched them up to the top of the hill,
And
he marched them down again.
When they were up, they were up
And
when they were down, they were down
And
when they were only halfway up
They
were neither up nor down.”
The words of “The Grand old Duke of York”
are believed to date back to the Plantagenet dynasty in the 15th
century and refer mockingly to the defeat of Richard, “The Grand old Duke of
York in the wars of the Roses {1455}, the war between the house of York {whose
symbol was the White Rose] and the house of Lancaster {whose symbol was the Red
Rose}. The wars of the Roses lasted thirty years and were equivalent to a Civil
War.
The words of the nursery rhyme are believed
to refer to Richard Duke of York, claimant to the English throne and protector
of England and the Battle of Wakefield on December
30th 1460.
The
Duke of York and his army marched to his castle at Sandal where Richard took up
a defensive position against the Lancastrian army. Sandal castle was built on
top of the site of an old Norman Motte and Bailey fortress. Its massive
earthworks stood 33 feet {10m} above the original ground level. The Duke of
York “he marched his men to the top of the hill”. In a moment of madness he
left his stronghold in the castle and went down to make a direct attack on the
Lancastrians “he marched them down again.” His army was overwhelmed and Richard
Duke of York was killed.
‘Boys and Girls come out to play’ is a tune
played during the episode of ‘Once Upon A Time’, and previously to be hummed in
the outer office of the Labour Exchange in ‘Arrival,’ the lyrics of the nursery
rhyme are;
“Boys and girls come out to play,
The
moon doth shine as bright as day,
Leave
your supper and leave your sleep.
And
come with your play fellows into the street.
Come with a whoop, come with a call,
Come
with a good will, or not at all.
Up the ladder and down the wall,
A
halfpenny loaf will serve us all.
You find milk, I’ll find flour,
And
we’ll have pudding within the hour.”
This nursery rhyme probably dates back to
the middle 17th century, when all children were treated as small
adults and would therefore often be found playing outside in the moonlight.
“Seesaw
Margery Daw
Johnny
shall have a new master
He
shall earn but a penny a day
Because
he can’t work any faster.”
The seesaw is the oldest ride for children,
easily constructed from logs of different sizes. The words “see saw Marjory
Daw” reflect children playing on a seesaw and singing this rhyme to accompany
their game. There is no such person that can be identified who had the name
Marjory Daw and so we can therefore make the assumption that it was purely used
to rhyme with the words ‘seesaw’.
The
last three lines of “Seesaw Marjory Daw” seem to reflect the use of child
labour in workhouses where those with nowhere else to live would be forced to
work
for a pittance “a penny a day” on piece work “because he can’t work any faster”
The
words of “Seesaw Marjory Daw” might be used by a spiteful child to taunt
another implying his family were destined for the workhouse.
It is interesting at this point to note that
during ‘Once Upon A Time’ when Numbers 2 and 6 recite “Seesaw Marjory Daw”
between them, the name Johnny is substituted for Jackie;
Seesaw
Marjory Daw
Jackie
shall have a new master
Seesaw
Marjory
Daw
Jackie
hall have a new master
A
new master
New
master
Jackie
Master
Jackie
Master
Jackie
Master
Jackie………
So why the substitution, perhaps because if
the original name of ‘Johnny’ had been used by both Number 2 and Number 6, it
would have given the impression of ‘Johnny’-John-John Drake as in fact the
Prisoner being John Drake and with the possibility of now having a new master!
So
substitute Jackie for the original Johnny and you have…….
See
saw Marjory Daw
Johnny
shall have a new master
Seesaw
Marjory
Daw
Johnny
shall have a new master
A
new master
New
master
Johnny
Master
Johnny
Master
Johnny
Master
Johnny
……….
Takes on a different meaning, wouldn’t you say?
“Half
a pound of tu’penny rice,
half
a pound of treacle,
that’s
the way the money goes,
pop
goes the weasel.
Up
and down the city road
In
and out of the Eagle
That’s
the way the money goes
Pop
goes the weasel.”
Pop means to pawn, and it is quite
possible, even highly probable that weasel has, over the years, been corrupted
from Whistle, which would be cockney rhyming slang for suit, whistle and flute.
Father’s best suit was pawned on Monday to pay for food for the week because he
had drunk all his earnings in the Eagle public house over the weekend. His suit
would then be redeemed on the Friday so that he could go out for a drink over
the weekend! A never ending circle of poverty, all because of drink!
From Charles Dickens ‘Christmas Carol’ we
know that Scrooge’s counting house is in the city, near Cornhill, and that Bob
Cratchit runs home to Camden Town, where Dickens lived as a boy. The
walk is uphill but not uplifting, and he probably cut up City Road, passed the infamous Eagle slum
dwellings, that gave us the nursery rhyme “Half a pound of tuppeny rice, half a
pound of treacle! That’s the way the money goes, pop goes the weasel.”
The
next verse, busy with its “in and out of the eagle”, ends with the same
“popping,” or pawning that poor Bob must have had to do once a week on his
dismal 15-shilling salary.
And so it is that ‘Once Upon A Time’ closes
with the gentle tune of;
“Twinkle, Twinkle little Star, how I wonder
what you are
Up
above the world so high, like a diamond in the sky.
When
the blazing sun has gone, when he nothing shines upon
Then
you show your little light, twinkle, twinkle all night
Then
the traveller in the dark, thanks you for your tiny spark
He
could not see which way to go, if you did not twinkle so.
In
the dark blue sky you keep, and often through my curtains peep,
For
you never shut your eye, ‘till the sun is in the sky’.
As
your bright and tiny spark lights the traveller in the dark,
Though
I know not what you are - twinkle, twinkle little star.”
The beautiful words of Twinkle, twinkle little
star have been immortalised in the poem and music has been added thus
increasing its popularity. The simile ‘like a diamond in the sky’ teaches
children how words can be used to paint a picture in the imagination. The words
create a comparison between the twinkling of a star and a sparkling diamond
thus providing a perfect illustration of clever imagery and excellent used of
the English language.
It
was first published in 1806, its joint authors Ann Taylor {1782-1866} Jane
Taylor {1783-1824}.
I hope you have enjoyed this excursion into
the childishness of ‘the Prisoner,’ although I think you will agree that
nursery rhymes in themselves are not quite child’s play! As far as I am aware
it is an aspect of the series which has never been touched on before. And now
all I am left to do is wish you, as Uncle Mac used to sign off on ‘Children’s
Favourites’ and ‘Children’s Hour;’
Good
night children everywhere.
Be
seeing you
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