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Author
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Comment
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Otherworld
Registered User
(10/4/05 7:14 pm)
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"and he's asked of her no leave"
"and he's asked of her no leave" or "He's asked no mans leave"
Can I just ask folk what they make of these lines which appear in many british balleds/folk songs/ tales?
I know what i think but just wondered what others think they mean
the most famous one is "Tam Lynn"
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Random
Registered User
(10/4/05 7:56 pm)
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Re: "and he's asked of her no leave"
Well, if you're just looking for the literal meaning of the phrases,
it might be a good thing to keep in mind that one of the meanings
of the noun "leave"
is "permission". So they become "he's asked of her
no permission" and "he's asked no man's permission",
which makes more sense to modern eyes.
I'm not sure if that's what you were asking, though, so apologies if 've misinterpreted you.
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Otherworld
Registered User
(10/4/05 8:15 pm)
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Re: "and he's asked of her no leave"
no your right. i wanted to keep it vague as possible to see what other folk thought and what the bigger implications were
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aka Greensleeves
Registered User
(10/6/05 12:26 pm)
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Re: "and he's asked of her no leave"
Well, I think most of the time you'd see this expression would be from stratified societies where almost everyone had *somebody* to report to (your master, your husband/father, your king, et al). And the act of not asking for leave occurs either 1.) Because the hero knows what he's about to do is dangerous, and that leave would not be granted (because you just don't risk the Crown's property on a whim, or you don't wish to implicate your liege should things end badly) or 2.) As an act of defiance--the hero believes he is outside the social order, and therefore does not need anybody's permission to go forth.
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Rosemary Lake
Registered User
(10/6/05 8:32 pm)
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implications
or 2.) As an act of defiance--the hero believes he is outside the social order, and therefore does not need anybody's permission to go forth.
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Since the OP asked for implications.... I'm afraid this one is sort of contrary to the implications I get, which are like what the other posters said. 'Leave' in the sense of 'physical absence' feels to me like a more modern sense, a bit of a clash.
Also I don't feel the term as suggesting a stratified society -- just a more polite or ceremonious one.
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