text:
The Age of Innocence
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
For other uses, see The Age of Innocence (disambiguation).
The Age of Innocence
1920 first edition dust cover
Author
Edith Wharton
Country
United States
Language
English
Publisher
D. Appleton & Company
Publication date
1920
Awards
1921 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction
The Age of Innocence The 1785 painting by Joshua Reynolds believed to have been the inspiration for the title of Wharton's novel
The Age of Innocence is Edith Wharton's twelfth novel, initially serialized in four parts in the Pictorial Review magazine in 1920, and later released by D. Appleton and Company as a book in New York and in London. It won the 1921 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, making Wharton the first woman to win the prize.[1] Though the committee initially agreed to award the prize to Sinclair Lewis, the judges rejected his Main Street on political grounds and "established Wharton as the American 'First Lady of Letters'", the irony being that the committee had awarded The Age of Innocence the prize on grounds that negated Wharton's own blatant and subtle ironies, which constitute and make the book so worthy of attention.[2] The story is set in upper-class New York City in the 1870s, during the Gilded Age. Wharton wrote the book in her 50s, after she had established herself as a strong author with publishers clamoring for her work.
Contents
[hide]
1 Background
2 Synopsis
3 Plot summary
4 Major characters
4.1 Newland Archer
4.2 Mrs. Manson Mingott
4.3 Mrs. Augusta Welland
4.4 May Welland
4.5 Ellen Olenska
5 Minor characters
6 Reception
6.1 Reception by Wharton's contemporaries
6.2 Changing perceptions of The Age of Innocence
7 Film, TV or theatrical adaptations
8 References
9 External links
Background[edit]
The Age of Innocence was a softer and more gentle work than The House of Mirth, set in the time of her childhood. Wharton wrote, "I found a momentary escape in going back to my childish memories of a long-vanished America... it was growing more and more evident that the world I had grown up in and been formed by had been destroyed in 1914."[3] Scholars and readers alike agree that The Age of Innocence is fundamentally a story which struggles to reconcile the old with the new.[4] Wharton was raised in that old world of rigid and proper New York society which features in the story. She spent her middle years, including World War I, in Europe where the devastation of new mechanized warfare was felt most deeply. As explained by Millicent Bell in the Cambridge companion to Wharton, “The Age of Innocence was composed and first read in the aftermath of Roosevelt’s death and in the immediate wake of World War I. We frame the ending remembering the multiple losses… not only the loss of Roosevelt but the destruction of the prewar world and all that Wharton valued in it."[5] With World War I, a definitive line was crossed. There would be no return to the New York of old from which Wharton was raised. And for all that can be condemned in that, there is a certain tenderness with which she crafts the world, "as if she had forgotten nothing."[5] The novel seems to connect personal innocence with the concept of national innocence. To Robert Martin, The Age of Innocence, was "fundamentally about America and its failure to fulfill its own possibilities".[6]
Synopsis[edit]
The Age of Innocence centers on an upper-class couple's impending marriage, and the introduction of the bride's cousin, plagued by scandal, whose presence threatens their happiness. Though the novel questions the assumptions and morals of 1870s New York society, it never develops into an outright condemnation of the institution. The novel is noted for Wharton's attention to detail and its accurate portrayal of how the 19th-century East Coast American upper class lived, and the social tragedy of its plot. Wharton was 58 years old at publication; she had lived in that world and had seen it change dramatically by the end of World War I.
The title is an ironic comment on the polished outward manners of New York society when compared to its inward machinations. It is believed to have been drawn from the popular 1785 painting A Little Girl by Sir Joshua Reynolds that later became known as The Age of Innocence and was widely reproduced as the commercial face of childhood in the later half of the 18th century.[7] The title, while ironic, was not as caustic as the title of the story featured in The House of Mirth, published in 1905.
Plot summary[edit]
Newland Archer, gentleman lawyer and heir to one of New York City's best families, is happily anticipating a highly desirable marriage to the sheltered and beautiful May Welland. Yet he finds reason to doubt his choice of bride after the appearance of Countess Ellen Olenska, May's exotic and beautiful 30-year-old cousin. Ellen has returned to New York from Europe after scandalously separating herself (per rumor) from a bad marriage to a Polish count. At first, Ellen's arrival and its potential taint on the reputation of his bride-to-be's family disturb Newland, but he becomes intrigued by the worldly Ellen, who flouts New York society's fastidious rules. As Newland's admiration for the countess grows, so does his doubt about marrying May, a perfect product of Old New York society; his match with May no longer seems the ideal fate he had imagined.
Ellen's decision to divorce Count Olenski causes a social crisis for the other members of her family, who are terrified of scandal and disgrace. Living apart can be tolerated, but divorce is unacceptable. To save the Welland family's reputation, a law partner of Newland asks him to dissuade Countess Olenska from divorcing the count. He succeeds, but in the process comes to care for her; afraid of falling in love with Ellen, Newland begs May to accelerate their wedding date, but she refuses.
Newland tells Ellen he loves her; Ellen corresponds, but is horrified that their love will aggrieve May. She agrees to remain in America, separated but still married to Count Olenski, only if they do not sexually consummate their love. Newland receives May's telegram agreeing to wed sooner.
Newland and May marry. He tries unsuccessfully to forget Ellen. His society marriage is loveless, and the social life he once found absorbing has become empty and joyless. Though Ellen lives in Washington and has remained distant, he is unable to cease loving her. Their paths cross while he and May are in Newport, Rhode Island. Newland discovers that Count Olenski wishes Ellen to return to him, but she has refused, although her family wants her to reconcile with her husband and return to Europe. Frustrated by her independence, the family has cut off her money, as the count had already done.
Newland desperately seeks a way to leave May and be with Ellen, obsessed with how to finally possess her. Despairing of ever making Ellen his wife, he urges her to become his mistress. Then Ellen is recalled to New York City to care for her sick grandmother, who accepts her decision to remain separated and agrees to reinstate her allowance.
Back in New York and under renewed pressure from Newland, Ellen relents and agrees to consummate their relationship. However, Newland then discovers that Ellen has decided to return to Europe. Newland makes up his mind to abandon May and follow Ellen to Europe when May announces that she and Newland are throwing a farewell party for Ellen. That night, after the party, Newland resolves to tell May he is leaving her for Ellen. She interrupts him to tell him that she learned that morning that she is pregnant; she reveals that she had told Ellen of her pregnancy two weeks earlier, despite not being sure of it at the time. The implication is that she did so because she suspected the affair. Newland guesses that this is Ellen's reason for returning to Europe. Hopelessly trapped, Newland decides not to follow Ellen, surrendering his love for the sake of his children, remaining in a loveless marriage to May.
Twenty-six years later, after May's death, Newland and his son are in Paris. The son, learning that his mother's cousin lives there, has arranged to visit Ellen in her Paris apartment. Newland is stunned at the prospect of seeing Ellen again. On arriving outside the apartment building, Newland sends up his son alone to meet Ellen, while he waits outside, watching the balcony of her apartment. Newland considers going up, but in the end decides not to; he walks back to his hotel without seeing her.
Major characters[edit]
Newland Archer[edit]
The story's protagonist is a young, popular, successful lawyer living with his mother and sister in an elegant New York City house. Since childhood, his life has been shaped by the customs and expectations of upper-class New York City society. His engagement to May Welland is one in a string of accomplishments. At the story's start, he is proud and content to dream about a traditional marriage in which he will be the husband-teacher and she the wife-student. His life changes when he meets Countess Ellen Olenska. Through his relationship with her—first friendship, then love—he begins questioning the values on which he was raised. He sees the sexual inequality of New York society and the shallowness of its customs, and struggles to balance social commitment to May with love for Ellen. He cannot find a place for their love in the intricate, judgmental web of New York society. Throughout the story's progress, he transgresses the boundaries of acceptable behavior for love of Ellen: first following her to Skuytercliff, then Boston, and finally deciding to follow her to Europe (though he later changes his mind). In the end, though, Newland Archer finds that the only place for their love is in his memories. Some scholars see Wharton most projected onto Newland's character, rather than Ellen Olenska.[8]
Mrs. Manson Mingott[edit]
The matriarch of the powerful Mingott family, and grandmother to Ellen and May. She was born Catherine Spicer, to an inconsequential family. Widowed at 28, she has ensured her family's social position through her own shrewdness and force of character. She controls her family: at Newland's request, she has May and Mrs. Welland agree to an earlier wedding date. She controls the money—withholding Ellen's living allowance (when the family is angry with Ellen), and having niece Regina Beaufort ask for money when in financial trouble. Mrs. Mingott is a maverick in the polite world of New York society, at times pushing the boundaries of acceptable behavior, such as receiving guests in her house's ground floor, though society associates that practice with women of questionable morals. Her welcoming Ellen is viewed skeptically, and she insists the rest of the family support Ellen. Mrs Mingott was inspired by Edith Wharton's own portly great-great-aunt, Mary Mason Jones.[9]
Mrs. Augusta Welland[edit]
May's mother, who has raised her daughter to be a proper society lady. May's dullness, lack of imagination, and rigid views of appropriate and inappropriate behavior are a consequence of this influence. She has effectively trained her husband, the weak-willed Mr. Welland, to conform to her desires and wishes. Mrs. Welland is the driving force behind May's commitment to a long engagement. Without her mother's influence, May might have agreed sooner to Newland's request for an earlier wedding date. After a few years of marriage, Newland Archer perceives in his mother-in-law what May will become — stolid, unimaginative, and dull. He later comes to feel the same training by May which was imposed upon Mr. Welland.
May Welland[edit]
