Everyone paying attention has noticed the literate arts have taken a nose dive under the ignorant dumbass currently lording it over our national discourse. Each time Trump.45 opens his mouth for more than 30 seconds he offers indisputable proof positive of this proposition. We are all locked in for another 12 months, regardless of the 2020 Election results, until at least January 20, 2021 (Inauguration Day).
To illustrate the point, herewith a modernist take on some formerly respectable poetical rhymes.
Donny Johnny, Porta Potty
How does your garden grow?
With slithering snakes, and tons of FAKEs,
‘Tis swampier as you go
Apologies to the memory of the venerable nursery rhyme we all learned as children “Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary”
Another example to press the point.
Lies, Flies and Turds Galore
Your Pressers are Absurd
The More you Talk
The Less you Say
America Prays, Just Blow Away
The Essence of Doggerel
From the Wikipedia entry:
Doggerel is poetry that is irregular in rhythm and in rhyme, often deliberately for burlesque or comic effect. Alternatively, it can mean verse which has a monotonous rhythm, easy rhyme, and cheap or trivial meaning. The word is derived from the Middle English dogerel, probably a derivative of dog. In English it has been used as an adjective since the 14th century and a noun since at least 1630.
Appearing since ancient times in the literatures of many cultures, it is characteristic of nursery rhymes and children’s song.
Doggerel is the only poetry possible in the face of Trumpian outrages and insults, sad to say. There is no uplifting or healing narrative to save us. Everything is coarsened and cheapened in so many ways. Public spirit, social comity, political discourse; all are wounded and rent asunder.
Don’t forget the invocation of one of Trump.45’s recurrent insult phrasings in the word’s etymology (Middle English, folks. Another little joke about Trump.45’s recently postulated Blue Collar Boom).
Political Dimensions of the Nursery Rhyme “Mary, Mary”
While most of us know the famous rhyme we leaned and memorized in childhood, many don’t know, as often is the case, there is a second, deeper, more hidden historical political context.
From Wikipedia:
“Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary” is an English nursery rhyme. The rhyme has been seen as having religious and historical significance, but its origins and meaning are disputed. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 19626.
William Wallace Denslow’s rendition of the poem, 1901
The most common modern version is:
Mary, Mary, quite contrary,
How does your garden grow?
With silver bells, and cockle shells,
And pretty maids all in a row.
The oldest known version was first published in Tommy Thumb’s Pretty Song Book (1744) with the lyrics that are shown here:
Mistress Mary, Quite contrary,
How does your garden grow?
With Silver Bells, And Cockle Shells,
And so my garden grows.
Several printed versions of the 18th century have the lyrics:
Mistress Mary, Quite contrary,
How does your garden grow?
With Silver Bells, And Cockle Shells,
Sing cuckolds all in a row.
The rhyme is reliably dated to the 18th century; the Age of our Founding Fathers. No shrinkers there, they were men of sophisticated understanding and education (unlike many recent examples). They would be aware of the potential historical references to the 16th century Royal doings with Mary 1 of England, and Mary Queen of Scots who were contemporaries.
Again from Wikipedia:
Like many nursery rhymes, it has acquired various historical explanations. These include:
That it is a religious allegory of Catholicism, with Mary being Mary, the mother of Jesus, bells representing the sanctus bells, the cockleshells the badges of the pilgrims to the shrine of Saint James in Spain (Santiago de Compostela) and pretty maids are nuns, but even within this strand of thought there are differences of opinion as to whether it is lament for the reinstatement of Catholicism or for its persecution.
Another theory sees the rhyme as connected to Mary, Queen of Scots (1542–1587), with “how does your garden grow” referring to her reign over her realm, “silver bells” referring to (Catholic) cathedral bells, “cockle shells” insinuating that her husband was not faithful to her, and “pretty maids all in a row” referring to her ladies-in-waiting – “The four Maries”. In Disney’s The Truth About Mother Goose the “silver bells” are said to “refer to the elaborate decoration on her dresses”, the “cockle shells” to her love of exotic food such as cockles, with the “pretty maids all in a row” referring to her ladies-in-waiting.
Mary has also been identified with Mary I of England (1516–1558) with “How does your garden grow?” said to refer to her lack of heirs, or to the common idea that England had become a Catholic vassal or “branch” of Spain and the Habsburgs. It is also said to be a punning reference to her chief minister, Stephen Gardiner. “Quite contrary” is said to be a reference to her unsuccessful attempt to reverse ecclesiastical changes affected by her father Henry VIII and her brother Edward VI. The “pretty maids all in a row” is speculated to be a reference to miscarriages or her execution of Lady Jane Grey. “Rows and rows” is said to refer to her executions of Protestants.
Summary
Just for argument’s sake then, we have political intrigue, unfaithfulness and cuckoldry, executions for treason, religious strife, failed legislative rollback, leadership succession, excessive ornamentation, and food preferences, all lying underneath an outwardly simple, innocent childhood rhyme.
How contemporary could four simple lines of doggerel be?
How deeply beyond Trump.45 to see or comprehend their meaning?
How sad for America’s soul and uplift.
We need to return to real poetry and grace in our communal lives in America.
Your First Job as Americans is to Vote on November 3, 2020
Selected References
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary,_Mary,_Quite_Contrary
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doggerel