Meaning & Analysis
This proverb is a simile used to describe a person, particularly a woman, who is exceptionally tall and often slender or lanky. It directly compares their height to 'Long Meg of Westminster', a figure from English folklore known for her great stature.
Insights
Unconventional Proportions
Beyond physical height, the proverb can be used metaphorically to describe anything of excessive or awkward length, whether an object, a period of time, or even a tedious story. It signifies something that stands out due to its disproportionate size in one dimension.
Anomalous Femininity
As a figure who defied traditional gender roles through her strength and participation in soldiery, 'Long Meg' symbolizes formidable or transgressive femininity. The comparison can thus subtly invoke the idea of a woman who is powerful, intimidating, and larger-than-life in character, not just in stature.
Historical Folklore
The proverb alludes to 'Long Meg of Westminster', a semi-legendary figure from 16th-century English folklore, reputed to be a woman of formidable height and strength who served as a soldier and ran a tavern. The phrase embeds a specific piece of London's cultural history, using a local hero as a common benchmark for exceptional size.
Cultural Landmark
This comparison reflects a cultural fascination with physical anomalies and the creation of local 'characters' as points of reference. Unlike generic terms for height, tying it to a named individual, 'Meg', personalizes the exaggeration and grounds it in a specific, albeit mythologized, identity.
Psychological and Gender Dimensions
The quotations suggest that the comparison was not always flattering, implying a 'hop-pole heighth, wanting breadth proportionable'. This reveals a potential societal bias where exceptional tallness in women was viewed as an awkward or unfeminine trait, marking them as curiosities rather than paragons of beauty.
Rhetorical Devices
Simile
The phrase is a direct simile ('As long as...') that uses a specific person as the basis for comparison, making the description more vivid and culturally rooted.
Allusion
The effectiveness of the proverb relies entirely on a shared cultural knowledge of the folkloric character 'Long Meg of Westminster'. It is a historical and literary allusion.
Hyperbole
The comparison serves as a form of hyperbole, exaggerating a person's height by equating it to that of a legendary giantess to create a memorable and emphatic image.
Transcription
Quotations
[Title].
'Tis thou makst me so, my Long Meg a Westminster, thou breedst a scab, thou.
*This is applyed to persons very tall, especially if they have hop-pole heighth, wanting breadth proportionable thereunto.
A tall spiny person, over-grown as to height, but as slank as a lath; the English say, A May-pole, of Men, and long Meg of Westminster, of Women.
Annotations
- See Sugden, p. 560.
Related Proverbs
Original Scan
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