Rhymes and Reasons

Stories and nursery rhymes have been passed down, from generation to generation, for centuries. They have been told to scare children into minding their parents and to put children to bed at night. However, we may not be telling our children, what we think we are telling them, when they hear these stories.

Nursery songs and rhymes are both used as an enjoyed form of entertainment and educational purposes for children. Do you remember your favorite lullaby? Rhyme? Did you ever feel there was something else to that nursery favorite that may have left an unsettling feeling? Well, as a matter of fact there is. The origins of many nursery songs and rhymes refer to actual events in history. Lyrics and words of these nursery favorites were used to spoof royal and political events. They were told to children in order to silent and scare them into behaving.

"Ring Around the Rosy" was based on a children's ring game. It dates back to London in 1665 at the time of the bubonic plague. "Ring around the rosy" was the red ring that formed around the mouth--the first sign of the illness. "Pocket full of posies": It was believed that the disease was transmitted by foul smells and in order to protect one's self, a pouch or pockets were fill with sweet smelling herbs or posies. "Ashes, Ashes" derived from the dead being cremated. In the English version of the song "Atishoo," a symptom of sneezing caused from the plague, is used rather than "Ashes." "We all fall down". In other words, "We all die."

Old Mother Hubbard comes from the British history of King Henry the VIII and his Queen, Katherine of Aragon. Cardinal Thomas Woslsey could not make it possible for King Henry VIII to divorce from his Queen so he could marry Anne Boyleyn. In the song, King Henry VIII is referred as the "doggie" and the "bone" is referred to the divorce. The cupboard is the Catholic Church and the Old Mother Cupboard is Cardinal Wolsey.

"Three Blind Mice" is based on the English history in regards to the daughter of King Henry VIII. The "farmer's wife" refers to the daughter of King Henry VIII, Queen Mary I. Mary was a staunch Catholic and her violent persecution of Protestants led to the nickname of 'Bloody Mary'. The reference to 'farmer's wife' in "Three Blind Mice" refers to the massive estates which she, and her husband King Philip of Spain, possessed. The 'three blind mice' were three noblemen who adhered to the Protestant faith who were convicted of plotting against the Queen . She did not, however, have them dismembered and blinded, as is stated in "Three Blind Mice". She had them burned at the stake.

The origins of the nursery rhyme of "Seesaw Marjorie Daw" are in a game for children. The seesaw is the oldest 'ride' for children, easily constructed from logs of different sizes. The words of "Seesaw Marjorie Daw" reflect children playing on a see-saw and singing this rhyme to accompany their game. There was no such person named Marjorie Daw. The assumption is that this was purely used to rhyme with the word "seesaw".

Seesaw Marjorie Daw
Johnny shall have a new master
He shall earn but a penny a day
Because he can't work any faster

The last three lines of "Seesaw Margery Daw" appear to reflect the use of child labor in work houses where those with nowhere else to live would be forced to work for a pittance (a penny a day) on piece work (because he can't work any faster). The words of "Seesaw Margery Daw" might be used by a spiteful child to taunt another implying his families were destined for the workhouse." (www.rhymes.org.uk)

The origins of the nursery rhyme of a wise old owl are, are vague, however its meaning isn't.

A wise old owl lived in an oak
The more he saw the less he spoke
The less he spoke the more he heard.
Why can't we all be like that wise old bird?

It would be told to children in an attempt to teach the child the virtue of being quiet! The lyrics derived from the saying 'a wise old owl' , based on an owl's behavior of watching and patiently waiting when hunting its prey. ("Children should be seen and not heard!")." (www.rhymes.org.uk)

The roots of the story, or poem, of Jack and Jill are in France. Jack and Jill referred to are said to be King Louis XVI - Jack -who was beheaded (lost his crown) followed by his Queen Marie Antoinette - Jill - (who came tumbling after). The words and lyrics to the Jack and Jill poem were made more acceptable as a story for children by providing a happy ending! The actual beheadings occurred in during the Reign of Terror in 1793. The first publication date for the lyrics of Jack and Jill rhyme is 1795 - which ties-in with the history and origins. The Jack and Jill poem is also known as Jack and Gill - the misspelling of Gill is not uncommon in nursery rhymes as they are usually passed from generation to generation by word of mouth."

Learning the origins of the lyrics and words of the nursery songs and rhymes brings a sense of sadness and horror yet, a satisfaction of knowing where and why. It is bizarre how the events in history that are generally gruesome, are still being told today through children's nursery songs and rhymes, especially when both they have been forgotten and children are better understood today as in reference to the development of child care and children's physiology.

Everyone knows the story of "Little Red Riding Hood". Or do they? Originally, peasants told stories to pass the time, from boring drudgework. This particular story began as a simple story of a young woman who was raped, during a walk through the woods to visit her grandmother. Later, in order to scare children into obeying, the stories added the mother packing the lunch, and warning the girl, "Don't speak to strangers."(Tartar, 1992)

Versions told during the 19th century turned a rapist into a "ravenous wolf who devoured her", when she stopped to speak to him. The Grimm brothers added even more, to make it an exciting story. The wolf ate her, after she arrived at Grandma's house. She was later cut out of the wolf's belly, when the woodcutter killed him. This story has changed even more.

