nursery rhyme

nursery rhyme, verse customarily told or sung to small children. The oral tradition of nursery rhymes is ancient, but new verses have steadily entered the stream. A French poem numbering the days of the month, similar to “Thirty days hath September,” was recorded in the 13th century; but such latecomers as “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” (by Ann and Jane Taylor; pub. 1806) and “Mary Had a Little Lamb” (by Sarah Josepha Hale; pub. 1830) seem to be just as firmly established in the repertoire.

Some of the oldest rhymes are probably those accompanying babies’ games, such as “Handy, dandy, prickly, pandy, which hand will you have?” (recorded 1598) and its German equivalent, “Windle, wandle, in welchem Handle, oben oder unt?” The existence of numerous European parallels for “Ladybird, ladybird [or, in the United States, “Ladybug, ladybug”], fly away home” and for the singing game “London Bridge is falling down” and for the riddle-rhyme “Humpty-Dumpty” suggests the possibility that these rhymes come down from very ancient sources, since direct translation is unlikely.

Such relics of the past are exceptional. Most nursery rhymes date from the 16th, 17th, and, most frequently, the 18th centuries. Apparently most were originally composed for adult entertainment. Many were popular ballads and songs. “The frog who would a-wooing go” first appeared in 1580 as A Moste Strange weddinge of the ffrogge and the mowse. “Oh where, oh where, ish mine little dog gone?” was a popular song written in 1864 by the Philadelphia composer Septimus Winner.

Although many ingenious theories have been advanced attributing hidden significance, especially political allusions, to nursery rhymes, there is no reason to suppose they are any more arcane than the popular songs of the day. Some were inspired by personalities of the time, and occasionally these can be identified. Somerset tradition associates “Little Jack Horner” (recorded 1725) with a Thomas Horner of Mells who did well for himself during the dissolution of the monasteries.

The earliest known published collection of nursery rhymes was Tommy Thumb’s (Pretty) Song Book, 2 vol. (London, 1744). It included “Little Tom Tucker,” “Sing a Song of Sixpence,” and “Who Killed Cock Robin?” The most influential was Mother Goose’s Melody: or Sonnets for the Cradle, published by the firm of John Newbery in 1781. Among its 51 rhymes were “Jack and Jill,” “Ding Dong Bell,” and “Hush-a-bye baby on the tree top.” An edition was reprinted in the United States in 1785 by Isaiah Thomas. Its popularity is attested by the fact that these verses are still commonly called “Mother Goose rhymes” in the United States. See also alphabet rhyme; counting-out rhyme; Mother Goose.