Newland Archer's fiancée, then wife. Raised to be a perfect wife and mother, she follows and perfectly obeys all of society's customs. Mostly, she is the shallow, uninterested and uninteresting young woman that New York society requires. When they are in St. Augustine, though, May gives Newland a rare glimpse of the maturity and compassion he had previously ignored. She offers to release him from their engagement so he can marry the woman he truly loves, thinking he wants to be with Mrs. Rushworth, a married woman with whom he had recently ended a love affair. When he assures May that he loves only her, May appears to trust him, at least at first. Yet after their marriage, she suspects that Newland is Ellen's lover. Nonetheless, May pretends to be happy before society, maintaining the illusion that she and he have the perfect marriage expected of them. Her unhappiness activates her manipulative nature, and Newland does not see it until too late. To drive Ellen away from him, May tells Ellen of her pregnancy before she is certain of it. Yet there still is compassion in May, even in their loveless marriage's long years after Ellen's leaving. After May's death, Newland Archer learns she had always known of his continued love for Ellen; as May lay dying, she told their son Dallas that the children could always trust their father, Newland, because he surrendered the thing most meaningful to him out of loyalty to their marriage. May is a picture of Innocence.
Ellen Olenska[edit]
May's cousin and Mrs. Manson Mingott's granddaughter. She became a countess by marrying Polish Count Olenski, a European nobleman. Her husband was allegedly cruel and abusive, stole Ellen's fortune and had affairs with other women. When the story begins, Ellen has fled her unhappy marriage, lived in Venice with her husband's secretary, and has returned to her family in New York City. She is a free spirit who helps Newland Archer see beyond narrow New York society. She treats her maid, Nastasia, as an equal, offering the servant her own cape before sending her out on an errand. She attends parties with disreputable people such as Julius Beaufort and Mrs. Lemuel Struthers, and she invites Newland, the fiancé of her cousin May, to visit her. Ellen suffers as much as Newland from their impossible love, but she is willing to live in emotional limbo so long as they can love each other at a distance. Ellen's love for Newland drives her important decisions: dropping divorce from Count Olenski, remaining in America, and offering Newland choice of sexual consummation only once, and then disappearing from his life. Her conscience and responsibility to family complicate her love for Newland. When she learns of May's pregnancy, Ellen immediately decides to leave America, refusing Newland's attempt to follow her to Europe, and so allow cousin May to start her family with her husband Newland. The reception of Ellen's character has changed overtime. From a willful temptress to a fabulously independent woman, far ahead of her time, one thing is for certain: “Ellen has only to walk alone across a drawing room to offend its definitions.”[10]
Minor characters[edit]
Christine Nilsson: A famous singer who performs in an opera on the night of Archer and May's engagement. She sings in the same opera two years later.
Mrs. Lovell Mingott: May and Ellen's aunt, and the daughter-in-law of Mrs. Manson Mingott.
Lawrence Lefferts: A wealthy young man and a member of Archer's social circle. He is considered the expert on manners. Archer believes that Lefferts is behind New York society's rude refusal to attend the welcome dinner for Ellen. According to Archer, Lefferts makes a big show of his morality every time that his wife, Mrs. Gertrude Lefferts, suspects that he is having an affair.
Sillerton Jackson: The expert on the families that make up New York society. He knows who is related to whom, and the history of every important family. Mrs. Archer and Janey invite him over for dinner when they want to catch up on gossip.
Julius Beaufort: An arrogant banker who tries to have an affair with Ellen. He even follows her to Skuytercliff during the weekend that Archer goes to visit Ellen. His banking business eventually fails, and he leaves New York society in disgrace.
Regina Beaufort: Julius Beaufort's wife and Mrs. Manson Mingott's niece. She comes to Mrs. Mingott to ask for a loan when her husband's bank fails. Her visit causes Mrs. Mingott to have a stroke.
Janey Archer: Archer's dowdy, unmarried sister who never goes out and relies on Archer. She and her mother invite guests to dinner so they can gossip about New York society. Janey disapproves of Ellen, because she is unconventional and independent, and does not simply tolerate her husband's abuse.
Mrs. Adeline Archer: Archer's widowed mother. She does not get out to events often, but loves to hear about society. She and Janey strongly believe in the values of New York society. Like Janey, she views Ellen with suspicion. Henry van der Luyden is her cousin.
Mrs. Lemuel Struthers: A woman on the fringes of New York society. She is treated with mistrust and scorn until Ellen befriends her. She eventually becomes popular; at the end of the novel, May thinks it appropriate to go to her parties.
Count Olenski: Ellen's husband, a dissolute aristocrat who drove Ellen away with neglect and misery. At first, Count Olenski is content to let Ellen go. Later, though, he sends his secretary to America to ask Ellen to return, with the stipulation that she only appear as his hostess occasionally. He never appears in the story, but is described as half paralyzed and very pale, with thick feminine eyelashes. He constantly cheats on Ellen, and a veiled remark of Lefferts' implies that he copulates with men, too. What other abuses and infidelities he commits are unknown, but he seems quite malicious.
Sophy Jackson: Sillerton Jackson's unmarried sister. She is a friend of Janey and Mrs. Archer.
Louisa and Henry van der Luyden: Cousins of the Archers, and the most powerful people in New York society. They only mingle with people when they are trying to save society. Mrs. Archer goes to the Van der Luydens after New York society snubs Ellen. They invite her to a very exclusive party in honor of the Duke of St. Austrey to show society that they support her.
Duke of St Austrey: An English Duke. A cousin of the Van der Luydens, he is the guest of honor at a dinner party thrown by them. Both Ellen and Archer find him dull.
Nastasia: Ellen's Italian maid. She invites Archer and the other guests to wait in Ellen's sitting room.
Mr. Letterblair: The senior partner of Archer's law firm. He gives Archer the responsibility of talking Ellen out of her plans to divorce the Count.
Mrs. Rushworth: The vain, foolish married woman with whom Archer had an affair before his engagement to May.
Ned Winsett: A journalist. He and Archer are friends, despite their different social circles. He is one of the few people with whom Archer feels that he can have a meaningful conversation. Ned Winsett challenges Archer to think of things outside society.
Reggie Chivers: An important member of society. Archer spends a weekend at their country home on the Hudson River.
Marchioness Medora Manson: The aunt who took Ellen to Europe as a child. She now lives in Washington, where Ellen goes to take care of her. During a visit to New York, she tries to persuade Archer to convince Ellen that she should return to the Count. Beaufort's bank failure eventually ruins Mrs. Manson's fortune, and she moves back to Europe with Ellen.
Dr. Agathon Carver: A friend (and possible love interest) of the Marchioness Manson. Archer meets him at Ellen's house.
Du Lac aunts: Archer's elderly aunts. They offer their country home to May and Archer for their honeymoon.
Mrs. Carfry: An English acquaintance of Janey and Mrs. Archer. She invites Archer and May to a dinner party while they are on their European wedding tour.
M. Rivière: The French tutor of Mrs. Carfry's nephew. He fascinates Archer with his life story and intellect. Later, Archer learns that he was Count Olenski's secretary and the man who helped Ellen escape her marriage. The count sends him to Boston to try to convince Ellen to return to Europe.
Emerson Sillerton: An unfashionable, eccentric professor who spends his summers in Newport with the rest of society. His wife throws a party for the Blenker family that no one wants to attend.
Blenker family: The unfashionable, socially inferior family with whom the Marchioness and Ellen stay while in Newport. They are the guests of honor at Mrs Emerson Sillerton's party, and seem to be a clever, kind bunch.
Miss Blenker: The youngest daughter of the Blenker family. When Archer visits her empty family's house on the day of Mrs Sillerton's party, she is there. Archer briefly confuses her with Ellen, and she flirts with him. Through Miss Blenker, Archer learns that Ellen has gone to Boston.
Dallas Archer: May and Archer's eldest child. He takes his father on a trip to Europe. Through Dallas, Archer learns that May felt sorry for his empty heart after Ellen left.
Fanny Beaufort: Dallas Archer's fiancée and the daughter of Julius Beaufort and his second wife. She asks Dallas to visit Ellen while he and Archer are in Paris.
Reception[edit]
Reception by Wharton's contemporaries[edit]
In 1921 when The Age of Innocence was published newspapers from New York to Oregon documented the event. It appeared on recommended reading lists and was reviewed. Almost every review was positive. Advertisement like that in the Morning Oregonian quoted William Lyon Phelp's criticism that the book was "one of the best novels of the century".[11] Phelps wrote an authoritative review of the book for The New York Times where he expressed Wharton's mastery explaining, "Wharton is a writer who brings glory on the name America and this is her best book... The style is a thing of beauty from the first page to the last", emphasizing that "the appearance of such a book... by an American is a matter for public rejoicing... [it] looks like a permanent addition to literature."[12] Phelps compares Wharton to Henry James, between who there was a relationship of correspondence, which would become a trending topic in modern literary criticism of the book. More glowing reviews appeared when The Age of Innocence debuted. James Doublas wrote in the Sunday Express that "Edith Wharton [was], of course, the greatest American novelist [then] living."[13]
Two common themes appeared in the reception of the novel in America. The first was recognizing the skill with which Wharton crafted a picture of America for the reader. The second was the pride at the European reception of Edith Wharton's novel. The Omaha World Herald published a snippet promotion for Wharton's book which described the novel as "an admirable characterization of a certain kind of American life", and duly noting the massive change between old and new world which Wharton sought to capture.[14] This reaction also appeared in the Miami Herald a few months later, where it was insisted that Wharton had captured faithfully the New York social life of the 1870s, "thoroughly to be recommended as an historical document".[15] An article in The Philadelphia Inquirer documented the news that the French had requested a set of American novels for the great library at Sorbonne. This set was to include Edith Wharton's The Age of Innocence.[16] Doublas also noted the European popularity of the novel, citing both England and France as a market for the work, calling The Age of Innocence the "flower of [United States] literary effort.[13] Edith Wharton was a part of a movement which revealed the refinement and talent of the yet young America.
The only negative review of note came from on Katherine Mansfield, who proclaimed, "Does Mrs. Wharton expect us to grow warm in a gallery where the temperature is so sparkingly cool? We are looking at portraits — are we not?"[17] Mansfield's criticism claimed that the work was cold, passionless and uninteresting.
