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Mary,
Mary Quite Contrary |
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"Mary
Mary quite contrary,
How does your garden grow?
With silver bells and cockle shells
And pretty maids all in a row." |
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Like
many nursery rhymes, it has historical explanations. One is that
it refers to Mary I of England, also known as Mary Tudor, or
Bloody Mary, who was the daughter of King Henry VIII. Some say
that the "garden" referred to in the rhyme is an allusion
to graveyards which were increasing in size with those who dared
to continue to adhere to the Protestant faith (Mary Tudor was
a catholic). The "silver bells" and "cockle shells"
are said to be colloquialisms for instruments of torture. The
"silver bells" were thumbscrews which crushed of the
thumb between two hard surfaces by the tightening a screw. The
"cockle shells" were believed to be instruments of
torture which were attached to the genitals. The "maids"
are believed to be a device to behead people similar to the guillotine
(which is said to be also known as "maiden").
Another
version is that it refers to her cousin Mary I of Scotland, with
"how does your garden grow" referring to how she was
doing controlling the country, "silver bells" referring
to (Catholic) cathedral bells, "cockleshells" being
an insult, and "pretty maids all in a row" referring
both to how ugly Mary was compared to other women and to how
she killed people: in rows and rows. However, Mary Queen of Scots
was accounted a great beauty. She was also not known for killing
"rows and rows" of people, although one of her lovers,
Darnley, was mixed up in a murder."
It is
wise to note that no proof has been found that the rhyme was
known before the eighteenth century and both Mary I of England
and Mary I of Scotland were contemporaries, so both explanations
for this nursery rhyme are uncertain. |
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