“Twinkle Twinkle little star
How I wonder what you are...”

One may also wonder at how this little rhyme takes us back to our kindergarten days when life was all about playing, singing and chasing butterflies. That’s the magic of nursery rhymes.

Apparently, the primary aim of rhymes is to develop the vocabulary of small children, their numerical skills and also develop a taste for music and poetry. But if you dig deep into the history of these rhymes you will be surprised. You will find that historical events are beautifully portrayed or hidden within them.

The best-known nursery rhymes belong to the English. (Some other rhymes, like “Mary had a little lamb” are American). They are songs and verses that are passed down orally from one generation to the next. Many of the widely-accepted English rhymes are believed to have originated in the 17th century. Some Historians even say that at first they were possibly a form of verbal political cartoon, in an era when free expression of ideas could get the speaker into jail!

Many of these rhymes carry an ironic tone. Some of the most popular nursery rhymes like Jack and Jill, Humpty Dumpty, Pussycat and Ring around the rosy have lost their originality over the years. Though historical facts about these rhymes are vague, scholars have given various interpretations as to their origin.

Let us take a look at these renditions.

“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 rhyme has its roots in French history. The ‘Jack’ mentioned here is King Louis XVI, who lost his crown and was executed. ‘Jill’ is his Queen, Marie Antoinette, who came tumbling after. The actual beheading of King Louis XVI took place during the ‘reign of terror’ in 1793. The Jack and Jill rhyme is considered to have originated in 1795.

“Ring around the rosy
A pocketful of posies
“Ashes, Ashes”
We all fall down!

This sweet rhyme, which usually serves as a background for ring games and musical chair competitions, is linked to the Great Plague of London in 1665, which is also known as the bubonic plague. ‘Ring around the rosy’ refers to the symptoms of plague including a rosy red eruption on the skin, also known as roseola. ‘Ashes, Ashes’ here stands for the dead bodies!

“Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall,
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.
All the King’s horses, and all the King’s men
Couldn’t put Humpty together again!”

Humpty Dumpty is one of the all-time favourite rhymes and is purely satirical. ‘Humpty Dumpty’ was in fact believed to be a large cannon, used during the English Civil War (1642-1649) between the Royalists and the Parliamentarians. In 1648, the Royalists placed the cannon, which is colloquially called ‘Humpty Dumpty’, on the roof/wall of the fortified St Mary’s church.

But later, the Royalist’s fort was blown to pieces and the cannon was destroyed. Eventually, the Royalists lay down their arms and surrendered.

“Pussy cat, pussy cat,  
where have you been?   
I've been to London  
to visit the queen. 
Pussy cat, pussy cat,  
what did you there?  
I frightened a little mouse   
under her chair.”

Queen Elizabeth I (16th century) had an old cat. She used to roam around the palace. It is said that one day, the cat ran to the Royal room where the Queen was seated in her throne. The tail of the cat brushed against the Queen’s feet and she was startled.

Everyone feared that the cat would be punished, but the good-humoured Queen said that she would let the cat to wander in her room if it would keep away mice.

Curious enough, this incident gave birth to the rhyme.

These are just a few examples. So don’t be alarmed if another old nursery rhyme lends a new story to your ears...

References: www.Rhymes.org.uk, Orchard Book of Nursery Rhymes by Zena Sutherland, Popular Rhymes and Nursery Tales: A Sequel to the Nursery Rhymes of England by James Orchard and Halliwell-Phillipps