Readings in Folklore & Culture.

Nursery Rhyme Rhetoric

Guidelines and Rubric

A long time ago, in more repressed times, people were not always allowed to openly criticize their governments. Doing so could bring them grave harm. As a means of communicating amongst each other, clever rhymes were created and passed around as a way to parody certain public figures or events.

For this assignment you will choose four nursery rhymes to investigate and study. For each nursery rhyme you will need to do the following:

• Provide the text of the nursery rhyme.
• Identify where it originated from and the time period.
• Discuss the historical context(s) or meaning behind each one (there may be more than one).
• Cite all your sources using MLA.
• This assignment should be 2-3 pages in length.