"Hansel and Gretel" is another tale that is not as innocent as it seems. In the first version of this story, the parents became poor, and abandoned their children in the woods. Its moral was "Poverty does not improve one's character, but actually makes him more selfish." (Tartar, 1992)

A man named Bruno Bettelheim rewrote "Hansel and Gretel". He believed children were evil. His version is closer to the story we know today. The focus of his story was the "destructive desires and dependence of the children". The parents sent their children out, because they could not afford to care for them. The children eating the gingerbread house represented the greed of children, and symbolized their desire to "eat their parents out of house and home". The story's ending represented the children, grown, responsible, and bringing wealth to their parents, to stop being a burden. It has hardly changed, over the years. The meanings are still there, but not seen.

Traditional tales were considered too violent. Fairy tales were not considered proper reading material for children. (Bronner, 2000) There was nothing to learn, and it made them believe the impossible. Fairy tales were changed to encourage obedience in children, who were seen as inherently evil, needing to be taught how to be good. (Eilers, 2000) Ronald Dahl stated, "Adults have relentless need to civilize this thing that, when it is born, is an animal with no manners, no moral sense, at all." These stories were told with such brutality, to help the children of that time to cope with the deaths they saw, daily. The people of these days used infanticide and abandonment regularly, to control the population. Folk tales change over time, mixing with the current culture. Tolkien stated, "Fairy tales were retired to the nursery when they became unfashionable."

Does anyone remember this story?

"The Girl with No Hands"

There once was a king, whose queen lay on her deathbed. Before she died, this queen made her husband make one promise: when he remarried, he would only marry the woman whose finger fit her wedding band. After her death, the king searched the land, but no woman's finger would fit. Over the years, he had been to every woman in the kingdom; every woman had tried on the ring.

During this time, the king's daughter had grown into a beautiful young woman. The king began to lust after her, and convinced her to try on the ring. It was a perfect fit. He tried to make her marry him; she refused.

A handsome prince came, to ask the king for his daughter's hand. In a rage, the king cut off his daughter's hands and gave them to the prince. This disfigurement caused the girl to be unsuitable for marriage. The king, again, tried to make his daughter marry him. She fled into the woods, and survived for many years, despite the fact she had no hands.

The king of a nearby kingdom took pity on her, and took her as his wife. The mother-in-law hated her. When the girl bore a child, her husband was away. Her mother-in-law sent word him that the girl had given birth to a monster. He had her and the baby sent away. The mother-in-law strapped the baby to the girl's back, and sent her back into the wilderness. The only place she had to go was home. Her father took her as his wife and the child as his son.

In later versions of this story, the king loved his daughter "in a fatherly way" and remarried. It was the stepmother, jealous of the girl's beauty, which cut off the girl's hands and sent her into the wilderness. She met the king of the neighboring kingdom while struggling in the wilderness, married him, and they lived happily ever after. (Tatar, 1987)

In every version after, there were these similarities:

* The bond between father and daughter is very strong;

* An evil woman (usually the stepmother) causes the girl to be set apart from civilization, out of jealousy;

* Things happen, to cause the girl to be "as beautiful inside as she is outside";

* A handsome prince saves her, marries her, and she lives happily ever after.

From these many versions, come well-known stories: "Briar Rose", called "Sleeping Beauty" by Disney; "Snow Drop", called "Snow White" by Disney; "Ashenputtle", now called "Cinderella". (Bottigheimer, 1987) In the original stories, the woman wins her prince through her goodness. In Disney's versions, she wins her prince by only her beauty. The old stories show the women as intelligent. Disney follows the old adage, "A woman's place is in the home", and his women are only good housekeepers. (Tatar, 1987)

Just remember, when you tuck your children in bed, tonight, to be careful what you read to them.

Works Cited
A.) Bronner, Simon J. Western Folklore. "The American Concept of Tradition: Folklore in the Discourse of Traditional Values". Chico: Spring 2000. Vol. 59, Iss. 2; pg. 143.

B.) Bottigheimer, Ruth B. Grimms' Bad Girls and Bold Boys: The Moral and Social Vision of the Tales. Yale University Press, New Haven and London. Copyright 1987.

C.) Eilers, Michelle L. Extrapolation. "On the Origins of Modern Fantasy". Kent: Winter 2000. Vol. 41, Iss. 4; pg. 317.

D.) Tatar, Maria. Off With Their Heads! Fairytales and the Culture of Childhood. Princeton University Press. Princeton, New Jersey. Copyright 1992.

E.) Tatar, Maria. The Hard Facts of the Grimms' Fairy Tales. Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey. Copyright 1987.

F.) www.rhymes.org.uk