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Usenet Posted 22 years ago
English in UK
...my kingdom for a harse
It's me again
For some who may appreciate, a description of Colley Cibber, the famous eighteenth century actor, made by a witness to his debut in Richard III:
« being invested with the purple Robe, he screamed thro' four Acts without Dignity or Decency. The Audience ill-pleas'd with the Farce, accompany'd him with a smile of Contempt, but in the fifth Act, he degenerated all at once into Sir Novelty; and when in the Heat of the Battle at Bosworth Field, the King is dismounted, our Comic-Tragedian came on the Stage, really breathless, and in a seeming Panick, screaming out this Line thus A Harse, a Harse, my Kingdom for a Harse.
This highly delighted some, and disgusted others of his Auditors; and when he was kill'd by Richmond, one might plainly perceive that the good People were not better pleas'd that so execrable a Tyrant was destroy'd, than that so execrable an Actor was silent.», The Laureat: or, the Right side of Colley Cibber, Esq; containing, explanations, amendments, and observations, on a book intituled an Apology for the Life, and Writings of Mr. Colley Cibber With some anecdotes which he, thro' an excess of modesty, omitted.
To which is added the history of the life, manners and writings of Aesopus, the tragedian, London, Roberts, 1740, p. 35.
Do you think the comic in "a harse, a harse, my Kingdom for a Harse" may derive from its resemblance to "***" (was the term already in use in that century?), to the onomatopeic value (meaning the difficult breathing of the actor), both.... or what?
thank you, I hope you enjoyed the passage
mnemosyne
For some who may appreciate, a description of Colley Cibber, the famous eighteenth century actor, made by a witness to his debut in Richard III:
« being invested with the purple Robe, he screamed thro' four Acts without Dignity or Decency. The Audience ill-pleas'd with the Farce, accompany'd him with a smile of Contempt, but in the fifth Act, he degenerated all at once into Sir Novelty; and when in the Heat of the Battle at Bosworth Field, the King is dismounted, our Comic-Tragedian came on the Stage, really breathless, and in a seeming Panick, screaming out this Line thus A Harse, a Harse, my Kingdom for a Harse.
This highly delighted some, and disgusted others of his Auditors; and when he was kill'd by Richmond, one might plainly perceive that the good People were not better pleas'd that so execrable a Tyrant was destroy'd, than that so execrable an Actor was silent.», The Laureat: or, the Right side of Colley Cibber, Esq; containing, explanations, amendments, and observations, on a book intituled an Apology for the Life, and Writings of Mr. Colley Cibber With some anecdotes which he, thro' an excess of modesty, omitted.
To which is added the history of the life, manners and writings of Aesopus, the tragedian, London, Roberts, 1740, p. 35.
Do you think the comic in "a harse, a harse, my Kingdom for a Harse" may derive from its resemblance to "***" (was the term already in use in that century?), to the onomatopeic value (meaning the difficult breathing of the actor), both.... or what?
thank you, I hope you enjoyed the passage
mnemosyne
Top answer
)[/nq] Absolutely definitely. The term was in use a long, long time before that. It might have added to the audience's delight that the adding of a non-existent h to words beginning with a vowel is an indication of somebody who normally drops the initial h trying to speak "posher" than is natural to him by adding it in every possible circumstance - see Dickens' "Pickwick Papers", for instance.
- )[/nq] Absolutely definitely.
- The term was in use a long, long time before that.
- It might have added to the audience's delight that the adding of a non-existent h to words beginning with a vowel is an indication of somebody who normally drops the initial h trying to speak "posher" than is natural to him by adding it in every possible circumstance - see Dickens' "Pickwick Papers", for instance.
- Molly Mockford I think I've been too long on my own, but the little green goblin that lives under the sink says I'm OK - and he's never wrong, so I must be!
- )
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12 Answers
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At 21:38:19 on Sat, 10 Jul 2004, mnemosyne (Email Removed) wrote in :
[nq:1]Do you think the comic in "a harse, a harse, my Kingdom for a Harse" may derive from its resemblance to "***" (was the term already in use in that century?)[/nq]
Absolutely definitely. The term was in use a long, long time before that.
It might have added to the audience's delight that the adding of a non-exist
[nq:1]Do you think the comic in "a harse, a harse, my Kingdom for a Harse" may derive from its resemblance to "***" (was the term already in use in that century?)[/nq]
Absolutely definitely. The term was in use a long, long time before that.
