A history behind the rhymes that we have learned from our childhood.
The Nursery Rhymes that we were told, as children are not just rhymes to keep a crying child entertained. Nursery Rhymes are the first experiences that children have with poetry. The rhymes aid in transferring history from one generation to the next. From Europe to Asia and America all have nursery rhymes that have been passed on to their children. Nursery Rhymes of one source or another are found in many cultures. Our most memorable rhymes come from England or with in the British Isles. A child's mind has a tendency to be more adapted to rhythm found in poetry and songs. This enables the history to be passed on more easily. For example:
Jack and Jill went up the hill,
To fetch a pail of water;
Jack fell down and broke his crown,
And Jill came tumbling after.
This may not be the most obvious piece of history but in a very general analysis of the poem we can make the assumption that kids as far back as the middle ages did chores just like kids in our day do. One such chore is that they had to fetch water. Others such as "The woman in the shoe", "Georgie Porgie" and others are more examples of the common history that is passed down to children through the poetry.
Some of the history that is passed down to children is political in its message. Let's look at the rhyme "Old King Cole":
Old King Cole
Was a merry old soul,
And a merry old soul was he;
He called for his pipe,
And he called for his bowl,
And he called for his fiddlers three.
Every fiddler, he had a fiddle,
And every fine fiddle had he;
Twee tweedle-dee, tweedle-dee,
went the fiddlers,
Oh there's none so rare
As can compare
With King Cole and his fiddlers three!
Through out history what classifies a good ruler has been how well he or she has been able to provide for their people. If the people are taken care of then that ruler will be remembered as a good person. Who King Cole really was we don't know but whatever ruler he was, he was loved by his subjects. We can tell this by the tone of the piece, the talk about him being so merry and the fact that his fiddlers had their fiddlers. These poems were also a form of entertainment. It was made to be able to entertain the child as well as teach them. It is possible that the fiddlers are a metaphor for the subjects. Also it is possible that many of these rhymes had to be cloaked because many people in the past did not enjoy the freedom of speech that we enjoy today. Saying a rhyme that angered the nobility could very well earn you a trip to the gallows to loose your head. If you would like to see another more obvious example of a nursery rhyme with political message inside look at the poem "The Lion and the Unicorn"
Part of the process of raising a child is to pass on information from your generation to theirs. These rhymes are endearing ways to pass on this information. Even as adults we remember them and thus they become a piece of our historical legacy for the next generation.
