To my shock, I heard references to St. Nick I had never realized were in the poem. I'm referring to his size. How big is St. Nick in Moore's poem???? See below all the words in red that indicate he is a small fellow, even elf-like!
When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But a miniature sleigh, and eight tiny reindeer.
With a little old driver, so lively and quick,
I knew in a moment it must be St Nick.
And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof
The prancing and pawing of each little hoof.
His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,
And the beard of his chin was as white as the snow.
He had a broad face and a little round belly,
That shook when he laughed, like a bowlful of jelly!
He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf,
And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself!
SO, why did Moore make St. Nick so short in his poem? Was it because the word little fit so smoothly into the rhythm of the piece? Did it make St. Nick sound so much more cuddly and gentle? Did Moore do this on purpose or did he even notice how many times he used the word little. How tall was Moore himself? Did he create a small St. Nick to sooth his Napoleonic complex if he, Moore, was indeed short? Clearly, research on this subject is demanded.
I could go on with questions for where there are few, there may be many ... But I will let you invent your own queries now that I have introduced you to the subject of the miniaturization of St. Nick. dun dun, dun dun, dun dun ...
Enjoy the puzzlement my friends,
Jane Marie
I remember thinking that although I was aware he was an elf, which I knew were tiny people, he never seemed small to me as a child. He seemed to me to be a grown man. Then as an adult, and revisiting all of that for my children, I was almost shocked at his "stature". I think it is all in the way we perceive him. To a child, he is a hero, and all heroes are larger than life. Kids don't notice height, or weight, as much as they notice heart. He was kind and generous, and " a right jolly old elf ', and that is larger than life to a kid. Especially a kid who is only one of 7 siblings, and dozens of cousins, and not used to getting noticed, much less treated kindly by an adult (which Santa was, no matter what his height).
ReplyDeleteThen I thought .... "Jane, you are so funny. Your mind travels in such strange and wonderful directions ! " LOL !!