Changing perceptions of The Age of Innocence[edit]
Killoran explains in The Critical Reception of Edith Wharton, that critics have always admired Wharton's craftsmanship, her structure, and her subtle ironies, along with the description of interiors (this is owed to Wharton's time as an interior designer).[17] Over time, more stress has been placed on the portrayal of money and class distinctions in the book.[18]
Ellen Olenska and May Welland have also long been at the heart of critical discussion. Originally perceived as doing the right thing by lying about her pregnancy in order to save her marriage, May Welland is now seen as manipulative rather than sympathetically desperate. Ellen Olenska brings up questions of feminism and the general "Woman Question" in the bulk of literary criticism now written.[19]
The futility and frustration felt by Newland Archer was originally overlooked by the public. His life appears to be a game where the moves have already been set. Rather than envying the lavish lifestyle which Archer has not had to work for, his grim outlook resonates with readers today.[19]
Film, TV or theatrical adaptations[edit]
In 1924, a silent film film adaptation was released by Warner Brothers, directed by Wesley Ruggles, and starring Beverly Bayne as Countess Olenska and Elliott Dexter as Newland Archer.[20]
In 1928, Margaret Ayer Barnes adapted the novel into a play, first produced on Broadway, starring Katharine Cornell as Countess Ellen Olenska.
In 1934, a film adaptation was directed for RKO Studios by Philip Moeller (based on the 1920 novel and 1928 play), starring Irene Dunne as Countess Ellen Olenska and John Boles as Newland Archer.
In 1993, a film adaptation, The Age of Innocence, was directed by Martin Scorsese, starring Michelle Pfeiffer as Countess Ellen Olenska, Daniel Day-Lewis as Newland Archer, Winona Ryder as May Welland Archer, Richard E. Grant, and Miriam Margolyes. Ryder won a Golden Globe Award for her portrayal of May Welland Archer, and the film won an Oscar for costume design.
In 2009, the television show Gossip Girl aired an episode entitled "The Age of Dissonance," which loosely follows the plot of Wharton's novel as reimagined in the New York of the 2000s.
References[edit]
Jump up ^ Nelson, Randy F. The Almanac of American Letters. Los Altos, California: William Kaufmann, Inc., 1981: 9. ISBN 0-86576-008-X
Jump up ^ Killoran, Hellen (2001). The Critical Reception of Edith Wharton. Rochester: Camden House. p. 80.
Jump up ^ Wharton, Edith (1933). A Backward Glance: An Autobiography. New York: The Curtis Publishing Co. p. 56.
Jump up ^ Zihala, Maryann (2002). Edith Wharton’s Old New York Society. New York: University Press of America. p. 33.
^ Jump up to: a b Bell, Millicent (1995). Cambridge Companion to Wharton. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 20.
Jump up ^ Martin, Robert (Winter 2000). "Ages of Innocence: Edith Wharton, Henry James, and Nathaniel Hawthorne". Henry James Review.
Jump up ^ Postle, Martin. (2005) "The Age of Innocence" Child Portraiture in Georgian Art and Society", in Pictures of Innocence: Portraits of Children from Hogarth to Lawrence. Bath: Holburne Museum of Art, pp. 7–8. ISBN 0903679094
Jump up ^ Killoran, Hellen (2001). The Critical Reception of Edith Wharton. Rochester: Camden House. p. 90.
Jump up ^ Gray, Christopher (Jan 2, 2014). "New York Times". A Pair of Bluebloods With Blueprints Real Estate of Edith Wharton’s ‘The Age of Innocence’.
Jump up ^ Bell, Millicent (1995). The Cambridge Companion to Wharton. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 32.
Jump up ^ "The Morning Oregonian". Morning Advert. December 7, 1921.
Jump up ^ Phelps, William Lyon (October 17, 1921). "New York Times Review". As Mrs. Wharton Sees Us.
^ Jump up to: a b Doublas, James (February 27, 1921). "Wharton Novel Stirs Europe". Duluth News-Tribune.
Jump up ^ "Omaha World Herald". Books. February 20, 1921.
Jump up ^ "Miami Herald". Books for Bookites. July 24, 1921.
Jump up ^ Copeland, Joseph (June 26, 1921). "French Now Study Literature of U. S. Famous Library of the Sorbonne to Have American Books". The Philadelphia Inquirer.
^ Jump up to: a b Killoran, Hellen (2001). The Critical Reception of Edith Wharton. Rochester: Camden House. p. 93.
Jump up ^ Bell, Millecent (1995). The Cambridge Companion to Wharton. Cambridge University Press. p. 33.
^ Jump up to: a b Killoran, Hellen (1995). The Critical Reception of Edith Wharton. Rochester: Camden House.
Jump up ^ Marshall, Scott. "Edith Wharton on Film and Television: A History and Filmography." Edith Wharton Review (1996): 15–25. Washington State University. Jan. 15, 2009
External links[edit]
Wikisource has original text related to this article:
The Age of Innocence
Editions
The Age of Innocence at Project Gutenberg
The Age of Innocence at Faded Page (Canada)
The Age of Innocence (audio book) at Project Gutenberg
The Age of Innocence, 1920 first edition, scanned book via Internet Archive
Original 1920 D. Appleton edition of The Age of Innocence at Google Books
Photos of the first edition of The Age of Innocence
The Age of Innocence free ebook in PDF, PDB and LIT formats
The Age of Innocence public domain audiobook at LibriVox
Resources
The Age of Innocence at Literapedia
Adaptations
1947 Theatre Guild on the Air radio adaptation at Internet Archive
[show]
v
t
e
Pulitzer Prize for Fiction
1918–1925
His Family by Ernest Poole (1918)
The Magnificent Ambersons by Booth Tarkington (1919)
The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton (1921)
Alice Adams by Booth Tarkington (1922)
One of Ours by Willa Cather (1923)
The Able McLaughlins by Margaret Wilson (1924)
So Big by Edna Ferber (1925)
1926–1950
Arrowsmith by Sinclair Lewis (declined) (1926)
Early Autumn by Louis Bromfield (1927)
The Bridge of San Luis Rey by Thornton Wilder (1928)
Scarlet Sister Mary by Julia Peterkin (1929)
Laughing Boy by Oliver La Farge (1930)
Years of Grace by Margaret Ayer Barnes (1931)
The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck (1932)
The Store by Thomas Sigismund Stribling (1933)
Lamb in His Bosom by Caroline Pafford Miller (1934)
Now in November by Josephine Winslow Johnson (1935)
Honey in the Horn by Harold L. Davis (1936)
Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell (1937)
The Late George Apley by John Phillips Marquand (1938)
The Yearling by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings (1939)
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck (1940)
In This Our Life by Ellen Glasgow (1942)
Dragon's Teeth by Upton Sinclair (1943)
Journey in the Dark by Martin Flavin (1944)
A Bell for Adano by John Hersey (1945)
All the King's Men by Robert Penn Warren (1947)
Tales of the South Pacific by James A. Michener (1948)
Guard of Honor by James Gould Cozzens (1949)
The Way West by A. B. Guthrie Jr. (1950)
1951–1975
The Town by Conrad Richter (1951)
The Caine Mutiny by Herman Wouk (1952)
The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway (1953)
A Fable by William Faulkner (1955)
Andersonville by MacKinlay Kantor (1956)
A Death in the Family by James Agee (1958)
The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters by Robert Lewis Taylor (1959)
Advise and Consent by Allen Drury (1960)
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (1961)
The Edge of Sadness by Edwin O'Connor (1962)
The Reivers by William Faulkner (1963)
The Keepers of the House by Shirley Ann Grau (1965)
The Collected Stories of Katherine Anne Porter by Katherine Anne Porter (1966)
The Fixer by Bernard Malamud (1967)
The Confessions of Nat Turner by William Styron (1968)
House Made of Dawn by N. Scott Momaday (1969)
The Collected Stories of Jean Stafford by Jean Stafford (1970)
Angle of Repose by Wallace Stegner (1972)
The Optimist's Daughter by Eudora Welty (1973)
The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara (1975)
1976–2000
Humboldt's Gift by Saul Bellow (1976)
Elbow Room by James Alan McPherson (1978)
The Stories of John Cheever by John Cheever (1979)
The Executioner's Song by Norman Mailer (1980)
A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole (1981)
Rabbit Is Rich by John Updike (1982)
The Color Purple by Alice Walker (1983)
Ironweed by William Kennedy (1984)
Foreign Affairs by Alison Lurie (1985)
Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry (1986)
A Summons to Memphis by Peter Taylor (1987)
Beloved by Toni Morrison (1988)
Breathing Lessons by Anne Tyler (1989)
The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love by Oscar Hijuelos (1990)
Rabbit at Rest by John Updike (1991)
A Thousand Acres by Jane Smiley (1992)
A Good Scent from a Strange Mountain by Robert Olen Butler (1993)
The Shipping News by E. Annie Proulx (1994)
The Stone Diaries by Carol Shields (1995)
Independence Day by Richard Ford (1996)
Martin Dressler: The Tale of an American Dreamer by Steven Millhauser (1997)
American Pastoral by Philip Roth (1998)
The Hours by Michael Cunningham (1999)
Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri (2000)
2001–present
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon (2001)
Empire Falls by Richard Russo (2002)
Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides (2003)
The Known World by Edward P. Jones (2004)
Gilead by Marilynne Robinson (2005)
March by Geraldine Brooks (2006)
The Road by Cormac McCarthy (2007)
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Díaz (2008)
Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout (2009)
Tinkers by Paul Harding (2010)
A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan (2011)
No award given (2012)
The Orphan Master's Son by Adam Johnson (2013)
The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt (2014)
All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr (2015)
The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen (2016)
The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead (2017)
[show]
v
t
e
Works by Edith Wharton
Novels
The Touchstone (1900)
The Valley of Decision (1902)
The House of Mirth (1905)
Ethan Frome (1911) The Reef (1912) The Custom of the Country (1913)
Summer (1917) The Marne (1918)
The Age of Innocence (1920)
The Glimpses of the Moon (1922)
Old New York (1924)
The Buccaneers (1938)
Short story collections
The Greater Inclination (1899)
Crucial Instances (1901)
Nonfiction
Fighting France: From Dunkerque to Belfort (1918)
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Age_of_Innocence&oldid=809810869"
Categories:
1920 American novels
Pulitzer Prize for the Novel-winning works
Novels by Edith Wharton
American novels adapted into films
Novels set in New York City
1870s in fiction
D. Appleton & Company books
Novels adapted into television programs
Hidden categories:
Use mdy dates from July 2011
Articles with Project Gutenberg links
Articles with LibriVox links
Navigation menu
Personal tools
Not logged in
Talk
Contributions
Create account
Log in
Namespaces
Article
Talk
Variants
Views
Read
Edit
View history
More
Search
Navigation
Main page
Contents
Featured content
Current events
Random article
Donate to Wikipedia
Wikipedia store
Interaction
Help
About Wikipedia
Community portal
Recent changes
Contact page
Tools
What links here
Related changes
Upload file
Special pages
Permanent link
Page information
Wikidata item
Cite this page
Print/export
Create a book
Download as PDF
Printable version
In other projects
Wikimedia Commons
Languages
العربية
Español
فارسی
Français
한국어
Italiano
Nederlands
Português
Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски
Türkçe
中文
Edit links
This page was last edited on 11 November 2017, at 15:53.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.
Privacy policy
About Wikipedia
Disclaimers
Contact Wikipedia
Developers
Cookie statement
Mobile view
Enable previews

