The average and normal childhood of today may be full of toys, television, and video games, but when it comes time to go to bed a story is generally read. The stories can differ from fairy tales to simple stories that that teach lessons about life. Nursery Rhymes are also a common form of literature for young children. Almost everyone grew up with well-known nursery rhymes like Jack and Jill, Three Blind Mice, and Ring around the Rosies. These rhymes have been around for many years and have evolved since their origins. The thought usually does not cross many minds when the actual meaning or origin of nursery rhymes takes place. .
The history behind the simple rhymes is quite that, simple, but with many different interpretations because they were originally oral. Nursery rhymes were never actually meant for entertaining or teaching lessons as they are used for now. "They were used to satirize the famous and "noble"" (Borgia 1). To avoid the fear of incarceration or a charged that would indefinitely lead to death, they would make up names to mock or ridicule someone of a high status in society. .
A bard dare not openly and obviously satirize their King and Queen, as this would lead to certain imprisonment. So, to avoid this, they wrote rhymes to tell the tales and used nicknames for the characters they were portraying. (Borgia 1).
These rhymes were told in bars and pubs that were occupied by the common man that at the time, had grudges against the government and used these rhymes as a safe way to insult and ridicule those who put great burdens upon them. The nursery rhymes were later cleaned up and sanitized so that the nanny in Victorian England could tell them in the nursery. Thus, we get the name nursery rhymes (Schafer).
The meaning behind the verses is left open to interpretation. This is because in the beginning when they were being told, they were not written down, but instead were just told and spread around orally.