One of the several nursery rhymes I learnt at my mother's knee (hi mum!). This one has always been one of my favourites, possibly helped by the wonderful illustrations that accompanied it in a number of children's poetry books. Like many other nursery rhymes, this one has an associated tune - as much chanted as sung, as is also typical of the genre, and rather dolorous, as befits the poem. Note: It practically goes without saying that there are several minor variants of the poem, with no one version laying claim to definitiveness. This is merely the wording I like best. On Mother Goose: fictitious old woman, reputedly the source of the body of traditional children's songs and verses known as nursery rhymes. She is often pictured as a beak-nosed, sharp-chinned elderly woman riding on the back of a flying gander. "Mother Goose" was first associated with nursery rhymes in an early collection of "the most celebrated Songs and Lullabies of old British nurses," Mother Goose's Melody; or Sonnets for the Cradle (1781), published by the successors of one of the first publishers of children's books, John Newbery. The oldest extant copy dates from 1791, but it is thought that an edition appeared, or was planned, as early as 1765, and it is likely that it was edited by Oliver Goldsmith, who may also have composed some of the verses. The Newbery firm seems to have derived the name "Mother Goose" from the title of Charles Perrault's fairy tales, Contes de ma mère l'oye (1697; "Tales of Mother Goose"), a French folk expression roughly equivalent to "old wives' tales." The persistent legend that Mother Goose was an actual Boston woman, Elizabeth Goose (Vergoose, or Vertigoose), whose grave in Boston's Old Granary Burying Ground is still a tourist attraction, is false. No evidence of the book of rhymes she supposedly wrote in 1719 has ever been found. The first U.S. edition of Mother Goose rhymes was a reprint of the Newbery edition published by Isaiah Thomas in 1785. -- EB Links: http://www-personal.umich.edu/~pfa/dreamhouse/nursery/rhymes.html has a large collection of nursery rhymes I'd hoped to list a site that explained the stories behind some of the nursery rhymes, but was unable to find one I liked. Suggestions welcomed. The Cambridge History of English and American Literature on Nursery Rhymes http://www.bartleby.com/221/1610.html -martin
A poem a day, complete with analysis, criticism, biographical info, literary anecdotes, trivia, and our own skewed sense of humour :-)
Thanks for the memories.
ReplyDeleteHappy Holidays!
Re your Christmas Day poem, The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes, ed.
ReplyDeleteIona and Peter Opie, Oxford, 1951, is a mine of information. The one you
give contains no particular historical allusions, of course, but rhymes
like Mary, Mary, quite contrary and Humpty Dumpty are another kettle of
fish!
Norman Page
I'm looking for some Mother Goose nursery rhymes written in French. Any ideas?
ReplyDeleteThanks,
Steve Elliott
When the north wind doth blow as it is blowing now, my mind goes back many years to this little poem. I think I learned a lesson in compassion for God's little feathered creatures from this poem.,
ReplyDeleteHi!
ReplyDeleteI was glad to find this little poem on your web page when I looked it up this morning. With winter on its inexorable way, these lines have been in my head, but I couldn't recall the beginning of the second verse.
My father used to recite this to me when I was a young child in Cornwall, England, eighty years ago, but he always said, "What will Robin do then, poor thing?". This gave everything much more pathos and Robin the endearing character of a familiar friend, rather than the more abstract nature implied by 'the'. I didn't know this was from Mother Goose. It would be interesting to check the original.
Anyway, thank you.
Glyn
P.S. The English robin is much smaller and has, possibly, a larger place in the people's heart and folklore than our larger American counterpart.
Does anybody know the tune? My mother used to sing it but I can't quite
ReplyDeleteremember.
On this April morning, I awoke to about three inches of snow on the ground. It reminded me of long ago springs when I was little, I used to worry about the birds when we had a late snow like that. My grandfather would quote that little nursery rhyme to me. It comforted me to know that they could take shelter in the barn. I used to think it was just something he made up, he was a great storyteller. So I thought I would look it up this morning, just to see, and find out that it is in fact a nursery rhyme. It was nice to see, and also to know that he quoted it exactly as you wrote it.
ReplyDeleteMy introduction to Robin was in Kansas when I was a boy. One of my teachers
ReplyDeleterecited only the first verse and it was up to us to decide his future. I'm
glad to know he came to a comfortable end. Ray - rcbandy @ aol.com.
