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** The song also contains a ShoutOut to Theatre/HMSPinafore ... which as Creator/IsaacAsimov pointed out, definitively sets when the play takes place. Due to Frederic's odd birthday, the show has to be set in ether 1873 (if Gilbert knew 1900 would not be a leap year) or 1877 (if he didn't). Pinafore was produced in early ''1878'', making it the latter, since it's just possible that a well-connected Major General could hear the tunes during production in the prior year.
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** Ten words; "I am the Very Model of a Modern Major-General".
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** Ten words; "I am the Very Model of a Modern Major-General". Just being able to sing it is a greater achievement than anything he boasts about.
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* GeniusBonus: The MajorGeneralSong is loaded with them:
** The original song, on top of identifying him as a poor Major General also includes a great deal of meaningless accomplishments:
*** "Sing the croaking chorus from ''The Frogs'' of Aristophanes." The entire chorus is "ribbit". (Or, in the original Greek, ''Βρεκεκεκá½²ξ κοá½°ξ κοάξ''. Which is, naturally, Greek for "ribbit".)
*** "quote the fights historical from Marathon to Waterloo, in order categorical" -- He has only read about them in [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fifteen_Decisive_Battles_of_the_World The Fifteen Decisive Battles of the World: from Marathon to Waterloo ]] but can't even remember the timeline. And as a cherry on top, all the battles in the book except one are land battles.
*** "can tell undoubted Raphaels from Gerard Dows and Zoffanies" -- Raphael painted religious iconography heavy with symbolism while Dow and Zoffany painted photorealistc scenes from life. The difference is unmistakable.
*** "I can quote in elegiacs all the crimes of Heliogabalus" is well and good, but elegiacs (couplets consisting of one line of poetry in dactylic hexameter followed by a line in dactylic pentameter) celebrating the story of one of the most notoriously depraved Roman emperors, besides not having any military application, could probably not even have been published in the Victorian age.
*** "tell you every detail of Caractacus’s uniform" -- The only depiction of Caractacus shows him in the nude. Also, Caractacus was a Gallic chieftain who lived around the birth of Christ, and would never have worn a uniform anything. Further, since Caractacus was believed to have been mythologized as the "Sir Caradoc" the Major General has already mentioned, he is more or less simply repeating one accomplishment in another form.
*** "I understand equations, both the simple and quadratical." Even at this time, anyone with a university education would have been given a taste of algebra. A military officer would have done significantly more as part of their education in ballistics.
*** "In conics I can show peculiarities parabolous." Again, parabolas are a significant part of ballistics, and some of the associated maths should be common knowledge to any officer.
*** "I know the Kings of England." And so did every twelve-year-old who went to school. Memorizing the line of regents was a common part of middle-school history.
** As well as some which are outright impossible:
*** "I can write a washing bill in Babylonic Cuneiform": Cuneiform was at the time understood to be a form of writing, but nothing else was known about it.
*** "And I can hum a fugue of which I've heard the music's din a-fore": Fugues are per definition polyphonic, i.e. have more than one melody running at the same time. Tuvan throat singers can accomplish something to this effect by singing one tune and humming another, but good luck humming two tunes at once.
*** "About binomial theorem I’m teeming with a lot o’ news" -- No real advances had been made in the area since Newton generalized it more than 200 years before, hence there were no "news" for him to teem with. Unless he had only just heard of Newton... which is more likely than it should be.
** The original song, on top of identifying him as a poor Major General also includes a great deal of meaningless accomplishments:
*** "Sing the croaking chorus from ''The Frogs'' of Aristophanes." The entire chorus is "ribbit". (Or, in the original Greek, ''Βρεκεκεκá½²ξ κοá½°ξ κοάξ''. Which is, naturally, Greek for "ribbit".)
*** "quote the fights historical from Marathon to Waterloo, in order categorical" -- He has only read about them in [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fifteen_Decisive_Battles_of_the_World The Fifteen Decisive Battles of the World: from Marathon to Waterloo ]] but can't even remember the timeline. And as a cherry on top, all the battles in the book except one are land battles.
*** "can tell undoubted Raphaels from Gerard Dows and Zoffanies" -- Raphael painted religious iconography heavy with symbolism while Dow and Zoffany painted photorealistc scenes from life. The difference is unmistakable.
