Namby-pamby is a term for affected, weak, and maudlin speech/verse. It originates from the poem ''Namby Pamby'' (1725) by

Henry Carey Henry Carey may refer to: *Henry Carey, 1st Baron Hunsdon (1526–1596), politician, general, and potential illegitimate son of Henry VIII *Henry Carey, 1st Earl of Dover (1580–1666), English peer *Henry Carey, 2nd Earl of Monmouth (1596–1661), ...

. Carey wrote his poem as a satire of

Ambrose Philips Ambrose Philips (167418 June 1749) was an England, English poet and politician. He feuded with other poets of his time, resulting in Henry Carey (writer), Henry Carey bestowing the nickname "Namby-Pamby" upon him, which came to mean affected, wea ...

and published it in his ''Poems on Several Occasions''. Its first publication was ''Namby Pamby: or, a panegyrick on the new versification address'd to A----- P----'', where the A-- P-- implicated Ambrose Philips. Philips had written a series of

ode An ode (from ) is a type of lyric poetry, with its origins in Ancient Greece. Odes are elaborately structured poems praising or glorifying an event or individual, describing nature intellectually as well as emotionally. A classic ode is structu ...

s in a new prosody of seven-syllable

catalectic A catalectic line is a metrically incomplete line of verse, lacking a syllable at the end or ending with an incomplete foot. One form of catalexis is headlessness, where the unstressed syllable is dropped from the beginning of the line. A line ...

trochaic tetrameter In English poetry, trochaic tetrameter is a meter featuring lines composed of four trochaic feet. The etymology of ''trochaic'' derives from the Greek ''trokhaios'', from the verb ''trecho'', meaning ''I run''. In modern English poetry, a troc ...

and dedicated it to "all ages and characters, from Walpole ''steerer of the realm'', to Miss Pulteney in the nursery." Though once used by

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

A Midsummer Night's Dream ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' is a Comedy (drama), comedy play written by William Shakespeare in about 1595 or 1596. The play is set in Athens, and consists of several subplots that revolve around the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. One s ...

, this 3.5' line became a matter of consternation for more conservative poets, and a matter of mirth for Carey. Carey adopts Philips's choppy line-form for his

parody A parody is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satire, satirical or irony, ironic imitation. Often its subject is an Originality, original work or some aspect of it (theme/content, author, style, e ...

and latches onto the dedication to nurseries to create an apparent

nursery rhyme A nursery rhyme is a traditional poem or song for children in Britain and other European countries, but usage of the term dates only from the late 18th/early 19th century. The term Mother Goose rhymes is interchangeable with nursery rhymes. Fr ...

that is, in fact, a grand bit of nonsense and satire mixed. Philips was a figure who had become politically active and was a darling of the Whig party. He was also a target of the

Tory A Tory () is an individual who supports a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalist conservatism which upholds the established social order as it has evolved through the history of Great Britain. The To ...

satirists.

Alexander Pope Alexander Pope (21 May 1688 Old Style and New Style dates, O.S. – 30 May 1744) was an English poet, translator, and satirist of the Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment era who is considered one of the most prominent English poets of the early ...

had criticized Philips repeatedly (in ''The Guardian'' and in his '' Peri Bathos'', among other places), and praising or condemning Philips was a political as much as poetic matter in the 1720s, with the nickname also employed by

John Gay John Gay (30 June 1685 – 4 December 1732) was an English poet and dramatist and member of the Scriblerus Club. He is best remembered for ''The Beggar's Opera'' (1728), a ballad opera. The characters, including Captain Macheath and Polly Peach ...

and

Jonathan Swift Jonathan Swift (30 November 1667 – 19 October 1745) was an Anglo-Irish writer, essayist, satirist, and Anglican cleric. In 1713, he became the Dean (Christianity), dean of St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin, and was given the sobriquet "Dean Swi ...

. The poem begins with a mock-epic opening (as had Pope's ''

Rape of the Lock ''The Rape of the Lock'' is a mock-heroic narrative poem written by Alexander Pope. One of the most commonly cited examples of high burlesque, it was first published anonymously in Lintot's ''Miscellaneous Poems and Translations'' (May 1712) ...

'' and as had Dryden's ''MacFlecknoe''), calling all the muses to witness the glory of Philips's

prosodic In linguistics, prosody () is the study of elements of speech, including intonation (linguistics), intonation, stress (linguistics), stress, Rhythm (linguistics), rhythm and loudness, that occur simultaneously with individual phonetic segments: v ...

reform: :"All ye Poets of the Age! :All ye Witlings of the Stage! :Learn your Jingles to reform! :Crop your Numbers and Conform: :Let your little Verses flow :Gently, Sweetly, Row by Row: :Let the Verse the Subject fit; :Little Subject, Little Wit. :Namby-Pamby is your Guide; :Albion's Joy, Hibernia's Pride." Carey's ''Namby Pamby'' had enormous success. It became so successful that people began to call Philips himself "Namby Pamby" (as, for example, in ''

The Dunciad ''The Dunciad'' () is a landmark, mock-heroic, narrative poem by Alexander Pope published in three different versions at different times from 1728 to 1743. The poem celebrates a goddess, Dulness, and the progress of her chosen agents as they ...

'' in 1727), as he had been renamed by the poem, and Carey was referred to as "Namby Pamby Carey". The poem sold well and he used this style in various other short poems.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Namby-Pamby: or, A Panegyric on the New Versification
at Representative Poetry Online British satirical poems British poems 1725 poems English phrases

See also

References

External links