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Nursery Rhymes
A nursery rhyme is a traditional poem or song for children in Britain and many other countries, but usage of the term dates only from the late 18th/early 19th century. The term Mother Goose rhymes is interchangeable with nursery rhymes. From the mid-16th century nursery rhymes begin to be recorded in English plays, and most popular rhymes date from the 17th and 18th centuries. The first English collections, '' Tommy Thumb's Song Book'' and a sequel, ''Tommy Thumb's Pretty Song Book'', were published by Mary Cooper in 1744. Publisher John Newbery's stepson, Thomas Carnan, was the first to use the term Mother Goose for nursery rhymes when he published a compilation of English rhymes, ''Mother Goose's Melody, or, Sonnets for the Cradle'' (London, 1780). History Lullabies The oldest children's songs of which we have records are lullabies, intended to help a child fall asleep. Lullabies can be found in every human culture. The English term lullaby is thought to come from "lu, lu" ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
To Market, To Market
"To Market, To Market" or "To Market, To Market, to Buy a Fat Pig" is a folk nursery rhyme which is based upon the traditional rural activity of going to a market or fair where agricultural produce would be bought and sold. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 19708. Lyrics The first complete recorded version of the rhyme appeared in 1805 in ''Songs for the Nursery'' as "To market, to market, to buy a penny bun," with no reference to a pig.I. Opie and P. Opie, ''The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes'' New Edition (Oxford University Press, 1951, 2nd edn., 1997), p. 352-353. A common variation in the present day is: :To market, to market, to buy a fat pig, :Home again, home again, jiggety-jig. :To market, to market, to buy a fat hog, :Home again, home again, jiggety-jog. :To market, to market to buy a plum cake, :Home again, home again, market is late. :To market, to market, to buy a plum bun, :Home again, home again, market is done. :To market, to market to buy a fat dog ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Joseph Ritson
Joseph Ritson (2 October 1752 – 23 September 1803) was an English antiquary who was well known for his 1795 compilation of the Robin Hood legend. After a visit to France in 1791, he became a staunch supporter of the ideals of the French Revolution. He was also an influential vegetarianism activist.Spencer, Colin. (1995). ''The Heretic's Feast: A History of Vegetarianism''. University Press of New England. pp. 233-234. He is also known for his collections of English nursery rhymes, such as " Roses Are Red" and " Little Bo-Peep", in ''Gammer Gurton's Garland or The Nursery Parnassus'', published in London by Joseph Johnson. Early life He was born in Stockton-on-Tees, County Durham, of a Westmorland yeoman family. He was educated for the law, mainly by Ralph Bradley the leading conveyancer. He then settled in London as a conveyancer at 22. Author He devoted his spare time to literature, and in 1782, he published an attack on Thomas Warton's '' History of English Poetry' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
As I Was Going To St Ives
"As I was going to St Ives" (Roud 19772) is a traditional English-language nursery rhyme in the form of a riddle. The most common modern version is: : As I was going to St. Ives, : I met a man with seven wives, : Each wife had seven sacks, : Each sack had seven cats, : Each cat had seven kits: : Kits, cats, sacks, and wives, : How many were there going to St. Ives?I. Opie and P. Opie, ''The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes'' (Oxford University Press, 1951, 2nd edn., 1997), pp. 376–7. Origins The following version is found in a manuscript (Harley MS 7316) dating from approximately 1730: : As I went to St Ives : I met Nine Wives : And every Wife had nine Sacs, : And every Sac had nine Cats : And every Cat had nine Kittens A version very similar to that accepted today was published in the ''Weekly Magazine'' of August 4, 1779: : As I was going to St. Ives, : Upon the road I met seven wives; : Every wife had seven sacks, : Every sack had seven cats, : Every cat had seven ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mummers
Mummers' plays are folk plays performed by troupes of amateur actors, traditionally all male, known as mummers or guisers (also by local names such as ''rhymers'', ''pace-eggers'', ''soulers'', ''tipteerers'', ''wrenboys'', and ''galoshins''). Historically, mummers' plays consisted of informal groups of costumed community members that visited from house to house on various holidays. Today the term refers especially to a play in which a number of characters are called on stage, two of whom engage in a combat, the loser being revived by a doctor character. This play is sometimes found associated with a sword dance though both also exist in Britain independently. Mumming spread from the British Isles to a number of former British colonies. It is sometimes performed in the street but more usually during visits to houses and pubs. It is generally performed seasonally or annually, often at Christmas, Easter or on Plough Monday, more rarely on Halloween or All Souls' Day, and often w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ballads