*** "I can quote in elegiacs all the crimes of Heliogabalus" is well and good, but elegiacs (couplets consisting of one line of poetry in dactylic hexameter followed by a line in dactylic pentameter) celebrating the story of one of the most notoriously depraved Roman emperors, besides not having any military application, could probably not even have been published in the Victorian age.
*** "tell you every detail of Caractacus’s uniform" -- The only depiction of Caractacus shows him in the nude. Also, Caractacus was a Gallic chieftain who lived around the birth of Christ, and would never have worn a uniform anything. Further, since Caractacus was believed to have been mythologized as the "Sir Caradoc" the Major General has already mentioned, he is more or less simply repeating one accomplishment in another form.
*** "I understand equations, both the simple and quadratical." Even at this time, anyone with a university education would have been given a taste of algebra. A military officer would have done significantly more as part of their education in ballistics.
*** "In conics I can show peculiarities parabolous." Again, parabolas are a significant part of ballistics, and some of the associated maths should be common knowledge to any officer.
*** "I know the Kings of England." And so did every twelve-year-old who went to school. Memorizing the line of regents was a common part of middle-school history.
** As well as some which are outright impossible:
*** "I can write a washing bill in Babylonic Cuneiform": Cuneiform was at the time understood to be a form of writing, but nothing else was known about it.
*** "And I can hum a fugue of which I've heard the music's din a-fore": Fugues are per definition polyphonic, i.e. have more than one melody running at the same time. Tuvan throat singers can accomplish something to this effect by singing one tune and humming another, but good luck humming two tunes at once.
*** "About binomial theorem I’m teeming with a lot o’ news" -- No real advances had been made in the area since Newton generalized it more than 200 years before, hence there were no "news" for him to teem with. Unless he had only just heard of Newton... which is more likely than it should be.
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** The PatterSong "My Eyes Are Fuly Open" was added to the show by a production in the 1970s, lampshaded by Ruth's actress mentioning the song's from {{Ruddigore}}. The production was so popular it's now expected.
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** The PatterSong "My Eyes Are Fuly Fully Open" was added to the show by a production in the 1970s, lampshaded by Ruth's actress mentioning the song's from {{Ruddigore}}. The production was so popular it's now expected.
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** Ten words; "I am the Very Modern Model of a Modern Major-General".
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** Ten words; "I am the Very Modern Model of a Modern Major-General".
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* IdiotPlot: A deliberate case. Most of the plot stems from various people taking HonorBeforeReason to imbecilic levels, and most of the humor comes from the fact that the audience can easily tell how stupid this is.
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* EarWorm: Quite a large number, but by far the most well-known is: "I am the very model of a Modern Major-General..."
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* AwesomeMusic:
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* AwesomeMusic:SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic:
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* AlternateCharacterInterpretation: Ruth's played as a dotty old woman, but she's the only one who knows what's going on at all times. Indeed, she nearly marries young Frederick, knowing he's a lord while he's ignorant of it. Despite being only a nurse, she's there with the pirates every step of the way after Frederick rejects her, and takes a personal hand in both returning him to their fold and in TheReveal that the entire ship is crewed with orphaned lords. Given that the pirates themselves had no idea of this, it's plausible Ruth's the true mastermind behind the film's events.
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** The policemen predate the KeystoneCops, but are clearly an influence on them.
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** The policemen predate the KeystoneCops, [[Creator/KeystoneStudios Keystone Kops]], but are clearly an influence on them.
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from the main page
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* OlderThanTheyThink: The melody for "Come, Friends Who Plough The Sea" was later appropriated as the song "Hail, Hail, the Gang's All Here," not (as you will often see claimed) the other way around. Conversely, this was {{inverted}} by Creator/KurtVonnegut in ''Literature/SlaughterhouseFive'', with a reference to people "singing 'Hail, Hail, the Gang's All Here' from The Pirates of Penzance."
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* OlderThanTheyThink: OlderThanTheyThink:
** The melody for "Come, Friends Who Plough The Sea" was later appropriated as the song "Hail, Hail, the Gang's All Here," not (as you will often see claimed) the other way around. Conversely, this was {{inverted}} by Creator/KurtVonnegut in ''Literature/SlaughterhouseFive'', with a reference to people "singing 'Hail, Hail, the Gang's All Here' from The Pirates of Penzance.""
