A strange synchronicity occured yesterday that is worth musing over here. I'm fascinated by the little moment in 1.1.122 of A Midsummer Night's Dream when Theseus, having stood behind Egeus' stupidly selfish decision to force his daughter Hermia to marry Demetrius or "die the death", says to his bride-to-be, Hippolyta, "What cheer, my love?" From the script we have no idea what he's responding to, but most directors make Hippolyta quite upset with Theseus over his standing up for the "law" rather than "justice". Presumably she is pouting or fuming or sighing or drooping or all of the above.
But as my thoughts were thus directed, I came upon the little crumb of poetic wit sent to me by Kate Scrivener and included in yesterday's post. I did a quick search of David McCord and found out what I thought was his pseudonym: "What Cheer"! This spurred me to wiki him and find related links. I looked up What Cheer but found no reference to McCord. I then Googled his real name and found that What Cheer was, in fact, the title of a volume of his poetry. Oops. (but wouldn't make a great pseudonym? Squirrel that away for safe keeping.)
But the wiki entry on What Cheer turned up this gorgeous bit of folksy numbskullery (I've found that if Wikp is good for anything it's as a kind of vast e-version of "Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable"--a treasure house of the bogus):
"What Cheer (pronounced 'WAH-cheer') is a city in Keokuk County, Iowa, United States. The population was 678 at the 2000 census.
"What Cheer is named for a Native American greeting used in the area of modern-day Rhode Island during the 1600s. In 1636, Roger Williams, the founder of Rhode Island who left Salem, Massachusetts to seek religious freedom, landed at modern-day Providence and was greeted by Narragansett Native Americans with "What Cheer, Netop". Netop was the Narragansett word for friend, and What Cheer was an old English greeting brought to New England by English settlers. Over time, the story of Williams' welcome was absorbed into the legend of Providence.
When the future What Cheer was founded, it was named Petersburg for Peter Britton, the settlement's founder. The What Cheer story and name was brought to Iowa by Joseph Andrews, a major and veteran of the American Civil War in 1864. Andrews was a native of Providence and offered the name of What Cheer for a post office in the town in 1866. Petersburg was officially renamed What Cheer on December 1, 1879."
CD
But as my thoughts were thus directed, I came upon the little crumb of poetic wit sent to me by Kate Scrivener and included in yesterday's post. I did a quick search of David McCord and found out what I thought was his pseudonym: "What Cheer"! This spurred me to wiki him and find related links. I looked up What Cheer but found no reference to McCord. I then Googled his real name and found that What Cheer was, in fact, the title of a volume of his poetry. Oops. (but wouldn't make a great pseudonym? Squirrel that away for safe keeping.)
But the wiki entry on What Cheer turned up this gorgeous bit of folksy numbskullery (I've found that if Wikp is good for anything it's as a kind of vast e-version of "Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable"--a treasure house of the bogus):
"What Cheer (pronounced 'WAH-cheer') is a city in Keokuk County, Iowa, United States. The population was 678 at the 2000 census.
"What Cheer is named for a Native American greeting used in the area of modern-day Rhode Island during the 1600s. In 1636, Roger Williams, the founder of Rhode Island who left Salem, Massachusetts to seek religious freedom, landed at modern-day Providence and was greeted by Narragansett Native Americans with "What Cheer, Netop". Netop was the Narragansett word for friend, and What Cheer was an old English greeting brought to New England by English settlers. Over time, the story of Williams' welcome was absorbed into the legend of Providence.
When the future What Cheer was founded, it was named Petersburg for Peter Britton, the settlement's founder. The What Cheer story and name was brought to Iowa by Joseph Andrews, a major and veteran of the American Civil War in 1864. Andrews was a native of Providence and offered the name of What Cheer for a post office in the town in 1866. Petersburg was officially renamed What Cheer on December 1, 1879."
CD
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