values: mw-page-base noprint

values: mw-head-base noprint

values: firstHeading firstHeading en

values: siteSub noprint

values: jump-to-nav mw-jump

attrs: role class

values:
note
hatnote navigation-not-searchable

value: caption

values: Age of Innocence (1st ed dust jacket).jpg

values:
/wiki/D._Appleton_and_Company
mw-redirect
D. Appleton and Company

values:
/wiki/Christine_Nilsson
mw-redirect
Christine Nilsson

values: Edit section: Reception by Wharton's contemporaries

values: Edit section: Changing perceptions of The Age of Innocence

values:
/wiki/The_Woman_Question
mw-redirect
The Woman Question

values: Edit section: Film, TV or theatrical adaptations

values:
/wiki/Warner_Brothers
mw-redirect
Warner Brothers

values:
/wiki/Broadway_(theatre)
mw-redirect
Broadway (theatre)

values:
/wiki/RKO_Studios
mw-redirect
RKO Studios

values:
/wiki/Holburne_Museum_of_Art
mw-redirect
Holburne Museum of Art

values:
/wiki/Peter_Matthew_Hillsman_Taylor
mw-redirect
Peter Matthew Hillsman Taylor

values: nowraplinks hlist collapsible autocollapse navbox-inner

values:
/wiki/Old_New_York_(novel)
mw-redirect
Old New York (novel)

values: nowraplinks collapsible autocollapse navbox-inner

values: Category:Pulitzer Prize for the Novel-winning works

values: Category:American novels adapted into films

values: Category:Novels adapted into television programs

values: Category:Articles with Project Gutenberg links

values: Discussion about edits from this IP address [ctrl-alt-n]

values: A list of edits made from this IP address [ctrl-alt-y]

values: You are encouraged to create an account and log in; however, it is not mandatory

values:
/wiki/The_Age_of_Innocence
View the content page [ctrl-alt-c]
c

values: Find background information on current events

values:
/wiki/Special:Random
Load a random article [ctrl-alt-x]
x

values: portal navigation p-navigation p-navigation-label

values: Guidance on how to use and edit Wikipedia

values: About the project, what you can do, where to find things

values: A list of recent changes in the wiki [ctrl-alt-r]

values: portal navigation p-interaction p-interaction-label

values: List of all English Wikipedia pages containing links to this page [ctrl-alt-j]

values: Recent changes in pages linked from this page [ctrl-alt-k]

values:
/wiki/Wikipedia:File_Upload_Wizard
Upload files [ctrl-alt-u]
u

values: A list of all special pages [ctrl-alt-q]

values: Permanent link to this revision of the page

values: Link to connected data repository item [ctrl-alt-g]

values: Printable version of this page [ctrl-alt-p]

values:
uls-settings-trigger
Language settings
0
button
true

values: عصر البراءة (رواية) – Arabic

values: La edad de la inocencia (novela) – Spanish

values: عصر بی‌گناهی – Persian

values: Le Temps de l'innocence (roman) – French

values: 순수의 시대 (소설) – Korean

values: L'età dell'innocenza (romanzo) – Italian

values: mediawiki ltr sitedir-ltr mw-hide-empty-elt ns-0 ns-subject page-The_Age_of_Innocence rootpage-The_Age_of_Innocence skin-vector action-view


