Dear Everyone, I don't like to lower the tone, but, purely in the interest of scholarship, I believe there may be more than one meaning suggested by Dowland's pedlar. "Knackers", is a word not far removed in pronunciation from "knacks", and one of its meanings is a pair of spherical objects normally associated with the male. Is this the "heavenly pair"? I wonder. If my hypothesis is correct, "a fair" may be heard as "affair", and so on.
Having an extra layer or two of meaning in poems c. 1600 was commonplace, and the fun for the listener arises from the double entendre extending through the poem. I believe it is more a question of wit than crudeness for crudeness' sake. A second meaning doesn't have to be rude. It reminds me of that wonderful drinking song (sung as a round), which I believe might be by William Lawes: "Wars are our delight, We drink as we fight, Tarara ra ra, Rubadub dub dub, Bounce! [at which point you bang your tankard on the table, take a swift quaff of ale trying not to spill any, and carry on singing] Hark to the trumpet sound!" On paper it looks like an innocent enough soldier's song, but when performed, you might hear "whores" instead of "wars". It would be easy enough to turn "trumpet" into "strumpet". It wouldn't be the first time that the image of a battle was used to represent amorous activity. I confess to being shocked the first time I ever heard Purcell's ode for Queen Mary, "Come, come ye sons of art." I didn't know the words then, and I certainly didn't hear "of art". Would Purcell have dared to do something like that? Bearing in mind his catches, I believe he might well have done. Of course, I may be completely wrong. Who is to say? It is hard to prove these things beyond all reasonable doubt, and one simply has to make up one's own mind about it. Best wishes, Stewart McCoy. ----- Original Message ----- From: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Wednesday, November 12, 2003 12:08 PM Subject: Re: Re: Fine Nacks for Ladies > John wrote: > > > > May I point out that the word knick-knack might be just a word? We speak of > > knick-knack shelf as a place to put little things and memorabilia. > > Jon, the piece is entitled "Fine Knacks for Ladies" not "Fine Knick-Knacks for Ladies". > > Craig
