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For other uses, see .
"Little Jack Horner" is a popular
. It has the
number of 13027.
The most common modern lyrics are:
Little Jack Horner
Sat in the corner,
Eating a C
He put in his thumb,
And pulled out a plum,
And said 'What a good boy am I!'
The melody commonly associated with the rhyme was first recorded by the composer and nursery rhyme collector
in his National Nursery Rhymes and Nursery Songs (1870).
The History of Jack Horner, Containing the Witty Pranks he play'd, from his Youth to his Riper Years, Being pleasant for Winter Evenings (1764), there is a mangled version of the nursery rhyme. However, it has been observed that the story is based on the much earlier tale of The Fryer and the Boy, and that this insertion is merely to justify the use of Jack Horner's name.
The earliest reference to the well-known verse is in Namby Pamby, a ballad by
published in 1725, in which he himself italicised the original:
Now he sings of Jackey Horner
Sitting in the Chimney-Corner
Eating of a Christmas pye,
Putting in his thumb, Oh fie!
Putting in, Oh fie! his Thumb
Pulling out, Oh strange! a Plum.
This has been taken to suggest that the rhyme was well known by the early eighteenth century. Carey's poem is a satire on fellow writer , who had written infantile poems for the young children of his aristocratic patrons. Although several other nursery rhymes are mentioned there, the one about Little Jack Horner has been associated with acts of opportunism ever since. Just six years later it figured in another satirical work, 's
(1731). This had the prime minister
as its target and ends with all the characters processing off the stage 'to the music of Little Jack Horner'.
In the nineteenth century the story began to gain currency that the rhyme is actually about Thomas Horner, who was steward to , the last
before the
under . The story is reported that, prior to the abbey's destruction, the abbot sent Horner to London with a huge Christmas pie which had the deeds to a dozen
hidden within it as a gift to try to convince the King not to nationalize Church lands. During the journey Horner opened the pie and extracted the deeds of the
in , which he kept for himself. It is further suggested that, since the manor properties included lead mines in the , the plum is a pun on the Latin plumbum, for lead. While records do indicate that Thomas Horner became the owner of the manor, paying for the title, both his descendants and subsequent owners of Mells Manor have asserted that the legend is untrue and that Wells purchased the deed from the abbey.
mentions Jack in his
(Canto the Eleventh, stanza LXIX, 1823). It is the ancestor of numerous allusions since then, remembering him for little more than sitting in a corner.
's illustrations for Little Jack Horner, from a 1901 edition of
In his satirical novel Melincourt (1817),
extends the political interpretation of the nursery rhyme. There five go-getting characters contribute to a song in which they describe how they misuse their trades to fleece the public. It begins with the
Jack Horner's CHRISTMAS PIE my learned nurse
Interpreted to mean the public purse.
From thence a plum he drew. O happy Horner!
Who would not be ensconced in thy snug corner?
Each character then describes the nature of his sharp practice in a stanza followed by the general chorus
And we'll all have a finger, a finger, a finger,
We'll all have a finger in the CHRISTMAS PIE.
In 's Jazz Standard "" in the bridge section between verses three and four, the lyrics read "Like Jack Horner / in the corner / don't go nowhere / what do I care / Your kisses are worth waitin' for, believe me." Throughout the entire song the singer points out how well behaved he is and what a good man he is.
There is also a politicised reinterpretation of the rhyme in a
lyric from their album The Unfairy Tale (1985). "Jack Horner" is put in the corner for resisting the racist and self-regarding interpretation of history given by his teacher. Eventually the children rise up to defend him:
But when the head walked in the children made such a din.
They said, 'Jack get up, you got to get out, don't let them push you about, you know they'll keep you in that corner till you're dead. Jack get out, don't sell out, don't compromise with christmas pies. Keep shouting back, you tell 'em Jack, don't swallow none of their crap. Calling Jack Horners everywhere, don't bend to authority which doesn't care, you know they'll keep you in that corner 'till you're dead.'
