![]() We should probably kick things off by discussing the name itself- “pomp and circumstance” simply is a phrase for a ceremony or display of splendor or stateliness. 1.” So, why is Pomp and Circumstance played at seemingly every graduation? This school graduation will undoubtedly be marked by cheering, proud adults, and, particularly in North America, the playing of the seminal marching tune “Pomp and Circumstance March No. asks: How did Pomp and Circumstance get to be the tune always played at graduations?Įvery year, hundreds of thousands of students march across a stage in a gown and a squared hat to receive a piece of paper that says they’ve completed a particular phase in their education. Judging by the results of my inevitable Google search, pomp and ceremony continues to be the phrase of choice with writers of British English.Nathan K. In the context of Othello’s speech, and therefore in the now frequently heard expression “pomp and circumstance,” circumstance has the meaning “formality that accompanies an important event.” The march we know as “Pomp and Circumstance” was used for the coronation of King Edward VII. He took his title for them– Pomp and Circumstance Military Marches–from Othello’s speech. In 1901, Sir Edward Elgar wrote some marches suitable for royal ceremonial occasions. Pride, pomp, and circumstance of glorious war! The spirit-stirring drum, th’ ear-piercing fife ![]() Othello, bemoaning the supposed infidelity of Desdemona, sees his world crumbling:įarewell the neighing steed, and the shrill trump, This is where the wheel of usage comes in.Ĭircumstance has an obsolete meaning of “formality about an important event.” This meaning was still current in Shakespeare’s day. The word circumstance comes from a Latin word meaning “surrounding condition.”Īccording to the common modern meaning, it doesn’t make a lot of sense to group “circumstance” with “pomp.” Circumstance is any condition or fact attending an event and having some bearing on it, while pomp is a “splendid display or celebration magnificent show or ceremony.” Pomp and ceremony is therefore an appropriate phrase to use in speaking about a coronation, a state funeral, or the launching of a battleship. It means “the performance of some solemn act according to prescribed form.” It derives from from Medieval Latin ceremonia, from Latin cærimonia “awe, reverent rite.” The word ceremony entered the language in the fourteenth century. The merging of the meaning of ceremony with circumstance in the expression pomp and circumstance is a curious case of “what goes around comes around”. I’ve seen many changes during my eighty years and frequently have trouble keeping up with it all. This makes no sense to me, unless they are referring to the Elgar marches that are often played. Nowadays I hear most commentators using “pomp and circumstance” even when talking about royal events. When I was growing up in England, the phrase “pomp and ceremony” was used when describing exciting pageantry and celebrations.
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