In 1984 Orwell uses artifacts from
the past to layer his dystopian novel with verisimilitude. Namely, he quotes old poems
and nursery rhymes, both symbolic language of a past that no longer exists. In this
way, the truth seems but a distant memory, like the blurry face of Winston's
mother.
Here are two quotes as
examples:
[Charrington and Winston look at an old
sketch of a church]
href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0159258/">Charrington:
Oranges and lemons, say the bells of St. Clements...
href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000457/">Winston Smith:
What was that?
href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0159258/">Charrington:
Something old...
This is a nursery rhyme that children used
to know:
readability="21">
Oranges and lemons,
Say the bells of
St. Clement's
You owe me five farthings,
Say the bells of
St. Martin's
When will you pay me?
Say the bells of Old
Bailey.
When I grow rich,
Say the bells of
Shoreditch.
When will that be?
Say the bells of
Stepney
I do not know,
Says the great bell of
Bow
Here comes a candle to light you to bed
And here comes a
chopper to chop off your
head!
href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000457/">Winston Smith:
[reciting poem] Under the spreading chestnut tree / I sold you /
You sold me
This is Orwell's take on a poem by Longfellow
called "The Village Blacksmith":
readability="8">
Under a spreading chestnut-tree
The
village smithy stands;
The smith, a mighty man is he,
With large and
sinewy hands;
And the muscles of his brawny arms
Are strong as iron
bands.
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