Nursery Rhyme
Mary, Mary, quite contrary,
How does your garden grow?
With silver bells, and cockle shells,
And pretty maids all in a row.The History
Originally "Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary" was written about Queen Mary I. There are many interpretations of the rhyme itself, but my favorite is that Mary is a persecutor and murderer of Protestants.
How does your garden grow?
Refers to her Protestant victims.
Silver bells and Cockle shells
Silver bells refer to instruments of torture, and cockle shells refer to the badges of the pilgrims who visited the shrine of Saint James.
Pretty maids all in a row
Refers to Mary's growing graveyard of corpses. Not such a nice nursery rhyme now, is it?
My Interpretation
Although the meaning of the nursery rhyme influenced why I picked it, I took a more abstract approach.
To start my video I show many political and influential figures around the world. I wanted to demonstrate who is in charge, and compare them to Queen Mary I.
Although these political figures are trying to do good (in there eyes), everyone has a different interpretation of what "good" really is. This brings upon the second line of the poem.
The garden growing is a metaphor for the masses of people rallying up behind different political figures, until a boiling point is reached.
Then comes war. Sadness for everyone, and happiness for no one. Most people don't want to go to war, but political figures, as well as, social and religious differences lead us to fight.
And in the end... Everyone is dead. The Marys (political figures, and social leaders) thought they were making the world a better place, but what they did causes death and hatred.