A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or '' ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and song of Britain and Ireland from the Late Middle Ages until the 19th century. They were widely used across Europe, and later in Australia, North Africa, North America and South America. Ballads are often 13 lines with an ABABBCBC form, consisting of couplets (two lines) of rhymed verse, each of 14 syllables. Another common form is ABAB or ABCB repeated, in alternating eight and six syllable lines. Many ballads were written and sold as single sheet broadsides. The form was often used by poets and composers from the 18th century onwards to produce lyrical ballads. In the later 19th century, the term took on the meaning of a slow form of popular love song and is often used for any love song, particularly the sentimental ballad of pop or ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Proverb
A proverb (from la, proverbium) is a simple and insightful, traditional saying that expresses a perceived truth based on common sense or experience. Proverbs are often metaphorical and use formulaic language. A proverbial phrase or a proverbial expression is a type of a conventional saying similar to proverbs and transmitted by oral tradition. The difference is that a proverb is a fixed expression, while a proverbial phrase permits alterations to fit the grammar of the context. Collectively, they form a genre of folklore. Some proverbs exist in more than one language because people borrow them from languages and cultures with which they are in contact. In the West, the Bible (including, but not limited to the Book of Proverbs) and medieval Latin (aided by the work of Erasmus) have played a considerable role in distributing proverbs. Not all Biblical proverbs, however, were distributed to the same extent: one scholar has gathered evidence to show that cultures in which the Bibl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Riddles
A riddle is a statement, question or phrase having a double or veiled meaning, put forth as a puzzle to be solved. Riddles are of two types: ''enigmas'', which are problems generally expressed in metaphorical or allegorical language that require ingenuity and careful thinking for their solution, and ''conundra'', which are questions relying for their effects on punning in either the question or the answer. Archer Taylor says that "we can probably say that riddling is a universal art" and cites riddles from hundreds of different cultures including Finnish, Hungarian, American Indian, Chinese, Russian, Dutch and Filipino sources amongst many others. Many riddles and riddle-themes are internationally widespread. In the assessment of Elli Köngäs-Maranda (originally writing about Malaitian riddles, but with an insight that has been taken up more widely), whereas myths serve to encode and establish social norms, "riddles make a point of playing with conceptual boundaries and cr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
British Library
The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one of the largest libraries in the world. It is estimated to contain between 170 and 200 million items from many countries. As a legal deposit library, the British Library receives copies of all books produced in the United Kingdom and Ireland, including a significant proportion of overseas titles distributed in the UK. The Library is a non-departmental public body sponsored by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. The British Library is a major research library, with items in many languages and in many formats, both print and digital: books, manuscripts, journals, newspapers, magazines, sound and music recordings, videos, play-scripts, patents, databases, maps, stamps, prints, drawings. The Library's collections include around 14 million books, along with substantial holdings of manuscripts and items dating as far back as 2000 BC. The library maintains a programme for content acquis ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rain Rain Go Away
"Rain, Rain, Go Away" is a popular English language nursery rhyme. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 19096. Lyrics There are few versions and variations of this rhyming couplet. The most common modern version is: :Rain, rain, go away, :Come again another day.I. Opie and P. Opie, ''The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes'' (Oxford University Press, 1951, 2nd edn., 1997), p. 360. Origins Similar rhymes can be found in many societies, including ancient Greece and ancient Rome. The modern English language rhyme can be dated to at least to the 17th century when James Howell in his collection of proverbs noted: :Rain rain go to Spain: fair weather come again. A version very similar to the modern version was noted by John Aubrey in 1687 as used by "little children" to "charm away the Rain...": :Rain Rain go away, :Come again on Saturday. A wide variety of alternatives have been recorded including: "Midsummer day", "washing day", "Christmas Day" and "Martha's wedding day" ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lavender's Blue
"Lavender's Blue" (also called "Lavender Blue") is an English folk song and nursery rhyme from the 17th century. Its Roud Folk Song Index number is 3483. It has been recorded in various forms and some pop versions have been hits in the U.S. and U.K. charts. Lyrics There are as many as thirty verses to the song, and many variations of each verse. A typical version, described by James Halliwell in 1849, is: :Lavender's blue, dilly dilly, lavender's green, :When I am king, dilly dilly, you shall be queen: :Who told you so, dilly dilly, who told you so? :'Twas mine own heart, dilly dilly, that told me so. :Call up your men, dilly dilly, set them to work, :Some with a rake, dilly dilly, some with a fork; :Some to make hay, dilly dilly, some to thresh corn, :Whilst you and I, dilly dilly, keep ourselves warm. :If you should die, dilly dilly, as it may hap, :You shall be buried, dilly dilly, under the tap; :Who told you so, dilly dilly, pray tell me why? :That you might drink, dilly d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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