Jane got up, she helped Jack out, she said, 'Teachers, don't mess us about, we won't listen to your dirty lies. It's you who've got your fingers in the pie. People die, you don't question why, we won't study your lies, we won't eat your christmas pie, we won't eat dead animal pie, we won't eat nukiller pie, we won't eat your pie r squared, and if you really cared, neither would you.'
Jack Horner was made a character in the -based video game, .
In his song 'Country Pie' (1969), Bob Dylan sings: "Little Jack Horner's got nothin' on me".
I. Opie and P. Opie, The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1951, 2nd edn., 1997), pp. 234-7.
J. J. Fuld, The Book of World-Famous Music: Classical, Popular, and Folk (Courier Dover Publications, 5th edn., 2000), , p. 502.
. Books.google.co.uk.
C. Roberts, Heavy words lightly thrown: the reason behind the rhyme (Granta, 2004), p. 3.
Young, Molly. . The Poetry Foundation.
. Thomaslovepeacock.net.
and C. Baring-Gould, The Annotated Mother Goose: Nursery Rhymes Old and New, Arranged and Explained, New York: Bramhall House Publishing, 1962From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For the theatre adaptation, see .
Shakespeare in Love is a 1998 British-American
directed by , written by
and playwright . The film depicts an imaginary love affair involving Viola de Lesseps () and playwright
() while he was writing . Several characters are based on historical people, and many of the characters, lines, and plot devices allude to .
Shakespeare in Love won seven , including ,
In 1593 London,
is a sometime player in the
and poor playwright for , owner of . Shakespeare is working on a new comedy, Romeo and Ethel, the Pirate's Daughter. Suffering from , he has barely begun the play, but starts auditioning players. Viola de Lesseps, the daughter of a wealthy merchant who has seen Shakespeare's plays at court, disguises herself as "Thomas Kent" to audition, then runs away. Shakespeare pursues Kent to Viola's house and leaves a note with the nurse, asking Thomas Kent to begin rehearsals at the Rose. He sneaks into the house with the minstrels playing that night at the ball, where her parents are arranging her betrothal to Lord Wessex, an impoverished aristocrat. While dancing with Viola, Shakespeare is struck speechless, and after being forcibly ejected by Wessex, uses Thomas Kent as a go-between to woo her. Wessex also asks Will's name, to which he replies that he is Christopher Marlowe.
When he discovers her true identity, they begin a secret affair. Inspired by her, Shakespeare writes quickly, with help from his friend and rival playwright , completely transforming the play into what will become . Viola is appalled when she learns he is married, albeit separated from his wife, and she knows she cannot escape her duty to marry Wessex. After Viola learns that Will is married, Will discovers that Marlowe is dead, and thinks he is the one to blame. Lord Wessex suspects an affair between Shakespeare and his bride-to-be. Because Wessex thinks that Will is Kit Marlowe, he approves of Kit's death, and tells Viola the news. It is later learned that Marlowe had been killed by accident. Viola finds out that Will is still alive, and declares her love for him. Then, Viola is summoned to court to receive approval for her proposed marriage to Lord Wessex. Shakespeare accompanies her, disguised as her female cousin. There, he persuades Wessex to wager ?50 that a play can capture the true nature of love, the exact amount Shakespeare requires to buy a share in the Chamberlain's Men.
declares that she will judge the matter, when the occasion arises.
When , the , is informed there is a woman player at The Rose, he closes the theatre for breaking the ban on women. Viola's identity is exposed before the company, leaving them without a stage or lead actor, until , owner of , offers them his theatre. Shakespeare takes the role of Romeo, with a
as Juliet. Following her wedding, Viola learns that the play will be performed that day, and runs away to the Curtain. Planning to watch with the crowd, Viola overhears that the boy playing Juliet cannot perform, and offers to replace him. While she plays Juliet to Shakespeare's Romeo, the audience is enthralled, despite the tragic ending, until Master Tilney arrives to arrest everyone for indecency due to Viola's presence.