text:
Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
This article possibly contains original research. Please improve it by verifying the claims made and adding inline citations. Statements consisting only of original research should be removed. (August 2011) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)
World War I poster of the United States
Now I lay me down to sleep is a classic children's bedtime prayer from the 18th century.
Contents
[hide]
1 Text
2 Other versions
3 In popular culture
4 References
Text[edit]
Perhaps the earliest version was written by Joseph Addison in an essay appearing in The Spectator[citation needed]on 8th March 1711. It says:[citation needed]
When I lay me down to Sleep,
I recommend my self to His care;
when I awake, I give my self up to His Direction,
Amen.
A later version printed in The New England Primer goes:
Now I lay me down to sleep,
I pray the Lord my soul to keep,
If I should die before I 'wake,
I pray the Lord my soul to take.[1]
Other versions[edit]
Now I lay me down to sleep,
I pray the Lord my soul to keep,
His Love to guard me through the night,
And wake me in the morning's light.[2]
Now I lay me down to sleep,
I pray the Lord my soul to keep.
May the angels watch me through the night,
and keep me in their blessed sight.
Amen
Lord I lay me down to sleep,
I pray the Lord my soul to keep,
thy angels watch me through the night,
And keep me safe till morning's light.[2]
Now I lay me down to sleep,
I pray the Lord my soul to keep.
Angels watch me through the night,
And wake me with the morning light.
Amen[3]
Now I lay me down to sleep,
I pray the Lord my soul to keep.
Guide me through the starry night,
Wake me when the sun shines bright.
Amen
Now I lay me down to sleep,
I pray the Lord my soul to keep.
Guide me safely through the night,
Wake me with the morning light.
Amen
Now I lay me down to sleep.
I pray the Lord my soul to keep.
When in the morning light I wake,
Show me the path of love to take.
Amen
(Additional third verse)
If I should live another day
I pray the Lord to guide my way.
Amen
Now I lay me down to sleep.
I pray the Lord my soul to keep.
For if I die before I wake,
that's one less test I have to take.
It is sometimes combined with the "Black Paternoster", one version of which goes:
Matthew, Mark, Luke and John,
Bless the bed that I lie on.
Four corners to my bed,
Four angels round my head;
One to watch and one to pray
And two to bear my soul away.[4]
In popular culture[edit]
Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep (organization) is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization that offers complimentary remembrance photography to families grieving after a stillbirth or the death of an infant.[5]
If I Die Before I Wake is the title of a 1938 crime novel written by Sherwood King which served as the basis of the Orson Welles film The Lady from Shanghai.[6]
Shel Silverstein parodied the prayer in his 1981 book A Light in the Attic with a poem titled Prayer of the Selfish Child.
Aerosmith paraphrases the prayer as "Now I lay me down to sleep, goodnight/Pray the Lord my soul to keep tonight" in their song "Darkness".
Frankie Knuckles and Jamie Principle open their classic Chicago House track "Baby Wants to Ride" with the first part of this prayer.[7]
Sky Ferreira paraphrases the lyric as "and laid awake,/Pray the Lord my soul to take" in her song "Sad Dream"[8]
Kid Cudi paraphrases the lyric as "And if I die before I wake,/I pray the Lord my soul to take" in his song "The Prayer"[9]
Kanye West paraphrases the lyric as "As I lay me down to sleep" in his song Only One[10]
Metallica paraphrases the lyric as "Now I lay me down to sleep/I pray the lord my soul to keep/And if I die before I wake/Pray the lord my soul to take" in their song "Enter Sandman"[11]
Megadeth paraphrases the lyric as "And if I die before I wake/Pray the lord my soul to take" in their song "Go to Hell"[12]
Aloe Blacc paraphrases the lyric as " And Now I lay me down to sleep/I pray the Lord my soul to keep/And if I die before I wake/there must be a mistake, Lord take me back" in his song "Take Me Back"[13]
TobyMac paraphrases the lyric as "If I should die before I wake/I pray the Lord my soul to take/And if I should get a peaceful sleep/I wanna wake at my Father's feet" in his song "Captured"[14]
The Civil Wars paraphrase the lyric as "Still can't lay me down to sleep/If I die before I wake/I know the Lord my soul won't take" in their song Barton Hollow.[15]
In the 1984 slasher movie A Nightmare on Elm Street Nancy Thompson, played by Heather Langenkamp, recites the prayer before going to sleep to confront Freddy Krueger in the Dream World.
A little girl recites the prayer to keep herself safe from the monster she sees in the 1986 slasher movie Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives.
Sir Psycho Sexy by Red Hot Chili Peppers uses an alternate version of the rhyme.[16]
Christina Aguilera paraphrases the lyrics as "Now I lay me down to sleep/I pray we'll meet inside my dreams/If I should go before I wake/I pray our souls will join again" in her song "Little Dreamer".[17]
In Michael Grant's book, "Plague", Dekka recites this prayer with Hunter in his last moments before Sam euthanises him with a deadly beam of light because of the "greenies", parasites which were eating Hunter alive.
Snoop Dogg interpolates the whole prayer in his song "Murder Was the Case" from his debut album, Doggystyle.[18]
HIM paraphrases the lyrics with some different words in their song "Buried Alive By Love, "If I should die before I wake/Pray no one my soul to take/If I wake before I die,/Rescue me with your smile" from their album Love Metal.[19]
Frank Wilson samples part of the prayer in his Northern Soul song "Do I Love You, Indeed I Do" .[20]
Notorious B.I.G. paraphrases the lyrics as "Now I lay me down to sleep/Pray the Lord my soul to keep/If I should die before I wake/I pray the Lord my soul to take" in the title song of his album "Ready To Die".
Dalton Trumbo uses the sentence "Now I lay me down to sleep" in his book Johnny Got His Gun, in both sections Book I: The Dead and Book II: The Living.
2Pac paraphrases the lyrics as "Now I lay me down to sleep/I pray the Lord my guns to keep/If I die before I wake/I pray the Lord my soul to take" in the song "When Thugz Cry", which was scrapped from the album The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory and put at the end on his demo album The Don Killuminati: The 3 Day Theory. The song later appears on one of 2Pac's posthumous albums; Until The End of Time, and also featured in his posthumous documentary film, Tupac: Resurrection.
G-Eazy paraphrases the lyrics as "Yeah, lonely nights I laid awake / Pray to lord, my soul to take" in his song "Me, Myself & I".[21]
The song "Crazy World" from the 1991 album "House of Exile" by Lucky Dube includes the entire prayer.[22]
OPM uses a variation of the prayer on their 2000 album Menace to Sobriety for "Heaven Is A Halfpipe" as "If I die before I wake at least in heaven I can skate" [23]
Pirates of the Mississippi uses a variation of the prayer on their song "Feed Jake," a country hit in 1991. During the first part of each chorus—as "Now I lay me down to sleep / I pray the Lord my soul to keep / If I die before I wake/ Feed Jake, he's been a good dog"—an elderly man express hope that if something should happen to him and his dog (the titular Jake) survives him, Jake will be taken care of.
Sweethearts of the Rodeo use the prayer in the bridge of their song "Midnight Girl/Sunset Town," a country hit in 1987, to express a young woman's restlessness of living in a small, backroads town with old-fashioned values ("Now I lay me down to sleep/I pray the Lord my soul to keep/If I should die 'fore the world turns 'round/Lord, don't leave me in this one horse town ... ").
In The Simpsons episode "Lisa's First Word," a 3-year-old Bart goes to bed in a new-but-poorly designed clown bed created by Bart's father, Homer. As a frightened Bart tries to go to sleep, he imagines the headboard—one that because of its poor design resembles an evil clown—coming to life and with evil cackling reciting the line, "If you should die before you wake ... ".
In the 1940 MGM animated short Puss Gets the Boot, Jinx the mouse recites the prayer as he gets caught by Jasper the cat after his scheme fails.
Ernest Hemingway wrote a short story titled "Now I Lay Me".
In the 2001 Survival horror game Silent Hill 2, the prayer is backmasked into one of its ending songs "The Reverse Will" [24]
The character of Stuart Larkin, played by Michael McDonald (comedian) on Mad TV, recites the prayer near the beginning of a sketch referred to as "Stuart and the Tooth Fairy".[25][26]
Belgica Wave Party uses the New England Primer version of the rhyme in their song "The Wave".
blackbear references the poem in his song "do re mi"
Ice Nine Kills uses “Now I lay her down to sleep Her soul is mine, and mine to keep If she dies before she wakes, I'll find another soul to take” as an alternative version in their song “Communion of the Cursed”
References[edit]
Jump up ^ The New England Primer, 1750 ed., p. 28.
^ Jump up to: a b Debbie Trafton O'Neal; Nancy Munger (1994), Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep: Action Prayers, Poems, and Songs for Bedtime, Augsburg Books, p. 6, ISBN 978-0-8066-2602-4
Jump up ^ James Limburg (2006), Encountering Ecclesiastes: a book for our time, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, p. 103, ISBN 978-0-8028-3047-0
Jump up ^ I. Opie and P. Opie, The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1951, 2nd edn., 1997), ISBN 0-19-860088-7, pp. 357–60.
Jump up ^ "Homepage - Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep". Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep.
Jump up ^ "The Lady from Shanghai (1948) - Articles - TCM.com". Turner Classic Movies.
Jump up ^ Frankie Knuckles - Baby wants to ride. 30 May 2008 – via YouTube.
Jump up ^ Sky Ferreira - Sad Dream (Official Video). 30 October 2012 – via YouTube.
Jump up ^ "Kid Cudi - The Prayer Lyrics - MetroLyrics".
Jump up ^ "As I lay me down to sleep / I hear her speak to me". Genius.
Jump up ^ "ENTER SANDMAN LYRICS - METALLICA".
Jump up ^ Megadeth - Go To Hell. 12 March 2009 – via YouTube.
Jump up ^ "ALOE BLACC - TAKE ME BACK LYRICS". SongLyrics.com.
Jump up ^ "CAPTURED LYRICS - TOBYMAC".
Jump up ^ "The Civil Wars - Barton Hollow Lyrics - MetroLyrics".
Jump up ^ "Red Hot Chili Peppers - Sir Psycho Sexy Lyrics - SongMeanings". SongMeanings.
Jump up ^ "Christina Aguilera - Little Dreamer Lyrics - MetroLyrics".
Jump up ^ "Now I lay me down to sleep / I pray the Lord, my soul to keep / If I should die, before I wake / I pray the Lord, my soul to take". Genius.
Jump up ^ "Him - Buried Alive By Love Lyrics - MetroLyrics".
Jump up ^ "Do I Love You (Indeed I Do)". AllMusic.
Jump up ^ "Yeah, lonely nights I laid awake / Pray to lord, my soul to take". Genius.
Jump up ^ LUCKY DUBE - Crazy World. 14 December 2012 – via YouTube.
Jump up ^ "OPM - Heaven Is A Halfpipe".
Jump up ^ Silent Hill 2 OST - 'The Reverse Will' (Backmasked). 6 November 2009 – via YouTube.
Jump up ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HIDJDkbutGk
Jump up ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pPQNi-paxDk
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Now_I_Lay_Me_Down_to_Sleep&oldid=815974569"
Categories:
Christian prayer
Hidden categories:
Articles that may contain original research from August 2011
All articles that may contain original research
All articles with unsourced statements
Articles with unsourced statements from November 2017
Navigation menu
Personal tools
Not logged in
Talk
Contributions
Create account
Log in
Namespaces
Article
Talk
Variants
Views
Read
Edit
View history
More
Search
Navigation
Main page
Contents
Featured content
Current events
Random article
Donate to Wikipedia
Wikipedia store
Interaction
Help
About Wikipedia
Community portal
Recent changes
Contact page
Tools
What links here
Related changes
Upload file
Special pages
Permanent link
Page information
Wikidata item
Cite this page
Print/export
Create a book
Download as PDF
Printable version
Languages
Add links
This page was last edited on 18 December 2017, at 12:19.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.
Privacy policy
About Wikipedia
Disclaimers
Contact Wikipedia
Developers
Cookie statement
Mobile view
Enable previews

