The words poem, poetry and poet come from a Greek word meaning ‘to make’.
Songs, lullabies, jingles and rhymes have been a part of our growing up so much so that we still remember them, no matter how old we have grown. We can recall a number of rhymes today and over half of these are 200 years old, or even more. For instance, the all time favourite ‘Twinkle Twinkle Little Star,’ written by Ann Taylor must have been composed, between 1782 and 1866 in her lifetime. Though we can’t be certain as to when and how nursery rhymes originated, we can be sure they have always existed. Most of them were not even written down for hundreds of years and nor did they have their beginnings in nurseries! The term ‘nursery rhymes’ for these songs was first used in 1824.
The rhymes, described as “poetry of the ages”, link us with the past and tell us of the social and political conditions, festivals, events, beliefs, ceremonies, rites and rituals prevalent during the various Ages. Many rhymes have their origins in folklore and mythology and from the rhymes we have been able to gain a lot of knowledge of human behaviour itself.
Ages ago, adults, especially women, would sing ballads, madrigals and probably any form of song was born out of the lullabies mothers sang to soothe their little infants. Even during the Stone Age, mothers used to coo and croon to their babies and rock them to sleep. Such songs, common to people of all countries and generations, have about them a certain rhythmical pattern with comforting words describing nature and they have been universally enjoyed by children.
‘Rock a bye Baby’, is a typical and one of the most popular cradle songs. It is also one of the oldest rhymes, springs from the age old custom of laying babies in rush baskets hanging to tree branches and gently rocking them to sleep, with the breeze fanning them. Some people believe this rhyme to have originated from the ancient Indian practice of farm workers keeping their babes on the tree top, safe from wolves and wild animals, while they went out to work in their fields.
Nursery rhymes were once also referred to as ‘Mother Goose’ rhymes and the first book “Songs for the Nursery” or “Mother Goose Melodies for Children,” was believed to have been printed by Thomas Fleet of Boston in 1719. The rhyme “Knick Knack Paddy Whack, give a dog a bone,” may have sprung up in Japan, inspired by a game of knucklebones. From Japan, it spread to Rome and other parts of Europe, through soldiers.
Nursery Rhymes may or may not have any hidden meaning in them. However, we can classify rhymes into eight types. The simplest lull infants to sleep - hence lullabies. “Hush a bye Baby,” is just one example of this kind of a rhyme.
A second type of rhyme was the purely nonsensical kind written simply for the fun of it.
Rhymes with riddles are a third class of rhymes which add thrill and fun when recited. “Humpty Dumpty” is a classic example of this, in which clues are given and we have to identify the subject being sung about.
All the King’s horses and all the King’s men Couldn’t put Humpty together again. Still keeping with the spirit of fun and frolic are the fourth class of rhymes which are popular on play-fields. These are ‘game’ or ‘round’ rhymes since they are sung in circles. “Oranges and lemons, sold for a penny” and “Ring-a-ring O’ Roses,” are just a couple of examples of this kind of singing rhymes which children sing even today. Such rhymes have a standard end with all the children falling to the ground!
Another speciality of these round rhymes is that they are sung by several groups of children. The first group begins singing the rhyme which is begun all over again by the second group when the first group have finished singing the first line. This process continues till all the groups have sung each of the lines and the rhyme gets sung as many times as there are groups singing it!
“One two buckle my shoe,” is a counting rhyme and is also used in playgrounds, particularly during team games. The rhymes are sung to select the teams for the game! In fact, “Three Blind Mice,” another of the famous game rhymes, was printed in 1609 on long sheets of paper and sold at the rate of one penny a copy.
Most of you have heard of “Solomon Grundy, Born on Monday”. Well, this is an example of ‘verse stories.’ They are rhymes which narrate short, fun-filled adventures or events about people who did exciting things.
Closely following the verse story is the cumulative verse. In this type of rhyme, each line of the rhyme is chained to the successive line so that each line is longer than the previous one by one or more line! And at the end of the rhyme is a beautiful little tale!
And finally for those tricky tongue-twisters! I’m sure most of you would enjoy watching your friends try to reel out at breakneck speed, “Betty bought some bitter butter,” or “She sells sea shells on the sea shore,” and go crazy with laughter! These twisters are another category of rhymes intended for children to have fun and at the same time get their words clear.
Rhymes, whatever be their type, have come down to us from a number of sources through the ages. Mothers have sung them to make their babies sleep; soldiers have carried them to their homelands from battlefields; even street peddlers have contributed to them by singing about their wares; school children and street actors putting up plays on the streets have sung verses which became rhymes. Many of the rhymes recall anecdotes from the lives of famous people and events in history. Of course, the most popular song and the one sung most often is “Happy Birthday to You.”
Some people believe that the famous “Little Miss Muffet” may have been the daughter of Dr. Thomas Muffet, a great expert on spiders. Others relate the rhyme with Robert Bruce of Scotland. The spider is the link between the rhyme and Bruce! While the presence of the spider frightened Miss Muffet away, Bruce was inspired by its persistent effort to spin a web!
“Ring-a-ring O’ roses” is again a verse story based on the Great Plague which broke out in 1665, resulting in the death of many people. The roses refer to the pink rashes that were one of the chief signs of the deadly disease. Again, the severe bouts of sneezing which the disease brought on, are indicated by ‘A-tishoo! A-tishoo!’