But the Queen is in attendance and restrains Tilney, instead asserting that Kent's resemblance to a woman is, indeed, remarkable. However, even a queen is powerless to end a lawful marriage, and she orders Kent to fetch Viola because she must sail with Wessex to the . The Queen also tells Wessex, who followed Viola to the theatre, that Romeo and Juliet has won the bet for Shakespeare, and has Kent deliver his ?50 with instructions to write something "a little more cheerful next time, for ".
Viola and Shakespeare say their goodbyes, and he vows to immortalize her, as they improvise the beginnings of his , imagining her as a
disguised as a man after a voyage to a strange land. "For she will be my heroine for all time, and her name will be...."
as Viola de Lesseps
as Lord Wessex
as Ralph Bashford
as Dr. Moth
as Hugh Fennyman
as Sam Gosse
as Lady de Lesseps
Joe Roberts as
The original idea for Shakespeare in Love came to screenwriter
in the late 1980s. He pitched a draft screenplay to director . The screenplay attracted
who agreed to play Viola. However, Zwick disliked Norman's screenplay and hired the playwright
to improve it (Stoppard's first major success had been with the -themed play ).
The film went into production in 1991 at , with Zwick as director, but although sets and costumes were in construction, Shakespeare had not yet been cast, because Roberts insisted that only
could play the role.[] Day-Lewis was uninterested, and when Roberts failed to persuade him, she withdrew from the film, six weeks before shooting was due to begin. The production went into , and Zwick was unable to persuade other studios to take up the screenplay.
Eventually, Zwick got
interested in the screenplay, but Miramax chose
as director. Miramax boss
acted as producer, and persuaded
to take a small role as .
The film was considerably reworked after the first test screenings. The scene with Shakespeare and Viola in the punt was re-shot, to make it more emotional, and some lines were re-recorded to clarify the reasons why Viola had to marry Wessex. The ending was re-shot several times, until Stoppard eventually came up with the idea of Viola suggesting to Shakespeare that their parting could inspire his next play.
Much of the action of the film echoes that of . Will and Viola play out the famous balcon like Juliet, Viola has a witty nurse, and is separated from Will by a gulf of duty (although not the family enmity of the play: the "two households" of Romeo and Juliet are supposedly inspired by the two rival playhouses). In addition, the two lovers are equally "star-crossed" — they are not ultimately destined to be together (since Viola is of rich and socially ambitious merchant stock and is promised to marry , while Shakespeare himself is poor and already married). There is also a Rosaline, with whom Will is in love at the beginning of the film. There are references to earlier cinematic versions of Shakespeare, such as the balcony scene pastiching the .
Many other plot devices used in the film are common in Shakespearean comedies and other plays of the Elizabethan era: the Queen disguised as a commoner, the
disguises, mistaken identities, the sword fight, the suspicion of adultery, the appearance of a "ghost" (cf. ), and the "". According to Douglas Brode, the film deftly portrays many of the these devices as though the events depicted were the inspiration for Shakespeare's own use of them in his plays.
The film also has sequences in which Shakespeare and the other characters utter words that later appear in his plays, or in other ways echo those plays:
On the street, Shakespeare hears a
preaching against the two London stages: "The Rose smells thusly rank, by any name! I say, a plague on both their houses!" Two references in one, both to Romeo and Juliet; first, "A rose by any other name would smell as sweet" (Act II, scene ii, lines 1 and 2); second, "a plague on both your houses" (Act III, scene I, line 94).
Backstage at a performance of , Shakespeare sees
in full make-up, silently contemplating a skull, a reference to the gravediggers scene in .
Shakespeare utters the lines "Doubt thou the stars are fire, / Doubt that the sun doth move" (from Hamlet) to Philip Henslowe.
As Shakespeare's writer's block is introduced, he is seen crumpling balls of paper and throwing them around his room. They land near props which represent scenes in several of his plays: a skull (Hamlet), and an open chest ().
Viola, as well as being Paltrow's character in the film, is the name of the lead character in
who dresses as a man after the supposed death of her brother.
At the end of the film, Shakespeare imagines a shipwreck overtaking Viola on her way to America, inspiring the second scene of his next play, , a scene which also echoes the beginning of .