You bring back memories from my kindergarten years 1941-43 in Philadelphia, Pa when we would sing this song, but not with ´the robin´ but ´poor birdy´, which fits the metrics better - from John Wolf, now in Portugal
ReplyDeleteThank you for having the rhyme....one of my favorites....saved me hours searching old books. This being late Feb., in Maine, the poor robin came to mind: flocks of robins now here (on way to Canada?) and "we shall have snow" tomorrow and more later. They will certainly have heads under wings, as will I.
ReplyDeleteS.Dunn, Maine, USA
Thanks for taking the time to discuss this, but I am firmly convinced of this and love to learn more about the subject. If possible, acquire knowledge, would you update your blog with more information? It is very helpful to me
ReplyDeletenice
ReplyDeleteObat Wasir Terbaik
obat tradisional gejala wasir
obat herbal gejala wasir
obat wasir aman ibu hamil
obat wasir utk ibu menyusui
obat wasir kulit manggis
jenis obat wasir di apotik
obat ambeien yang manjur
obat wasir hemorrhoid
obat wasir herbal
obat wasir indonesia
obat wasir jakarta
obat herbal wasir jogja
Obat Ambeien
obat untuk gejala wasir
obat wasir herbal untuk ibu hamil
obat wasir ibu menyusui
obat wasir yang untuk ibu hamil
jual obat wasir ampuh
obat ambeien untuk wanita hamil
obat gejala wasir
obat wasir herbal ampuh
obat wasir internal
obat wasir jogja
jual obat wasir herbal
Good article to read. please read our articles obat ambeien bpom obat ambeien bpom obat ambeien bpom obat ambeien bpom obat ambeien bpom obat ambeien bpom Obat hemoroid tanpa operasi Obat hemoroid tanpa operasi Obat hemoroid tanpa operasi Obat ambeien herbal
ReplyDeleteUntuk Mengobati Kutil Kelamin Pada Pria dan Wanita Tanpa ini tidak hanya dapat dilakukan melalui pengobatan medis dengan cara operasi atau tapi juga sudah banyak pengobatan tradisional
ReplyDeletekutil Terbaik Untuk Pria dengan mutu dan kualitas yang terjamin tanpa efek samping
Obat Sipilis Jogja
ReplyDeleteobat sipilis de nature
Obat Sipilis Tradisional Daun Sirih
obat sipilis paling ampuh
obat sipilis di apotik
obat sipilis raja singa
Obat Sipilis Jogja
obat sipilis de nature
obat sipilis tradisional daun sirih
obat sipilis di apotik umum
obat sipilis dokter
obat sipilis generik
t sipilis yang paling ampuh
obat sipilis
Obat Sipilis Tradisional
Obat Sipilis Di Apotik
Obat Sipilis Alami
Obat Sipilis Paling Ampuh
Obat Sipilis Dengan Bayam Duri
Obat Sipilis Pada Pria
Obat Sipilis Raja Singa
Obat Sipilis Jogja
Obat Sipilis De Nature
Obat Sipilis Di Jual Di Apotik
Obat Sipilis Di Apotik Terdekat
Obat Sipilis Di Apotik Kimia Farma
Obat Sipilis Di Apotik Resep Dokter
Obat Sipilis Di Kimia Farma
Thanks a lot for providing this poem.
ReplyDeleteiklan fashion
iklan properti
iklan otomotif
iklan lowongan
iklan komputer
iklan rumah tangga
pasang iklan gratis
ReplyDeleteValentine’s Day Wallpapers 2019
Valentine’s Day Wallpapers
Valentine’s Day 2019
Valentines Day Wallpapers
Valentines Day Wallpapers 2019
Great post! Interesting information and cute writing style
ReplyDeletemeja tv mewah
meja tv mewah
meja tv mewah
meja tv mewah
meja tv mewah
meja tv mewah
meja tv mewah
meja tv mewah
meja rias lampu
People searching for amusement should consult a great agency to provide best service in a brief moment. There are many agencies providing the support but a number aren't supplying the top-notch support demand by the consumers. Goa escorts services is the ideal service to deliver your preferred partner in a brief while at the hotel area.
ReplyDeletecalangute escorts
candolim escorts
panaji escorts
baga escorts
morjim escorts
anjuna escorts
porvorim escorts