Whatever be their origins, whatever be the stories they tell, whether nonsensical or tongue twisters, nursery rhymes will continue to remain the favorite songs of people even in generations to come, for their simplicity, easy rhythm and attractive tunes.
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Songs, lullabies, jingles and rhymes have been a part of our growing up so much so that we still remember them, no matter how old we have grown. We can recall a number of rhymes today and over half of these are 200 years old, or even more. For instance, the all time favourite ‘Twinkle Twinkle Little Star,’ written by Ann Taylor must have been composed, between 1782 and 1866 in her lifetime. Though we can’t be certain as to when and how nursery rhymes originated, we can be sure they have always existed. Most of them were not even written down for hundreds of years and nor did they have their beginnings in nurseries! The term ‘nursery rhymes’ for these songs was first used in 1824.
The rhymes, described as “poetry of the ages”, link us with the past and tell us of the social and political conditions, festivals, events, beliefs, ceremonies, rites and rituals prevalent during the various Ages. Many rhymes have their origins in folklore and mythology and from the rhymes we have been able to gain a lot of knowledge of human behaviour itself.
Ages ago, adults, especially women, would sing ballads, madrigals and probably any form of song was born out of the lullabies mothers sang to soothe their little infants. Even during the Stone Age, mothers used to coo and croon to their babies and rock them to sleep. Such songs, common to people of all countries and generations, have about them a certain rhythmical pattern with comforting words describing nature and they have been universally enjoyed by children.
‘Rock a bye Baby’, is a typical and one of the most popular cradle songs. It is also one of the oldest rhymes, springs from the age old custom of laying babies in rush baskets hanging to tree branches and gently rocking them to sleep, with the breeze fanning them. Some people believe this rhyme to have originated from the ancient Indian practice of farm workers keeping their babes on the tree top, safe from wolves and wild animals, while they went out to work in their fields.
Nursery rhymes were once also referred to as ‘Mother Goose’ rhymes and the first book “Songs for the Nursery” or “Mother Goose Melodies for Children,” was believed to have been printed by Thomas Fleet of Boston in 1719. The rhyme “Knick Knack Paddy Whack, give a dog a bone,” may have sprung up in Japan, inspired by a game of knucklebones. From Japan, it spread to Rome and other parts of Europe, through soldiers.
Nursery Rhymes may or may not have any hidden meaning in them. However, we can classify rhymes into eight types. The simplest lull infants to sleep - hence lullabies. “Hush a bye Baby,” is just one example of this kind of a rhyme.
A second type of rhyme was the purely nonsensical kind written simply for the fun of it.
Rhymes with riddles are a third class of rhymes which add thrill and fun when recited. “Humpty Dumpty” is a classic example of this, in which clues are given and we have to identify the subject being sung about.
Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall,
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.
Ring-a-ring o’ rosies,
A pocket full of posies,
A-tishoo! A-tishoo!
We all fall down.
“One two buckle my shoe,” is a counting rhyme and is also used in playgrounds, particularly during team games. The rhymes are sung to select the teams for the game! In fact, “Three Blind Mice,” another of the famous game rhymes, was printed in 1609 on long sheets of paper and sold at the rate of one penny a copy.
Most of you have heard of “Solomon Grundy, Born on Monday”. Well, this is an example of ‘verse stories.’ They are rhymes which narrate short, fun-filled adventures or events about people who did exciting things.
Closely following the verse story is the cumulative verse. In this type of rhyme, each line of the rhyme is chained to the successive line so that each line is longer than the previous one by one or more line! And at the end of the rhyme is a beautiful little tale!
And finally for those tricky tongue-twisters! I’m sure most of you would enjoy watching your friends try to reel out at breakneck speed, “Betty bought some bitter butter,” or “She sells sea shells on the sea shore,” and go crazy with laughter! These twisters are another category of rhymes intended for children to have fun and at the same time get their words clear.
Rhymes, whatever be their type, have come down to us from a number of sources through the ages. Mothers have sung them to make their babies sleep; soldiers have carried them to their homelands from battlefields; even street peddlers have contributed to them by singing about their wares; school children and street actors putting up plays on the streets have sung verses which became rhymes. Many of the rhymes recall anecdotes from the lives of famous people and events in history. Of course, the most popular song and the one sung most often is “Happy Birthday to You.”
Some people believe that the famous “Little Miss Muffet” may have been the daughter of Dr. Thomas Muffet, a great expert on spiders. Others relate the rhyme with Robert Bruce of Scotland. The spider is the link between the rhyme and Bruce! While the presence of the spider frightened Miss Muffet away, Bruce was inspired by its persistent effort to spin a web!
“Ring-a-ring O’ roses” is again a verse story based on the Great Plague which broke out in 1665, resulting in the death of many people. The roses refer to the pink rashes that were one of the chief signs of the deadly disease. Again, the severe bouts of sneezing which the disease brought on, are indicated by ‘A-tishoo! A-tishoo!’
Whatever be their origins, whatever be the stories they tell, whether nonsensical or tongue twisters, nursery rhymes will continue to remain the favorite songs of people even in generations to come, for their simplicity, easy rhythm and attractive tunes.
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