Pauline Greenhill wrote:
>
> This was sent last week and rejected (boo hoo). Trying again:
>
> On this line (if I dare enter, since I started it all), it is the
> whole question of WHY maids should shun bad company, and
> what is said
> (and mainly unsaid) in the song texts that interests me.
This is quite a question, since the contents of the songs undoubtedly
changed according to the sensibilities of the day, the cultural segment
singing it and, in the case of broadsides, the current political
influence of the church and the target market. The 18th century was a
period of disenfranchisement and commodification of women, and sexual
dallying could significantly affect market value. I believe this is
also the period in which Willa Muir speaks of the entry of metaphor into
song texts. By the Victorian era all was wrapped up in euphemism. I
think any approach to this question should start with a review of the
cultural evolution of the society, and must deal with impeccably dated texts.
-Don Duncan
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