** The policemen predate the KeystoneCops, but are clearly an influence on them.
** The melody for "Come, Friends Who Plough The Sea" was later appropriated as the song "Hail, Hail, the Gang's All Here," not (as you will often see claimed) the other way around. Conversely, this was {{inverted}} by Creator/KurtVonnegut in ''Literature/SlaughterhouseFive'', with a reference to people "singing 'Hail, Hail, the Gang's All Here' from The Pirates of Penzance.
** The policemen predate the KeystoneCops, but are clearly an influence on them.
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** The PatterSong "My Eyes Are Fuly Open" was added to the show by a production in the 1970s, lampshaded by Ruth's actress mentioning the song's from {{Ruddigore}}. The production was so popular it's now expected.
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Why are there entries on here for both Awesome Music AND Crowning Music Of Awesome?? They're the same thing!
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* AwesomeMusic: "WithCatlikeTread". Really, when your song involves being as bombastically loud as possible, with the singers [[LargeHam hamming it up ludicrously]], awesomeness is generally a side effect.
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* AwesomeMusic: AwesomeMusic:
** "WithCatlikeTread". Really, when your song involves being as bombastically loud as possible, with the singers [[LargeHam hamming it up ludicrously]], awesomeness is generally a side effect.
** "WithCatlikeTread". Really, when your song involves being as bombastically loud as possible, with the singers [[LargeHam hamming it up ludicrously]], awesomeness is generally a side effect.
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* CrowningMomentOfAwesome: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4Wj2yMuTIU Jon English's go as the Pirate King has not one, not two but three encores during With Catlike Tread...and proceeds to outdo himself during each encore.]]
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* SoCoolItsAwesome
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* HilariousInHindsight: Because, with all our faults, we love our {{Queen}}.
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* HilariousInHindsight: Because, with all our faults, we love our {{Queen}}.Music/{{Queen}}.
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* HarsherInHindsight: At the time of the writing, Britain and the British military were at the height of their renown, with semi-honorary military ranks being awarded to people with little military experience but whom had helped Britain's conquests financially. [[DontExplainTheJoke This led to the Major General's character]] excelling at everything but anything remotely related to combat. [[WorldWarI A couple decades later]], these [[GeneralFailure dubious leaders were still around]], and the Major General no longer quite as funny for a time.
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* HarsherInHindsight: At the time of the writing, Britain and the British military were at the height of their renown, with semi-honorary military ranks being awarded to people with little military experience but whom had helped Britain's conquests financially. [[DontExplainTheJoke This led to the Major General's character]] excelling at everything but anything remotely related to combat. [[WorldWarI [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarI A couple decades later]], these [[GeneralFailure dubious leaders were still around]], and the Major General no longer quite as funny for a time.
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** George Rose stopping every show with [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSGWoXDFM64 the all-time greatest version of "I Am The Very Model of a Modern Major General]], tongue-twisting like there's no tomorrow. And then he does it ''faster!''
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** George Rose stopping every show with [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSGWoXDFM64 the all-time greatest version of "I Am The Very Model of a Modern Major General]], tongue-twisting like there's no tomorrow. And then he does it ''faster!''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1dy44jV8EM ''faster!'']]
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** George Rose stopping every show with [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSGWoXDFM64 the all-time greatest version of "I Am The Very Model of a Modern Major General]], tongue-twisting like there's no tomorrow. And then he does it ''faster!''
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* MexicansLoveSpeedyGonzales: Because of both this play, and TreasureIsland's use of the Cornish accent as ''the'' pirate accent, the Cornish as a whole happily and willingly engage in antics that turn them into pirates. This carries to such an extent that there is even [[http://www.cornish-pirates.com/ A Rugby team]] called the Cornish Pirates.
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* MexicansLoveSpeedyGonzales: Because of both this play, and TreasureIsland's ''Film/{{Treasure Island|1950}}''[='=]s use of the Cornish accent as ''the'' pirate accent, the Cornish as a whole happily and willingly engage in antics that turn them into pirates. This carries to such an extent that there is even [[http://www.cornish-pirates.com/ A Rugby team]] called the Cornish Pirates.
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* SeinfeldIsUnfunny: After [[TalkLikeAPirate Robert Newton's portrayal of Long John Silver]] in ''TreasureIsland'', Cornish has become the default accent for pirates. At the time, Penzance in Cornwall was a sleepy fishing town, and the idea of bloodthirsty pirates appearing there was absurd and part of the comedy.
