Jack Sprat: Difference between revisions

"Jack Sprat"
"Jack Sprat"
	Jack Sprat and his wife by Frederick Richardson
Nursery rhyme
Published	1639
Songwriter(s)	Appeared in John Clarke's collection of sayings

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"Jack Sprat" (or "Jack Spratt") is an English language nursery rhyme. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 19479.

Rhyme

The most common modern version of the rhyme is:^[1]

Jack Sprat could eat no fat,
His wife could eat no lean.
And so between them both, you see,
They licked the platter clean.

Origins

The name "Jack Sprat" was used of people of small stature in the 16th century.^[1] This rhyme became an English proverb from at least the mid-17th century.^[1] It appeared in John Clarke's collection of sayings in 1639 in the form:^[1]

Jack will eat not fat, and Jull doth love no leane.
Yet betwixt them both they lick the dishes cleane.

Like many nursery rhymes, "Jack Sprat" may have originated as a satire on a public figure. History writer Linda Alchin suggests that Jack was King Charles I, who was left "lean" when parliament denied him taxation, but with his queen Henrietta Maria he was free to "lick the platter clean" after he dissolved parliament—Charles was a notably short man.^[2]^[3] An alternative explanation comes from the popular Robin Hood legend, applying it to the disliked King John and his greedy queen Isabella.^[2]

The saying entered the canon of English nursery rhymes when it was printed in Mother Goose's Melody around 1765, but it may have been adopted for use with children much earlier.^[1]

Notes

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Opie, I.; Opie, P. (1997) [1951]. The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes (2nd ed.). Oxford University Press. p. 238.
^ ^a ^b Alchin, Linda (2004). Secret History of Nursery Rhymes. Linda Alchin. p. 55. ISBN 9780956748621.
^ Stroud, Angus (1999). "The Accession of Charles 1". Stuart England. Routledge. ISBN 978-0415206525.

[Opie1997-1] Opie, I.; Opie, P. (1997) [1951]. The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes (2nd ed.). Oxford University Press. p. 238.

[Alchin-2] Alchin, Linda (2004). Secret History of Nursery Rhymes. Linda Alchin. p. 55. ISBN 9780956748621.

[3] Stroud, Angus (1999). "The Accession of Charles 1". Stuart England. Routledge. ISBN 978-0415206525.

[1]

[2]

