Meaning & Analysis
To pair the month of May, representing the height of spring, with December or January, which are months in the middle of winter. It signifies joining two seasons that are fundamentally opposite in character.
Insights
Youth and Old Age
The primary metaphor refers to a romantic relationship or marriage between a young person (May) and a much older one (December/January), highlighting the disparity in age, energy, and life stage.
Incongruous Pairing
On a broader level, the proverb describes any partnership or combination of two entities that are fundamentally unsuited or incongruous, whether in temperament, purpose, or nature.
Vitality and Decline
The proverb suggests a clash between vitality and decline. It symbolizes the joining of vibrant, burgeoning life with a state of coldness, decay, or impending finality, often implying a sense of waste or tragedy.
Seasonal Symbolism
The proverb draws on deep-seated seasonal symbolism, where 'May' represents the peak of spring, fertility, and youth, while 'December' or 'January' signifies the cold, dormancy, and finality of winter. This contrast powerfully evokes the perceived unnaturalness of the union.
Literary Trope
This theme is a recurring motif in Western literature, most famously explored in Chaucer's 'The Merchant's Tale'. The provided quotations from the 16th and 17th centuries demonstrate its widespread use as a satirical or critical trope for commenting on unsuitable marriages.
Psychological and Social Commentary
The proverb often carries a judgmental subtext, reflecting societal anxieties about relationships with significant age gaps. It implicitly questions the motives of both parties, suggesting the older partner is foolishly trying to reclaim youth and the younger is seeking financial security, thus framing the match as transactional rather than romantic.
Rhetorical Devices
Symbolism
The proverb is built on the stark symbolic contrast between 'May' (youth, spring, warmth, life) and 'December' (old age, winter, cold, death).
Antithesis
The direct opposition of the two seasonal concepts creates a powerful antithesis, emphasizing their incompatibility and the unnaturalness of their union.
Personification
The months are treated as human-like figures who can be 'matched' or 'coupled', a form of personification that makes the abstract concept of an age-mismatched relationship more vivid and concrete.
Transcription
Quotations
In fayth doth frozen Janus double face, Such fauour finde, to match with pleasant Maye.
When I Loked apon her husband with his white hedde and horye Berde I judged January and may to be copled to gether.
Is not this a prettie world? January and May make a match?
You doe wrong to Time, enforcing May to embrace December.
It is December match'd with May.
Yonder goes cold December match'd with May.
I am in the May of my abilities, And you in your December.
As unfortunate it is, when fifteen joines to seventy, there's old doings (as they say) the Man and Wife sitting togther like January and May day.
Lustfull he was, at Forty needs must wed, Old January will have May in bed.
Related Proverbs
Original Scan
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