We could not allow Puppet Month to go by at The Arcade of Arts & Arcana without wishing a very Happy Birthday to Mr. Punch who is celebrating 350 years of terrifying minors with his anger-management issues.
Here are a few Punch facts to peruse if the pictures haven’t made you run screaming from this post ~
* Punch & Judy performers are known as “Professors” and are sometimes assisted by a “Bottler” who corrals the audience, collects money and provides musical accompaniment.
* Mr. Punch is a manifestation of the mythological Trickster archetype. His current anglicized form was adapted from the sixteenth century Neapolitan character Pulcinella from the Italian Commedia Dell’ Arte.
* Diarist Samuel Pepys recorded Punch’s début in London’s Covent Garden in 1662.
* Punch regularly beats the other characters with a wooden baton known as a “slapstick”, a name now used as a collective term for a genre of physical comedy.
* The Punch & Judy Show was originally intended for adults. Contentious characters such as The Devil and Punch’s mistress Pretty Polly were sidelined in the late Victorian era as the performances were adapted for children.
* The device which creates Punch’s familiar rasp is called a swazzle.
Click the smiley for lots more information 🙂
Finally, a little treat from Stop-Motion Maestro Jan Svankmajer. Don’t have nightmares, Blogsprites!
Still enjoying the July theme Lily.
I have nominated you for yet another blog award…lol.
The Kreativ Blogger Award:
http://sherrykey.wordpress.com/2012/07/13/kreativ-blogger-award-what-did-i-win/
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Awesome post about Punch and Judy.
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Thank you, Sindy Blue!
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these always creeped me out as a kid and they still do as an immature adult 🙂 but a great post nonetheless 🙂
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Puppet fear is a sign of evolved intellect and good taste 😉
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well now…Thank you 🙂
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Somebody needs a trophy case for all these awards. Congratulations!
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Thank goodness they are virtual 😉
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Wonderful! Happy Birthday Mr. Punch!
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He’s such a wonderful role model 😉 xx
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I always found Punch and Judy to be scary – with those big eyes and Picasso noses. And they seemed to beat each other senseless for no apparent reason.
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It’s good to have puppet fear. They are truly terrifying and should be chopped into firewood! 😉
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firewood, yeah! I saw the Twilight Zone Episode the other day where a ventriloquist dummy starts taking over his owner. Get the matches!
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