key: html

type: local

value: div

attrs: id class

values: mw-page-base noprint

values: mw-head-base noprint

value: a

attrs: id class lang

values: firstHeading firstHeading en

values: siteSub noprint

values: jump-to-nav mw-jump

value: img

attrs: alt src width height srcset data-file-width data-file-height

value: td

attrs: href title

value: b

attrs: class href

value: span

value: i

value: small

value: tr

values: plainlinks metadata ambox ambox-content ambox-Original_research

attrs: alt src width height class srcset data-file-width data-file-height

values: This claim needs references to reliable sources. (November 2017)

values:
noprint Inline-Template Template-Fact
white-space:nowrap;

values:
/wiki/Black_Paternoster
mw-redirect
Black Paternoster

values:
/wiki/Not-for-profit_organization
mw-redirect
Not-for-profit organization

values:
/wiki/Crime_novel
mw-redirect
Crime novel

values:
/wiki/Go_to_Hell_(Megadeth_song)
mw-redirect
Go to Hell (Megadeth song)

values:
/wiki/Sir_Psycho_Sexy
mw-redirect
Sir Psycho Sexy

values:
/wiki/Notorious_B.I.G.
mw-redirect
Notorious B.I.G.

values:
/wiki/Ready_To_Die
mw-redirect
Ready To Die

values: Until the End of Time (Tupac Shakur album)

values: Me, Myself & I (G-Eazy and Bebe Rexha song)

values:
/wiki/Heaven_Is_A_Halfpipe
mw-redirect
Heaven Is A Halfpipe

values: Belgica Wave Party (page does not exist)

values: International Standard Book Number (identifier)

values:
nofollow
external text
http://www.nowilaymedowntosleep.org

values:
nofollow
external text
https://genius.com/4649639

values:
nofollow
external text
http://rap.genius.com/192368

values:
nofollow
external text
https://genius.com/7971951

values: -moz-column-width: 30em; -webkit-column-width: 30em; column-width: 30em; list-style-type: decimal;

values: Category:Articles that may contain original research from August 2011

values: Category:All articles that may contain original research

values: Category:All articles with unsourced statements

values: Category:Articles with unsourced statements from November 2017

values: Discussion about edits from this IP address [ctrl-alt-n]

values: A list of edits made from this IP address [ctrl-alt-y]

values: You are encouraged to create an account and log in; however, it is not mandatory

values: You're encouraged to log in; however, it's not mandatory. [ctrl-alt-o]

values:
/wiki/Now_I_Lay_Me_Down_to_Sleep
View the content page [ctrl-alt-c]
c

values: Discussion about the content page [ctrl-alt-t]

values: p-namespaces navigation vectorTabs p-namespaces-label

values:
p-variants
navigation
vectorMenu emptyPortlet
p-variants-label

values: Past revisions of this page [ctrl-alt-h]

values: p-views navigation vectorTabs p-views-label

values:
p-cactions
navigation
vectorMenu emptyPortlet
p-cactions-label

values:
mw-wiki-logo
/wiki/Main_Page
Visit the main page

values:
/wiki/Main_Page
Visit the main page [ctrl-alt-z]
z

values: Featured content – the best of Wikipedia

values: Find background information on current events

values:
/wiki/Special:Random
Load a random article [ctrl-alt-x]
x

values: portal navigation p-navigation p-navigation-label

values: /static/images/wikimedia-button-1.5x.png 1.5x, /static/images/wikimedia-button-2x.png 2x

values: /static/images/poweredby_mediawiki_132x47.png 1.5x, /static/images/poweredby_mediawiki_176x62.png 2x

values:
suggestions
display: none; font-size: 13px;

values: mediawiki ltr sitedir-ltr mw-hide-empty-elt ns-0 ns-subject page-Now_I_Lay_Me_Down_to_Sleep rootpage-Now_I_Lay_Me_Down_to_Sleep skin-vector action-view