[3]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
+{{short description|English nursery rhyme}}
 {{about|the nursery rhyme|the character in the works of Jasper Fforde|Jack Spratt (fictional detective)|other uses}}
+{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
 {{Infobox song
-| Name           = Jack Sprat
+| name      = Jack Sprat
-| Cover           = Jack Sprat and his wife by Frederick Richardson.jpg
+| cover     = Jack Sprat and his wife by Frederick Richardson.jpg
-| Caption         = Jack Sprat and his wife by [[Frederick Richardson]]
+| alt       =
+| caption   = Jack Sprat and his wife by [[Frederick Richardson]]
-| Alt             =
+| type      = [[Nursery rhyme]]
-| Published       = 1639
+| written   =
+| published = 1639
-| Type            = [[Nursery rhyme]]
+| writer    = Appeared in John Clarke's collection of sayings
+| composer  =
+| lyricist  =
 }}
-'''"Jack Sprat"''' (or '''"Jack Spratt"''') is an [[English language]] [[nursery rhyme]]. It has a [[Roud Folk Song Index]] number of 19479.
+"'''Jack Sprat'''" (or "'''Jack Spratt'''") is an [[English language]] [[nursery rhyme]]. It has a [[Roud Folk Song Index]] number of 19479.
-==Lyrics==
+==Rhyme==
+The most common modern version of the rhyme is:<ref name=Opie1997>{{cite book | last1 = Opie | first1 = I. | last2 = Opie | first2 = P. | title = The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes | publisher = Oxford University Press | orig-year = 1951 | edition = 2nd | year = 1997 | page = 238 | author-link1 = Iona Opie | author-link2 = Peter Opie }}</ref>
-The most common modern version of the rhyme is:
+{{poemquote|
-:Jack Sprat could eat no fat.
-:His wife could eat no lean.
+Jack Sprat could eat no fat,
+His wife could eat no lean.
-:And so between the two of them,
+And so between them both, you see,
-:They licked the platter clean.<ref name=Opie1997>{{cite book | last1 = Opie | first1 = I. | last2 = Opie | first2 = P. | title = The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes | publisher = Oxford University Press | origyear = 1951 | edition = 2nd | year = 1997 | page = 238 | author-link1 = Iona Opie | author-link2 = Peter Opie }}</ref>
+They licked the platter clean.
+}}
 ==Origins==
-The name Jack Sprat was used of people of small stature in the sixteenth century.<ref name=Opie1997/> This rhyme was an English [[proverb]] from at least the mid-seventeenth century.<ref name=Opie1997/> It appeared in John Clarke's collection of sayings in 1639 in the form:
+The name "Jack Sprat" was used of people of small stature in the 16th century.<ref name=Opie1997/> This rhyme became an English [[proverb]] from at least the mid-17th century.<ref name=Opie1997/> It appeared in John Clarke's collection of sayings in 1639 in the form:<ref name=Opie1997/>
+{{poemquote|
-:Jack will eat not fat, and Jull doth love no leane.
+Jack will eat not fat, and Jull doth love no leane.
-:Yet betwixt them both they lick the dishes cleane.<ref name=Opie1997/>
+Yet betwixt them both they lick the dishes cleane.
+}}
+Like many nursery rhymes, "Jack Sprat" may have originated as a satire on a public figure. History writer Linda Alchin suggests that Jack was [[Charles I of England|King Charles I]], who was left "lean" when parliament denied him taxation, but with his queen [[Henrietta Maria of France|Henrietta Maria]] he was free to "lick the platter clean" after he dissolved parliament—Charles was a notably short man.<ref name="Alchin">{{cite book |last1=Alchin |first1=Linda |title=Secret History of Nursery Rhymes |date=2004 |isbn=9780956748621 |page=55|publisher=Linda Alchin }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Stroud |first1=Angus |title=Stuart England |date=1999 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0415206525 |chapter=The Accession of Charles 1 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/stuartengland0000stro }}</ref> An alternative explanation comes from the popular [[Robin Hood]] legend, applying it to the disliked [[John, King of England|King John]] and his greedy queen [[Isabella of Angouleme|Isabella]].<ref name="Alchin"/>
-The saying entered the canon of English nursery rhymes when it was printed in ''[[Mother Goose's Melody]]'' around 1765, but it may have been adopted for use with children much earlier.<ref name=Opie1997/>
+The saying entered the canon of English nursery rhymes when it was printed in ''[[Mother Goose's Melody]]'' around 1765, but it may have been adopted for use with children much earlier.<ref name=Opie1997/>
-==In popular culture==
-{{reduce trivia|section|date=March 2017}}
-*The main character in Craig Hawes popular children’s production "Porridge" as the narrator and detective.o
-* In the popular novel ''[[It (novel)|It]]'' by [[Stephen King]], it is stated that Eddie Kaspbrak is aware that his coworkers call him "Jack Sprat", in reference to his skinny physique and his obese wife.
-* [[Pittsburgh Steelers]] middle linebacker of the 1970s, [[Jack Lambert (American football)|Jack Lambert]], had a nickname of "Jack Splat", based on his intense, fearless tackling.<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=The Gettysburg Times|date=Aug 3, 1990|title=Jack Splat|page=1B|author=Jim Litke|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2202&dat=19900803&id=klwlAAAAIBAJ&sjid=j-YFAAAAIBAJ&pg=6037,265618}}</ref>
-* In a scene deleted from [[Mel Brooks]]'s film ''[[Young Frankenstein]]'', the Monster encounters a cowardly English [[highwayman]] somewhat inexplicably named Jack Sprat.
-* Nurse Sprat is an obese character in ''[[The Sisters Grimm (novel series)|The Sisters Grimm]]'' series.
-* Mrs. Sprat is a [[obesity|morbidly obese]] nurse in the [[comic book]] series ''[[Fables (comic)|Fables]]''.  During Mr. Dark's invasion she defects to his side in exchange for being remade a lithe, beautiful woman, renaming herself ''Leigh Douglas''.
-* In [[Jasper Fforde]]'s novels ''[[The Big Over Easy]]'' and ''[[The Fourth Bear]]'', [[Jack Spratt (fictional detective)|Jack Spratt]] is the protagonist. Spratt is a Detective Inspector investigating crimes committed by nursery rhyme and fairy tale characters.  True to the rhyme, he hates fat, often going to great lengths to trim it from his food. Spratt has remarried, following the death of the wife mentioned in the rhyme; Jack cites it as a result of eating too much fat .
-* In G. Paul Lucas's artworks, mixed-media photomontage is used to offer a contemporary interpretation of Jack Sprat and his rotund wife. Inspired from early childhood by this Mother Goose rhyme, Lucas creates a world in which the slovenly, beer-drinking Jack is "taken care of" in more ways than one by his dissatisfied, hot-tempered wife.<ref name=lucas>http://lucaslimited.com/Home_Page.php</ref>
-* Episodes of both television series ''[[Sabrina the Teenage Witch (1996 TV series)|Sabrina the Teenage Witch]]'' and ''[[Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide]]'' use the name Jack Sprat. Sabrina uses it as a fake name when she drinks "Boy Brew" to become a guy to listen in on conversations Harvey has with his friends. The new kid janitor who tries to take over Gordy's job is named Jack Sprat in the episode "New Kid".
-* In a segment of "Vital Information" on an episode of ''[[All That]]'', one of the bits of information was, "Contrary to popular belief, Jack Sprat ''can'' eat fat. You just gotta hold Jack down and shove that fat down his throat!".
-* In the ABC series ''[[Once Upon a Time (TV series)|Once Upon a Time]]'' episode "Dreamy," there is a cameo of a man eating a carrot and his slightly chubby wife.
-* In the January 17, 2015 comic strip "[[Pearls Before Swine (comics)|Pearls Before Swine]]," the character "Rat" adds his twist on the nursery rhyme.<ref>http://www.gocomics.com/pearlsbeforeswine/2015/01/17</ref>
-* He makes an appearance in the Dreamworks animated television series ''[[The Adventures of Puss in Boots]]''.
-* A possible reference appears in the Issue #1 of ''[[Daimon Hellstrom]]'' MAX comics.
 ==Notes==
@@ Line 47: / Line 42: @@
 [[Category:Jack tales]]
+[[Category:English folk songs]]
+[[Category:English children's songs]]
+[[Category:Traditional children's songs]]
+[[Category:Songs about fictional male characters]]
 [[Category:English nursery rhymes]]
-[[Category:Roud Folk Song Index songs]]