CARNIVAL What do the images have in common? RIO, PADSTOW, MINEHEAD, BRIDGEWATER,PEWSEY FLINTOCK...
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Transcript of CARNIVAL What do the images have in common? RIO, PADSTOW, MINEHEAD, BRIDGEWATER,PEWSEY FLINTOCK...
CARNIVAL What do the images have in common?
RIO, PADSTOW, MINEHEAD, BRIDGEWATER,PEWSEY
FLINTOCK IS BASED ON PEWSEY
Carnival can be a pagan festival to celebrate the coming of the new year
Mardi Gras is now part of the Christian calendar to celebrate excess before the period of fasting that is Lent.
A licence for misrule Pagan Spring Festivals Origin of Padstow ‘Obby ‘Oss can be traced to pre-
Christian times Padstow “morning song” is used in the play: “Unite
and Unite…” Sexual union is seen as part of the explosion of Spring
and celebrates fertility. The ‘Oss wasrebranded to represent George and the
Dragon The ‘Oss is killed to indicate the death of the old year. A continuing cycle of creation and death Celebrated in Johnny’s incantation of his forebears?
Adapted over time Christianity encourages such fertility
revels to change Linked to Church events As religion relaxed its hold on society in
Britain, paganism returned A new paganism emerged based on
shallow materialism and popular culture
Flintock changes “It’s shit on toast” “There’s a Lord of the Rings float…
There’s a George and Dragon, Men in Black II. Crown and Goose have gone X factor. Same as last year…”
“It’s the brewery’s idea” “How long’s the Flintock men been
going? / Six weeks”
Every revel must have a leader Contrast: May Queen: A pubescent
local girl; sexualised and presented to the onlookers for delectation
The Green Man – the pagan Lord of Misrule
Misrule Flintock Sponsored by business Low level copies of
modern spiritualism Transvestism and
racism Alcohol and drug
fuelled Links to 1940 and last
great threat to the Island
Rooster’s Wood Flagrant threat to
authority The individual is freed
to behave as he/she wishes
Drug and alcohol fuelled Some evidence of
mystical power shown Attempts to link to a
distant pre-history Destructive and violent
Johnny as ruler Snatches of old songs are sung – trying to
reconnect? Destroys TV before play – symbol of a
dying society (Winter) Clear terms of reference deep roots in the
festival: St George, Titania and fairies, Oden, Gog and Magog, Jack of Green.
English heritage is held up against modern England.
Johnny as destroyer of the old year P52 “Make merry. For tonight like a flaming flock of
snakes, we will storm Flintock Village and burn every house, shop and farm. We will behead the mayor. Imprison the Rotary club. Pillage the pubs! Rob the tombola! And whip into a whirlwind a roughhead army of unwashed, unstable, unhinged, friendless, penniless, baffled beserkers what haunt that Godforsaken town, and together, snout by jowl, we will rise up and ride on Salisbury, Marlborough, Devizes, Calne, until the whole plain of Wiltshire dances to the tune of our misrule.”
Such language Short, sharp imperatives 1st person plural for inclusion Triplets – “Pillage the pubs” is most important and
receives the first exclamation mark Long sentence to conclude as passion supplants
authority Use of alliteration and negative prefixes Animal imagery – “snout by jowl” Whole plain of Wiltshire – the archaic world was
small, as is Johnny’s (NB p101 Phaedra sees the inherent irony in this)
Dichotomy Carnival looks both forward and back Destruction is at heart of rebirth Life will follow death and Spring will follow Winter Johnny leads the revels and pollutes society NB from a village perspective the wish to evict Johnny
can be justified with ease: P30 Davey Johnny is a total outcast from the village but hold court in
the forest for the next generation (literally) Johnny is pained by his position as scapegoat – p97
“Okay, stop….I said stop. Enough. SILENCE” Johnny despises all that is based on business (who gets
the kickbacks?” yet is a successful “business man”.