Nursery rhyme

Nursery Rhyme

A nursery rhyme is a traditional poem or song for young children in Britain and many other countries, but usage of the term only dates from the late 18th/early 19th century. The term Mother Goose rhymes is interchangeable with nursery rhymes.

Origins

The oldest children's songs of which we have records are lullabies, intended to help a child sleep. Lullabies can be found in every human culture. The English term lullaby is thought to come from "lu, lu" or "la la" sounds made by mothers or nurses to calm children, and "by by" or "bye bye", either another lulling sound or a term for good night.

Meaning and Purpose

Nursery rhymes have been argued to have hidden meanings and origins. For example, it has been suggested that Sing a Song of Sixpence was a piracy recruitment song and Baa, Baa, Black Sheep was a complaint against Medieval English taxes on wool. However, most scholars disagree with these interpretations, pointing out that they were based on late 20th-century views and not on historical facts.

Instead, they argue that nursery rhymes were a method of oral storytelling for illiterate societies. Nursery rhymes also introduce children to musical patterns and the structure of language.

Examples

Some of the most popular nursery rhymes include Humpty Dumpty, Jack and Jill, Little Miss Muffet, and The Itsy Bitsy Spider.

See Also

• Children's literature
• Children's song
• Lullaby
• Mother Goose