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* SeinfeldIsUnfunny: After [[TalkLikeAPirate Robert Newton's portrayal of Long John Silver]] in ''TreasureIsland'', ''Film/{{Treasure Island|1950}}'', Cornish has become the default accent for pirates. At the time, Penzance in Cornwall was a sleepy fishing town, and the idea of bloodthirsty pirates appearing there was absurd and part of the comedy.
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* FridgeHorror: The policemens' fear of having to face the pirates may seem like cowardice and the girls assumption that they will not come home alive like hastily jumping to conclusions. Until you realize that these are English Bobbies, who were not issued firearms and were going after ''a band of pirates'' armed with nothing but truncheons.
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* OlderThanTheyThink: The melody for "Come, Friends Who Plough The Sea" was later appropriated as the song "Hail, Hail, the Gang's All Here," not (as you will often see claimed) the other way around. Conversely, this was {{inverted}} by Creator/KurtVonnegut in ''Literature/SlaughterhouseFive'', with a reference to people "singing 'Hail, Hail, the Gang's All Here' from The Pirates of Penzance."
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** Ten words; "I am the Very Modern Model of a Modern Major-General"..
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** Ten words; "I am the Very Modern Model of a Modern Major-General"..Major-General".
** From a purely-musical standpoint, this opera contains two brilliant examples of counterpoint writing--creating separate and quite different melodic lines that nonetheless fit together when played simultaneously--in "How Beautifully Blue the Sky" and "When the Foeman Bares His Steel". The first example is even ''more'' impressive in that the lines are in two different time signatures. While he's mostly remembered for accompanying comic operas, Sir Arthur was a talented composer in his own right.
** From a purely-musical standpoint, this opera contains two brilliant examples of counterpoint writing--creating separate and quite different melodic lines that nonetheless fit together when played simultaneously--in "How Beautifully Blue the Sky" and "When the Foeman Bares His Steel". The first example is even ''more'' impressive in that the lines are in two different time signatures. While he's mostly remembered for accompanying comic operas, Sir Arthur was a talented composer in his own right.
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** Ten words; "I am the Very Modern Model of a Modern Major-General"..
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* CrowningMomentOfAwesome: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4Wj2yMuTIU Jon English's go as the Pirate King has not one, not two but three encores during With Catlike Tread...and proceeds to outdo himself during each encore.]]
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* MexicansLoveSpeedyGonzales: Because of both this play, and TreasureIsland's use of the Cornish accent as ''the'' pirate accent, the Cornish as a whole happily and willingly engage in antics that turn them into pirates. This carries to such an extent that there is even [[http://www.cornish-pirates.com/ A Rugby team]] called the Cornish Pirates.
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** There's also "The Pirate King", one of the most infectious songs about Pirates!
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* HarsherInHindsight: At the time of the writing, Britain and the British military were at the height of their renown, with semi-honorary military ranks being awarded to people with little military experience but whom had helped Britain's conquests financially. [[DontExplainTheJoke This led to the Major General's character]] excelling at everything but anything remotely related to combat. [[WorldWarI A couple decades later]], these [[GeneralFailure dubious leaders were still around]], and the Major General no longer quite as funny for a time.
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* AwesomeMusic: "WithCatlikeTread". Really, when your song involves being as bombastically loud as possible, with the singers [[LargeHam hamming it up ludicrously]], awesomeness is generally a side effect.
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* SeinfeldIsUnfunny: After [[TalkLikeAPirate Robert Newton's portrayal of Long John Silver]] in ''TreasureIsland'', Cornish has become the default accent for pirates. At the time, Penzance in Cornwall was a sleepy fishing town, and the idea of bloodthirsty pirates appearing there was absurd and part of the comedy.
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* ValuesDissonance: Frederick's "[[HonorBeforeReason slave of duty]]" mindset will tend to strike modern audiences as merely silly. Englishmen of [[GilbertAndSullivan Gilbert's]] day, though, would have recognized it as a parody of their own code of conduct.
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* ValuesDissonance: Frederick's "[[HonorBeforeReason slave of duty]]" mindset will tend to strike modern audiences as merely silly. Englishmen of [[GilbertAndSullivan [[Creator/WSGilbert Gilbert's]] day, though, would have recognized it as a parody of their own code of conduct.
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crosswicking new example
Changed line(s) 5 (click to see context) from:
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* ValuesDissonance: Frederick's "[[HonorBeforeReason slave of duty]]" mindset will tend to strike modern audiences as merely silly. Englishmen of [[GilbertAndSullivan Gilbert's]] day, though, would have recognized it as a parody of their own code of conduct.