Hush-A-Bye-Baby

Will the Cradle Fall? - Unknown Future

This 1928 illustration also suggests the King James era in England. The baby rests in what appears to be more of a royal bed than a cradle.The focus is clearly on that bed and its ornateness. The viewer's eye is drawn upward with the single tree trunk to the colorful bed, mostly red with yellow borders. A heart is etched in the headboard and is clearly visible to the reader. Below the bed is a waiting party of animals - a bird rests on a low branch,squirrel leans on the tree looking up from the left, and a rabbit sits to the right.. Could this illustration represent the English populace and their reaction to King James's plan for James Stuart to be the heir to the throne and thus restore Catholicism to England?.The bird is squawking at the baby and the squirrel leans upon the tree's base as if pushing it over. Interpreted in this way, the "wind" from the rhyme is not literally wind but the uprising of the English people. All three animals are common in England and so this parallel fits somewhat. The leaves of the tree appear lovingly in the picture, enveloping the baby as branches turn inward in a sheltering fashion; but there is also an ominous sense about them. In the King James story, it was the king who wished to protect the child for his future as king, but in the end, it was the king's greed which caused the downfall of James Stuart as England 's heir. In this way, the branches of the tree could be interpreted as suffocating or constricting rather than comforting; and they will lead to the baby's fall to the populace below. Note the irregular borders and how they point up, if away from the baby. Notice too the uncertainty of the gey haze at the bottom of the image.