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Is Baa Baa Black Sheep A Racist Nursery Rhyme?
What type of poem is Baa Baa Black Sheep? ‘Baa, Baa, Black Sheep’ is an English nursery rhyme that is sung to a variation of a French song. The melody of the song, titled, ‘Ah!
Is the song ring around the rosie about death? Ring-a-Ring-a-Roses is all about the Great Plague; the apparent whimsy being a foil for one of London’s most atavistic dreads (thanks to the Black Death).
What does pocket full of posies mean? The bacteria which caused the plague was known to have been spread by fleas which came with the black rats that travelled on the merchant ships. The second line (“a pocket full of posies”) refers to bunch or bouquet of flowers. Here, flower means the herbs which were used to treat the disease.
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ROBERTS: Little Jack Horner was actually Thomas Horner. (Reading) `Little Jack Horner sat in a corner eating his Christmas pie. He stuck in a thumb and pulled out a plum and said, “What a good boy am I.”‘
Mother Goose is often cited as the author of hundreds of children’s stories that have been passed down through oral tradition and published over centuries. Various chants, songs, and even games have been attributed to her, but she is most recognized for her nursery rhymes,
They thought the “ring-a-round the rosie” referred to a red circular rash common in some forms of plague. The posies would have represented the different flowers and herbs people carried to ward off disease. The “ashes” or “a-tishoo” and falling down was supposed to mimic sneezing and eventually dying from the disease.
They all ran after the farmer’s wife, Who cut off their tails with a carving knife. Did you ever see such a thing in your life As three blind mice? Mary, Mary, quite contrary, How does your garden grow? Silver bells and cockle-shells, And pretty maids all of a row.
A-tisket a-tasket. A green and yellow basket.
Old Mother Hubbard went to the cupboard, To fetch her poor dog a bone. So Old Mother Hubbard went to the cupboard, To fetch her poor dog a bone.
Tom, Tom, the piper’s son, Stole a pig, and away he run.