Week 12 Reading Diary: Nursery Rhymes

Nursery Rhymes- Tales: Many of the tales I had actually not heard of before. I did recognize the Jack a Nory tale. My favorite part of this reading was focusing on the different rhyming patterns of the different tales. Some had rhyming words at the end of every other line. Some rhymed each line except one. And some rhymed in each line for a given set. I think the rhyming pattern plays an important role in how the tales are interpreted. Choppy rhyming with a random line set in that does not rhythm crates a somewhat anxious flow. While a tale that rhymes every other line seemed to be more up and down and sing-song-ish (such as in Simple Simon).

Nursery Rhymes-Proverbs: The first proverb starts off with very formal and old language such as the inclusion of the words “thou” and “twill.” My favorite one started “a man of words…”  The reason I liked this proverb so much was for the way it was written with every other line following the same basic structure. There was a beginning line that said “And when the…” and the next line reads “It’s like a…” This continues throughout the proverb with each line building on the other.

Nursery Rhymes- Riddles: My ALL TIME favorite unit because I love riddles. I thought these riddles particularly hard because they were very short with little information to reach the conclusion. I am glad the answers to the riddles were included or I would have gone crazy trying to figure them out. After reading the answer, I often said “ohhhh I got it” but some I did not draw the connection to (like the walnut).

 Nursery Rhymes- Paradoxes: I was unsure what to think when first starting this section because I did not know how paradoxes would be presented in a nursery rhyme. Some I found silly like the one about apple-pie and ink and what we would drink. Others I really enjoyed. One I enjoyed the most was the one about the Guinea Pig. Even though it was simply stating the opposite of what he did, it was written in a way that made me enjoy the simplicity of it.

Nursery Rhymes- Charms and Lullabies: I enjoyed reading Peter Piper because as a kid I always loved reciting it to impress my friends. I also recognized the Bye, Baby Bunting rhyme but I can not pin-point why it sticks out to me. And, of course, Rock-a-bye Baby was included.

Nursery Rhymes- Games: I did not think to include some of the rhymes in the games section that were. I am familiar with the rhymes of The Three Pigs and Hickory Dickory Dock, but have never played them as a game. I enjoyed the instructions included as to what the children act out during the nursery rhyme.

Nursery Rhymes- Jingles:  The jingles section included Hey Diddle Diddle which is one of my favorite nursery rhymes and am glad there was an illustration to match. In reading it now as an adult and analyzing it as a part of this class, I do not see the real meaning in it. I enjoyed it as a kid, and still do, but the dish and the spoon at the end are very random. Many of the others I had not heard of or recognized. Many involved cats, which I thought was interesting.

Nursery Rhymes- Love and Matrimony: I was surprised to see Jack and Jill included in the love and matrimony section, but I guess that the interpretation would be that Jack and Jill loved eachother. I greatly enjoyed the rhyme that started with SYLVIA. It started with Simon’s proclamation of love for Sylvia and the next part included her response where she said she would rather “give a crown than be married to a clown.” When reading her response, it made me giggle at her directness. The other interesting rhyme was the one which included the man asking the woman to “walk with thee” which she would not until he offered her his key to his chest of silver and gold (his wealth). How typical?

Nursery Rhymes- Natural History: My favorite of this section was the Cuckoo rhyme which explaines, by each month, the migration patterns of the bird from April to August. Short, but also nice, was the rhyme “THE cock doth crow, To let you know, If you be wise, 'Tis time to rise.” This is the premise behind the expression “waking up at the rooster’s crow” I was intrigued by the version of Baa, Baa, Black Sheep because it was not exactly the version I grew up saying. The last lines are changed from what I know as “one for the little boy who lives down the lane.” I think I like my version better because it is happier instead of the boy getting none and crying.

Nursery Rhymes- Accumulative Stories: I have always loved the accumulative stories and these nursery rhymes did not disappoint. It is interesting to compare them to other tales, specifically the Japanese tales, where the accumulation stories were very dark and often included death and betrayal. The first story was very repetitive and not my favorite accumulation story, but the second nursery rhyme was great! I love when the dialogue becomes the accumulation as the narrator comes up to different people and adds on to the experience just before.