Shakespeare writes a sonnet to Viola which begins: "Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?" (from ).
Shakespeare tells Henslowe that he still owes him for "one gentleman of Verona", a reference to , part of which we also see being acted before the Queen later in the film.
In a boat, Shakespeare tells Viola, who is disguised as Thomas Kent, of his lady’s beauty and charms, she dismisses his praise, as no real woman could live up to this ideal, this is a 'set up' for , “My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun”.
is presented in the film as the master playwright whom the characters consider the greatest English dramatist of that time — this is historically accurate, yet also humorous, since the film's audience knows what will eventually happen to Shakespeare's reputation. Marlowe gives Shakespeare a plot for his next play, "Romeo and Ethel the Pirate's Daughter" ("Romeo is Italian...always in and out of love...until he meets...Ethel. The daughter of his enemy! His best friend is killed in a duel by Ethel's brother or something. His name is .") Marlowe's
is quoted repeatedly: "Was this the face that launched a thousand ships/ And burned the topless towers of Ilium?" A reference is also made to Marlowe's final, unfinished play
in a scene wherein Marlowe () seeks payment for the final act of the play from
(). Burbage promises the payment the next day, so Marlowe refuses to part with the pages and departs for Deptford, where he is killed. The only surviving text of
is an undated octavo that is probably too short to represent the complete original play. It has been suggested to be a
by the actors who performed the work.
who plays with mice is a reference to the leading figure in the next, Jacobean, generation of playwrights. His plays (, ) are known for their 'blood and gore', which is humorously referred to by the child saying that he enjoys , and also saying of Romeo and Juliet, when asked his opinion by the Queen, "I liked it when she stabbed herself."
When the clown
() says to Shakespeare that he would like to play in a drama, he is told that "they would laugh at
if you played it," a reference to the Roman tragedian renowned for his sombre and bloody plot lines which were a major influence on the development of English tragedy.
Will is shown signing a paper repeatedly, with many relatively illegible signatures visible. This is a reference to the fact that several versions of Shakespeare's signature exist, and in each one he spelled his name differently.
After the film's release, certain publications, including , noted strong similarities between the film and the 1941 novel No Bed for Bacon, by
and , which also features Shakespeare falling in love and finding inspiration for his later plays. In a foreword to a subsequent edition of No Bed for Bacon (which traded on the association by declaring itself "A Story of Shakespeare and Lady Viola in Love") , Private Eye insider and former writing partner of Brahms', confirmed that he had lent a copy of the novel to Stoppard after he joined the writing team, but that the basic plot of the film had been independently developed by Marc Norman, who was unaware of the earlier work.
The film's plot can claim a tradition in fiction reaching back to 's "Shakespeare amoureux ou la Piece a l'Etude" (1804), in which Shakespeare falls in love with an actress who is playing .
The writers of Shakespeare in Love were sued in 1999 by bestselling author . She claimed that the plotline was stolen from her 1989 novel , in which Shakespeare romances a Jewish woman who dresses as a man, and attempts to solve a murder.
spokesman Andrew Stengel derided the claim, filed in the US District Court six days before the , as "absurd", and argued that the timing "suggests a publicity stunt".
The film is "not constrained by worries about literary or historical accuracy" and includes
such as a reference to Virginia tobacco plantations, at a time before
existed, also a leading character is a member of the , which actually died out in 1066. The clearest deviation from literary history is the made-up play's original proposed title "Romeo and Ethel", allegedly preceding the play's eventual title, "Romeo and Juliet". In fact, the story of
existed before Shakespeare. It was well-known from 's 1562 narrative poem , which itself was rooted in an Italian original.
made the film an "NYT Critics' Pick", calling it "pure enchantment"; according to Maslin, the film is "far richer and more deft than the other Elizabethan film in town (); she notes "Gwyneth Paltrow, in her first great, fully realized starring performance, makes a heroine so breathtaking that she seems utterly plausible as the playwright's guiding light." , who gave the film four stars out of four wrote: "The contemporary feel of the humor (like Shakespeare's coffee mug, inscribed "Souvenir of Stratford-Upon-Avon") makes the movie play like a contest between "" and . Then the movie stirs in a sweet love story, juicy court intrigue, backstage politics and some lovely moments from "Romeo and Juliet"... Is this a movie or an ? I didn't care. I was carried along by the wit, the energy and a surprising sweetness."
