|
|
|
Rhyme and Reason
Fehmeen A. Khan
They link up half of your childhood memories; they take you to new worlds; they entertain and teach; they are a favourite part of your life as children and will become an integral and nostalgic part of your adult lives as well: any guesses? No, not parents – ‘nursery rhymes!’
The charisma of nursery rhymes is eternal, hence immeasurable; and the true credit goes to those talented individuals who lived as far back as three to four centuries ago, and invented these magical verses, for various reasons.
Rhymes like One-two, Buckle My Shoe, and Apple A Day aim to educate, whereas Little Miss Muffet, Mary Had A Little Lamb, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and Hey Diddle Diddle were made merely for entertainment. However, other poems have roots in deep feelings, wisdom and historical events. Here are some interesting stories (not necessarily facts, as there are always several stories concerning the origin of a poem) about a few nursery rhymes, which define their original significance:
Humpty Dumpty
(First published in 1810)
Humpty Dumpty was the name of a robust cannon used by the English Military during a civil war in the mid-seventeenth century. Humpty Dumpty was kept on top of the city-wall next to Saint Mary’s Church (in Colchester, England) which was deemed a good position; but the enemy managed to blow up the wall; hence, ‘Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.’
The king’s army tried to ‘put Humpty Dumpty together again’ by moving it to another part of the wall, but they failed because the cannon was so heavy! The army lost and Colchester was under siege for 11 weeks, but how did Mr Dumpty become an egg along the way? Maybe, the poem was just a riddle at first: ‘why couldn’t they put back Humpty Dumpty together again? Because he was an egg!’ Later, the riddle probably turned into a poem.
Hush-a-bye-baby also, known as Rock-a-bye-baby
(First known record in the 1700s)
There are two stories about the origin of this rhyme. The first one claims it is American whereas the second one ties it to England.
As for the American version, the genius author (whose name is not known) belonged to a nomadic colony of pilgrims in 19th century America who migrated from England. The young pilgrim had observed Native American mothers, who hung their babies in cradles hitched to tree branches.
Gentle breezes rocked the shell-and-bead-adorned cradles back and forth, so the children could fall asleep while their mothers worked in the open fields.
The British version, however, has a more solid link to Betty Kenny, who along with her husband, lived in Derbyshire, England. The couple carved out a cradle inside a branch of a 2,000-year-old Yew tree for their baby to sleep in. The tree still exists and is open for tourists, but it is quite damaged now!
Whatever the story was, it is clear that the whiff of the trees, the waft of the wind and the occasional mishap of the broken branch all combined to inspire poetic minds to capture this traditional way of life forever.
Jack and Jill
(First published in 1795)
This ludicrous rhyme apparently has great historic connotations to the French Dynasty which was toppled over in 1793. The cruel king, known as Louis XVI and referred to as Jack in the poem, was removed from his throne and beheaded, which is how he ‘fell and lost his crown!’ Soon, the Queen (Antoinette) followed suit and ‘tumbled’ after him.
Many changes have been made to the actual wordings to make them pleasant for youngsters; for example, some added lines state that Jack returns home to apply bandage to his head and then sleeps soundly.
Other sources believe that this verse sprang from a reduction in the quantity of water offered as a half-pint (then known as ‘jack’) to increase taxes for England’s monarchy in the 17th century. Consequently, the quarter-pint (called ‘gill’) was to ‘tumble’ too.
It is difficult to pin down either one of these stories as true, but the first known publication of this poem was just two years after the French King was removed, hence the former account is more believable.
However, one Scandinavian myth also lays claim over this rhyme: two boys, named, Hjuki and Bil (later named Jack and Jill) were climbing a hill to retrieve water from the well, when Mani, the moon god, captured them. When the moon is full, the children’s image with a bucket between them can be spotted.
There is an ancient Nordic tale about an orphan girl which is very similar to this myth as well.
Eeny meeny miny mo
(First published in 1850)
The ideal method of choosing who ‘it’ is in any game ever invented, is to use this popular poem, however, not much is known about its origin. A prevalent belief is that druids in certain ancient tribes used this poem to choose individuals for religious ceremonies (and sacrifices!). Variations, from ‘eeny, meeny, moany, mite’ to the ‘hana, mana, mona, mike’ have developed according to different cultures over time. This poem has also caused a substantial amount of controversy in the mid-1900s (when critics linked it to far-fetched origins) but its popularity has only heightened since then -- one American airline used to recite:
Eeny meeny miny mo
Please sit down it's time to go!
Ring around the roses
(Rhyme & game — first published in 1881)
History lays a mysterious claim upon this poem: the bubonic plague that jerked Europe and North Africa for 300 years! In the 1300s, appalling sanitary conditions caused the contagious plague to quickly spread through millions of people and the symptoms of the disease seem to implicitly appear in the rhyme: the reddish, circular skin rash; the (wrong, yet practiced) remedy that called for carrying around scented herbs (posies); the severe sneezing (A-tishoo, a-tishoo, we all fall down) during high fever.
However, skeptics point out that the plague was over more than a century before this poem was first printed. Plus, all oral versions (that were present before the publication) date back way before the plague and were not related to any disease whatsoever. Consequently, many revisionists prefer to believe this poem/game was made by Americans as a way of getting around the law that prohibited dancing.
Baa baa black sheep
(First published in 1744)
Apart from elucidating the name, colour, sound and wool-making characteristic of sheep, this poem has the function of implying the changing seasons of life in the context of Rudyard Kipling’s poem, Gentleman Rankers (which includes a variation of this verse).
However, other speculators link it to England’s King Edward II (1307-1327) who encouraged the quality production of wool in order to sustain the economy. Although the poem was first published much later in the 18th century, its origin is deemed to lie in the said King’s reign.
Pussy cat, pussy cat
(First publication not traceable)
This cute poem has widely been linked to the cat that lived in the palace of Queen Elizabeth I, who reigned England during the 1500s. The animal actually belonged to a palace servant and was used to frolick about the Windsor castle carelessly. Consequently, one day, the cat surprised the Queen when it went under Her Majesty’s throne and its tail brushed against her feet.
The good-humoured queen, however, allowed the cat to stay as long as it kept the castle free of the dreadful, monstrous mice: ‘I've been up to London to visit the Queen…to frighten a little mouse under her chair’!
Others feel the poem simply points towards the lack of hygiene during the Medieval Ages, which resulted in a London infested with rats.
You would have concluded that most poems link back to English history, which is because of her lengthy and eventful past. Plus, the British had developed their poetry extensively by the 1800s and were free to safely record (and spread) historic events and political gossip using poetry without being challenged by any court.
For example, ‘Mary Mary Quite Contrary’ placidly relates to the cruel rule of Mary Tudor in England (15th century) – more available on www.rhymes.org.uk.
However, one must be impartial regarding these stories because at times they are as fictitious as the poems themselves. Some people still believe that Mother Goose was actually a real person (which is totally untrue) and visit a grave stone engraved ‘Goose’ at the Boston graveyard to pay their tributes! Nevertheless, the tunes stay behind but the significance is no longer applicable to our lives.
However, one advantage you now have is being able to relate to history better; and then, maybe next time your hear a new rhyme, you can pay a little attention to its wordings and surmise about its origins yourself.
|
|
|
|