It might have added to the audience's delight that the adding of a non-exist
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[nq:2]Do you think the comic in "a harse, a harse, ... "***" (was the term already in use in that century?)[/nq]
[nq:1]Absolutely definitely. The term was in use a long, long time before that. It might have added to the audience's ... "posher" than is natural to him by adding it in every possible circumstance - see Dickens' "Pickwick Papers", for instance.[/nq]
Also resemblance to "***". A
[nq:1]Absolutely definitely. The term was in use a long, long time before that. It might have added to the audience's ... "posher" than is natural to him by adding it in every possible circumstance - see Dickens' "Pickwick Papers", for instance.[/nq]
Also resemblance to "***". A
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At 15:57:08 on Sun, 11 Jul 2004, John Briggs (Email Removed) wrote in :
[nq:1]Also resemblance to "***". Anyone who pronounced "horse" as "harse" would be quite capable of pronouncing "***" as "ahss" (unlike Americans, of carse :-) ).[/nq]
In the heydey of showjumping, the great German rider Alwin Shockemoehle (OK, who else remembers the Schockemoehle brothers?) bred a rather good horse wh
[nq:1]Also resemblance to "***". Anyone who pronounced "horse" as "harse" would be quite capable of pronouncing "***" as "ahss" (unlike Americans, of carse :-) ).[/nq]
In the heydey of showjumping, the great German rider Alwin Shockemoehle (OK, who else remembers the Schockemoehle brothers?) bred a rather good horse wh
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[nq:1]In the heydey of showjumping, the great German rider Alwin Shockemoehle (OK, who else remembers the Schockemoehle brothers?)...[/nq]
Paul was the younger brother, right?
Ray
Paul was the younger brother, right?
Ray
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[nq:1](OK, who else remembers the Schockemoehle brothers?)[/nq]
I'll see your Schockemoehle brothers and raise you the d'Inzeo brothers.
John Hall
"If a man will begin with certainties, he shall end in doubts; but if he will be content to begin with doubts,
he shall end in certainties." Francis Bacon (1561-1626)
I'll see your Schockemoehle brothers and raise you the d'Inzeo brothers.
John Hall
"If a man will begin with certainties, he shall end in doubts; but if he will be content to begin with doubts,
he shall end in certainties." Francis Bacon (1561-1626)
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At 19:53:14 on Sun, 11 Jul 2004, mUs1Ka (Email Removed) wrote in (Email Removed):
[nq:2]In the heydey of showjumping, the great German rider Alwin Shockemoehle (OK, who else remembers the Schockemoehle brothers?)...[/nq]
[nq:1]Paul was the younger brother, right?[/nq]
Yes. His particular talent was training the horses; he was never anything like the brilliant rider that Alwin was, alth
[nq:2]In the heydey of showjumping, the great German rider Alwin Shockemoehle (OK, who else remembers the Schockemoehle brothers?)...[/nq]
[nq:1]Paul was the younger brother, right?[/nq]
Yes. His particular talent was training the horses; he was never anything like the brilliant rider that Alwin was, alth
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[nq:2](OK, who else remembers the Schockemoehle brothers?)[/nq]
[nq:1]I'll see your Schockemoehle brothers and raise you the d'Inzeo brothers.I remember Raimondo, who was his brother?[/nq]
Ray
[nq:1]I'll see your Schockemoehle brothers and raise you the d'Inzeo brothers.I remember Raimondo, who was his brother?[/nq]
Ray
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[nq:2]Also resemblance to "***". Anyone who pronounced "horse" as "harse" would be quite capable of pronouncing "***" as "ahss" (unlike Americans, of carse :-) ).[/nq]
[nq:1]In the heydey of showjumping, the great German rider Alwin Shockemoehle (OK, who else remembers the Schockemoehle brothers?) bred a ... that wasn't how he registered the name. And it got quite a few laughs - for one reason
[nq:1]In the heydey of showjumping, the great German rider Alwin Shockemoehle (OK, who else remembers the Schockemoehle brothers?) bred a ... that wasn't how he registered the name. And it got quite a few laughs - for one reason
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[nq:1]I remember Raimondo, who was his brother?[/nq]
Piero.
Peter Duncanson
UK
(posting from u.c.l.e)
Piero.
Peter Duncanson
UK
(posting from u.c.l.e)
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[nq:1]I'll see your Schockemoehle brothers and raise you the d'Inzeo brothers.[/nq]
Is this poker jargon?
Bye, FB
"Nasalization is just a part of life"
(Joey DoWop Dee on it.cultura.linguistica.inglese)
Is this poker jargon?
Bye, FB
"Nasalization is just a part of life"
(Joey DoWop Dee on it.cultura.linguistica.inglese)
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