Shakespeare in Love was among . The U.S. box office reached over $100 including the box office from the rest of the world, the film took in over $289 million.
claimed that the film prompted the revival of the title of .
was originally to have been titled
following his marriage to
in 1999, the year after the film's release. However, after watching Shakespeare in Love, he reportedly became attracted to the title of the character played by Colin Firth, and asked
to be given the title of Earl of Wessex instead.
This section needs additional citations for . Please help
by . Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (April 2012)
recognition:
– Nominated
- Nominated
Recipient(s)
and Jill Quertier
Richard Greatrex
and Veronica Brebner
Judi Dench
David Gamble
John Madden
Gwyneth Paltrow
Geoffrey Rush
Richard Greatrex
Marc Norman and Tom Stoppard
Lisa Westcott
Robin O'Donoghue, Dominic Lester, Peter Glossop, and John Downer
Stephen Warbeck
Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures
John Madden
Gwyneth Paltrow
Marc Norman and Tom Stoppard
John Madden
Geoffrey Rush
Judi Dench
Joseph Fiennes
Gwyneth Paltrow
Geoffrey Rush
Judi Dench
Best Original Screenplay
Marc Norman and Tom Stoppard
Best Screenplay
Marc Norman and Tom Stoppard
The film was spoofed and homaged, along with Star Wars, in the 1999 short film .
The film was seen and frequently interrupted by Brenda Meeks in .
Main article:
In November 2011,
reported that
intended to produce a stage version of the film in London with . The production was officially announced in November 2013.
The production opened at the No?l Coward Theatre in London's West End on 23 July 2014, receiving rave reviews from critics, calling it "A joyous celebration of theatre"
and "A love letter to theatre"
Based on the film screenplay by Norman and Stoppard, it was adapted for the stage by . The production was directed by
and designed by Nick Ormerod, the joint founders of .
. . January 11, .
. . . Retrieved .
Peter Biskind, "Down and Dirty Pictures: Miramax, Sundance and the Rise of Independent Film" (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2004), p. 327.
Peter Biskind, "Down and Dirty Pictures: Miramax, Sundance and the Rise of Independent Film" (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2004), p. 328-30.
Peter Biskind, "Down and Dirty Pictures: Miramax, Sundance and the Rise of Independent Film" (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2004), p. 330-1.
French, Emma, Selling Shakespeare to Hollywood: Marketing of Filmed Shakespeare Adaptations from 1989 Into the New Millennium, University of Hertfordshire Press, 2006, p.153.
Douglas Brode, Shakespeare in the movies: from the silent era to today, Berkley Boulevard Books, 2001, p.240.
Ebert, Roger (25 December 1998). .
Greenwich 2000 (5 January 2010). .
Probes, Christine McCall (2008). "Senses, signs, symbols and theological allusion in Marlowe's The Massacre at Paris". In Deats, Sara M Logan, Robert A. Placing the plays of Christopher Marlowe: Fresh Cultural Contexts. Aldershot, England: Ashgate. p. 149.  .
Burt, Richard (2002). Shakespeare After Mass Media. London: Macmillan. p. 306.  .
. . 6 February .
Portillo, R Salvador, Mercedes (2003). Pujante, ?ngel-L Hoenselaars, Ton, ed. Four Hundred Years of Shakespeare in Europe. Newark, DE: University of Delaware Press. p. 182.  .
. . 23 March .
. . 23 March 1999. Archived from
on 4 April .
Maslin, Janet (11 December 1998). .
Richard Eden (12 December 2010). . The Telegraph 2010.
(web) 2012.
(PDF) 2012.
. Oscars.org 2011.
. Berlinale.de 2012.
Cox, Gordon (November 13, 2013). . Variety 2014.
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