text:
Get Happy (song)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to navigation Jump to search
"Get Happy"
Song by Ruth Etting
Songwriter(s)
Ted Koehler
Composer(s)
Harold Arlen
"Get Happy" is a song composed by Harold Arlen, with lyrics written by Ted Koehler. It echoes themes of a Christian evangelical revivalist meeting song.
It was the first song they wrote together, and was introduced by Ruth Etting[citation needed] in The Nine-Fifteen Revue in 1930.[1]
In pop culture[edit]
Influenced by the Get Happy tradition, it is most associated with Judy Garland, who performed it in her last MGM film Summer Stock (1950) and in live concert performances throughout the rest of her life. The versions from Summer Stock finished at #61 in AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs survey of top tunes in American cinema. Garland sang this song with Barbra Streisand in a mash-up that also included "Happy Days Are Here Again" on The Judy Garland Show in 1963.[2]
In the 2010 Glee episode "Duets", Lea Michele and Chris Colfer (as their characters Rachel Berry and Kurt Hummel) performed the song as part of the same mash-up that Streisand and Garland sang.
In the 1970 film The Boys in the Band, now considered a landmark of queer cinema, the character Michael sings a line from the song before remarking, "What's more boring than a queen doing a Judy Garland imitation?"
In the second season premiere of Twin Peaks, Leland Palmer sings the song at a family dinner.
In the season seven episode of House, "Bombshells", Cuddy has bizarre dreams after finding blood in her urine. In the dream she has during her surgery, she and House are singing "Get Happy".[3]
An instrumental, hot jazz arrangement of the song, performed by Abe Lyman's Brunswick Recording Orchestra, served as the original theme music for Warner Bros.' Merrie Melodies cartoons from 1931 to 1933.
The song lyrics incorporate the title phrase in the longer phrase "Come on, get happy", but it should not be confused with the Partridge Family theme song "C'mon Get Happy".
In the Comedy Central show Broad City, season 2 episode 5 titled Hashtag Fomo, actress Abbi Jacobson sings "Get Happy" when she becomes intoxicated and turns into her alter ego "Val."
Emily Blunt sings "Get Happy" in the October 15, 2016 episode of Saturday Night Live.
Notable recordings[edit]
Nat Shilkret (1933)
Benny Goodman (1936)
Art Tatum (1939)
Red Norvo and his Selected Sextet (including Charlie Parker) (1945)
Harry James with vocals by Doris Day – Young Man with a Horn (Columbia, 1950)
Bud Powell – Jazz Giant (1950)
Frankie Laine (1951)
Frank Sinatra – Swing Easy! (1954)
Bing Crosby recorded the song in 1955[4] for use on his radio show and it was subsequently included in the box set The Bing Crosby CBS Radio Recordings (1954-56) issued by Mosaic Records (catalog MD7-245) in 2009.[5]
Eddie Costa – Eddie Costa Vinnie Burke Trio (1956)
Ella Fitzgerald – Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Harold Arlen Songbook (1961)
Judy Garland with Barbra Streisand (medley with "Happy Days Are Here Again") – The Judy Garland Show (1963), later released on Streisand's Duets (2002)
Tony Bennett – Yesterday I Heard the Rain (1968)
Dick Hyman – Blues In The Night: Dick Hyman Plays Harold Arlen (1990)
June Christy – Day Dreams (1995), A Friendly Session, Vol. 3 (1998), Cool Christy (2002)
Jane Horrocks – Little Voice (1998)
Brad Mehldau – Anything Goes (2004)
Rufus Wainwright – Rufus Does Judy at Carnegie Hall (2007)
Johnny Dankworth – The Best Of Johnny Dankworth (2008)
Lea Michele and Chris Colfer (medley with "Happy Days Are Here Again") – Glee (2010)
Hugh Laurie and Lisa Edelstein – House "Bombshells" (2011)[3]
Billy Porter and Cyndi Lauper (medley with "Happy Days Are Here Again") - Billy’s Back on Broadway (2014)
Rebecca Ferguson – Lady Sings the Blues (2015)
Smoking Popes — Into the Agony (2018)
References[edit]
Jump up ^ Arlen, Samuel. "Harold Arlen – Biography – A Dream to Perform". Harold Arlen. Retrieved 8 March 2011.
Jump up ^ Lowe, Lindsay (4 October 2013). "Flashback Friday: Barbra Streisand's Iconic Duet with Judy Garland". Parade. Retrieved 4 August 2017.
^ Jump up to: a b Hugh Laurie as Gregory House and Lisa Edelstein as Lisa Cuddy (March 7, 2011). "Bombshells". House. Season 7. Episode 15. FOX.
Jump up ^ "A Bing Crosby Discography". BING magazine. International Club Crosby. Retrieved December 3, 2017.
Jump up ^ "allmusic.com". allmusic.com. Retrieved December 3, 2017.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Get_Happy_(song)&oldid=863690905"
Categories:
Songs with music by Harold Arlen
Pop standards
Songs with lyrics by Ted Koehler
1930 songs
Judy Garland songs
Benny Goodman songs
Hidden categories:
All articles with unsourced statements
Articles with unsourced statements from January 2018
Navigation menu
Personal tools
Not logged in
Talk
Contributions
Create account
Log in
Namespaces
Article
Talk
Variants
Views
Read
Edit
View history
More
Search
Navigation
Main page
Contents
Featured content
Current events
Random article
Donate to Wikipedia
Wikipedia store
Interaction
Help
About Wikipedia
Community portal
Recent changes
Contact page
Tools
What links here
Related changes
Upload file
Special pages
Permanent link
Page information
Wikidata item
Cite this page
Print/export
Create a book
Download as PDF
Printable version
Languages
Deutsch
Español
Français
Italiano
Polski
Edit links
This page was last edited on 12 October 2018, at 11:22 (UTC).
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.
Privacy policy
About Wikipedia
Disclaimers
Contact Wikipedia
Developers
Cookie statement
Mobile view
Enable previews

values: mw-page-base noprint

values: mw-head-base noprint

values: firstHeading firstHeading en

values: siteSub noprint

values: mw-jump-link #mw-head

values: mw-jump-link #p-search

value: th

attrs: colspan class style

values: padding-left:0.1em; padding-right:0.1em; color:#595959; border:1px solid #DDD;

values: This claim needs references to reliable sources. (January 2018)

values:
noprint Inline-Template Template-Fact
margin-left:0.1em; white-space:nowrap;

values:
/wiki/The_Boys_in_the_Band_(film)
mw-redirect
The Boys in the Band (film)

values:
/wiki/Queer_cinema
mw-redirect
Queer cinema

values:
/wiki/Nat_Shilkret
mw-redirect
Nat Shilkret

values:
/wiki/Johnny_Dankworth
mw-redirect
Johnny Dankworth

values: Lady Sings the Blues (Rebecca Ferguson album)

values:
nofollow
external text
http://www.haroldarlen.com/bio-3.html

values:
reflist mw-references-wrap
list-style-type: decimal;

values: Category:Songs with music by Harold Arlen

values: Category:Songs with lyrics by Ted Koehler

values: Category:All articles with unsourced statements

values: Category:Articles with unsourced statements from January 2018

values: Discussion about edits from this IP address [ctrl-alt-n]

values: A list of edits made from this IP address [ctrl-alt-y]

values: You are encouraged to create an account and log in; however, it is not mandatory

values: You're encouraged to log in; however, it's not mandatory. [ctrl-alt-o]

values:
/wiki/Get_Happy_(song)
View the content page [ctrl-alt-c]
c

values: Guidance on how to use and edit Wikipedia

values: About the project, what you can do, where to find things

values: A list of recent changes in the wiki [ctrl-alt-r]

values: portal navigation p-interaction p-interaction-label

values: List of all English Wikipedia pages containing links to this page [ctrl-alt-j]

values: Recent changes in pages linked from this page [ctrl-alt-k]

values:
/wiki/Wikipedia:File_Upload_Wizard
Upload files [ctrl-alt-u]
u

values: A list of all special pages [ctrl-alt-q]

values: Permanent link to this revision of the page

values: Link to connected data repository item [ctrl-alt-g]

values: Printable version of this page [ctrl-alt-p]

values:
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Get_Happy
Get Happy – German
de
de
interlanguage-link-target

values:
https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Get_Happy
Get Happy – French
fr
fr
interlanguage-link-target

values:
https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Get_Happy
Get Happy – Polish
pl
pl
interlanguage-link-target

values: mediawiki ltr sitedir-ltr mw-hide-empty-elt ns-0 ns-subject page-Get_Happy_song rootpage-Get_Happy_song skin-vector action-view


text:
Mr. Potter
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
For other people named Mr. Potter, see Potter (surname).
This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (November 2013) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)
Henry F. Potter
It's a Wonderful Life (1946) character
Henry F. Potter (played by Lionel Barrymore)
Henry F. Potter (commonly referred to as "Mr. Potter" or just "Potter") is a fictional character and the main antagonist in the 1946 Frank Capra film It's a Wonderful Life. He occupies slot #6 on the American Film Institute's list of the 50 Greatest Villains in American film history (in its 2003 list entitled AFI's 100 Years... 100 Heroes and Villains). Mr. Potter was portrayed by veteran actor Lionel Barrymore.
Contents
[hide]
1 Background
2 Story line
3 References
4 External links
Background[edit]
Both Dan Duryea and Charles Bickford were considered for the role of "Potter".[1] In 1931 Lionel Barrymore won an Academy Award for Best Actor in A Free Soul but is probably best known for his role as Henry Potter. A wheelchair-user due to a hip injury and severe arthritis, Barrymore played Potter as confined to a wheelchair due to polio. His wheelchair is pushed in all scenes by a wordless assistant (played by Frank Hagney). His performance is listed in the sixth slot on the American Film Institute’s list of the 50 Greatest Villains in the history of American cinema.[2] Richard Corliss of Time magazine described Barrymore's portrayal as, "... Scrooge, the Grinch and Simon Legree in one craggy, crabby package".[3]
In a 2007 article in The Guardian, Graham Fuller quotes an FBI internal memo from 1947 that states the film "represented a rather obvious attempt to discredit bankers by casting Lionel Barrymore as a 'scrooge-type' [sic] so that he would be the most hated man in the picture. This...is a common trick used by communists."[4]
The Simpsons creator Matt Groening drew inspiration from Mr. Potter, as well as his high school teacher Mr. Bailey,[5] for the character Mr. Burns.[6]
Barrymore's Mr. Potter inspired the voice of mad scientist Simon Bar Sinister in the Underdog cartoon series.[7]
Story line[edit]
Mr. Potter owns the bank in the fictitious Bedford Falls, as well as most of its businesses; the primary exception is the Bailey Building & Loan. The Building & Loan is a constant source of aggravation for Mr. Potter, due to his inability to gain control of it. As well, the Building & Loan's willingness to offer mortgages that the bank will not means many of the townsfolk leave Potter's rental properties (at times referred to as slums) in favor of homeownership under the auspices of the Building & Loan.
Nevertheless, Mr. Potter is a large stockholder of the Building & Loan and has a seat on its board, giving him the ability to exert some influence on its operations. He mainly uses this influence to make several attempts to shut it down. He moves to dissolve the Building & Loan after the death of Peter Bailey, but after George Bailey makes an impassioned speech about the necessity of the Building & Loan in keeping Mr. Potter's activities in check, the board votes down the motion on the condition that George stay and run the company. During a bank run, he calls the bank's loan to the Building & Loan (ostensibly to provide his bank with cash, but also to empty the Building & Loan's coffers) and then offers its shareholders fifty cents on the dollar for their shares (which would make him the company's majority shareholder.) This attempt is also thwarted when George convinces the Building & Loan shareholders to take only what they need, instead of demanding their entire stake at once, and he and his new wife Mary use their honeymoon savings to keep the Building & Loan open and solvent. Finally, Mr. Potter offers George a job working directly for him, managing his affairs, at an extremely generous salary, and hints at the possibility of travel outside Bedford Falls, which George has always wanted to do and never has. George rejects the offer after Mr. Potter suggests that it would mean the end of the Building & Loan.
Later, with World War II over and George's younger brother Harry Bailey scheduled to come home as a war hero, Mr. Potter encounters George's Uncle Billy at the bank, where Uncle Billy is making a deposit of $8,000 in cash. Gloating over the success story that the Baileys have become, Uncle Billy accidentally stuffs the cash into a newspaper that he hands Mr. Potter. Mr. Potter recognizes the mistake upon returning to his office, and keeps the cash, knowing that the bank examiner is at the Building & Loan on a routine visit and the loss of $8,000 will have terrible ramifications for George. George later comes in desperation to Mr. Potter asking for a loan to cover the lost money; instead of returning it, Mr. Potter demands collateral of George (of which he has almost none), rejects his pleas, and suggests George would be worth more dead than alive due to his $15,000 life insurance policy. Mr. Potter then, as a Building & Loan stockholder, swears out a warrant for George's arrest, for malfeasance and misappropriation of funds, and George runs off despondently.
When George is shown a vision of life without him, Bedford Falls is renamed Pottersville, implying Mr. Potter has taken it over completely, and Pottersville is depicted as a violent, miserable place whose downtown has become a disreputable strip of pawnshops and seedy entertainment establishments.
References[edit]
Jump up ^ "It's a Wonderful Life", American Film Institute
Jump up ^ Santoski, Teresa. "Actor Lionel Barrymore, who played Mr. Potter in 'It’s A Wonderful Life,' dies today in 1954", The week in Preview, The Nashua Telegraph
Jump up ^ Corliss, Richard. "Top 25 Greatest Villains ", Time, April 25, 2007
Jump up ^ Fuller, Graham. "Happy Birthday, George Bailey", The Guardian, December 24, 2007
Jump up ^ Billy Paterson (2006-08-20). "Exclusive: I Was Monty's Double". The Sunday Mail. Retrieved 2007-08-18.
Jump up ^ Joe Rhodes (October 21, 2000). "Flash! 24 Simpsons Stars Reveal Themselves". TV Guide. |access-date= requires |url= (help)
Jump up ^ "'Underdog' animator had no fear". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved 12 November 2014.
External links[edit]
IMDB listing for It's a Wonderful Life
Molitor, Doug. "12 Reasons the G.O.P. Should Run Old Man Potter", Funny or Die, December 8, 2011
[hide]
v
t
e
It's a Wonderful Life
Characters
George Bailey
Mary Hatch
Mr. Potter
Clarence Odbody
Related
Bedford Falls
The Greatest Gift
A Wonderful Life
It Happened One Christmas
Clarence
It's a Meaningful Life
Philip Van Doren Stern
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mr._Potter&oldid=826302770"
Categories:
Fictional businesspeople
Fictional bankers
Drama film characters
Fictional characters introduced in 1946
Hidden categories:
Pages using citations with accessdate and no URL
Articles needing additional references from November 2013
All articles needing additional references
Articles which use infobox templates with no data rows
Navigation menu
Personal tools
Not logged in
Talk
Contributions
Create account
Log in
Namespaces
Article
Talk
Variants
Views
Read
Edit
View history
More
Search
Navigation
Main page
Contents
Featured content
Current events
Random article
Donate to Wikipedia
Wikipedia store
Interaction
Help
About Wikipedia
Community portal
Recent changes
Contact page
Tools
What links here
Related changes
Upload file
Special pages
Permanent link
Page information
Wikidata item
Cite this page
Print/export
Create a book
Download as PDF
Printable version
Languages
Add links
This page was last edited on 18 February 2018, at 10:26.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.
Privacy policy
About Wikipedia
Disclaimers
Contact Wikipedia
Developers
Cookie statement
Mobile view
Enable previews

values: mw-page-base noprint

values: mw-head-base noprint

values: firstHeading firstHeading en

values: siteSub noprint

values: jump-to-nav mw-jump

attrs: href class title

values:
/wiki/Potter_(surname)
mw-redirect
Potter (surname)

values:
note
hatnote navigation-not-searchable

attrs: href class

values: Help:Introduction to referencing with Wiki Markup/1

values: plainlinks metadata ambox ambox-content ambox-Refimprove

values:
infobox
width:22em;border-spacing: 2px 5px;

values:
/wiki/Simon_Legree
mw-redirect
Simon Legree

values:
reflist mw-references-wrap
list-style-type: decimal;

values:
nofollow
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0038650/
external text

values:
/wiki/It%27s_a_Meaningful_Life
mw-redirect
It's a Meaningful Life

values: nowraplinks collapsible autocollapse navbox-inner

values: Category:Fictional characters introduced in 1946

values: Category:Pages using citations with accessdate and no URL

values: Category:Articles needing additional references from November 2013

values: Category:All articles needing additional references

values: Category:Articles which use infobox templates with no data rows

values: Discussion about edits from this IP address [ctrl-alt-n]

values: A list of edits made from this IP address [ctrl-alt-y]

values: You are encouraged to create an account and log in; however, it is not mandatory

values: You're encouraged to log in; however, it's not mandatory. [ctrl-alt-o]

values:
/wiki/Mr._Potter
View the content page [ctrl-alt-c]
c

values: Discussion about the content page [ctrl-alt-t]

values: p-namespaces navigation vectorTabs p-namespaces-label

values:
p-variants
navigation
vectorMenu emptyPortlet
p-variants-label

values: Past revisions of this page [ctrl-alt-h]

values: p-views navigation vectorTabs p-views-label

values:
p-cactions
navigation
vectorMenu emptyPortlet
p-cactions-label

values:
mw-wiki-logo
/wiki/Main_Page
Visit the main page

values:
/wiki/Main_Page
Visit the main page [ctrl-alt-z]
z

values: Featured content – the best of Wikipedia

values: Find background information on current events

values:
/wiki/Special:Random
Load a random article [ctrl-alt-x]
x

values: portal navigation p-navigation p-navigation-label

values: /static/images/wikimedia-button-1.5x.png 1.5x, /static/images/wikimedia-button-2x.png 2x

values: /static/images/poweredby_mediawiki_132x47.png 1.5x, /static/images/poweredby_mediawiki_176x62.png 2x

values:
suggestions
display: none; font-size: 13px;

values: mediawiki ltr sitedir-ltr mw-hide-empty-elt ns-0 ns-subject page-Mr_Potter rootpage-Mr_Potter skin-vector action-view