Rhymes of Bharat

A critical reading of some contemporary modern English rhymes 

The literature of a land—its rhymes, its poems, its storied verses—stands as the living pulse of its culture, a mirror reflecting the values, traditions, and soul of a people. English rhymes, born of a colonial past, carry within their simple stanzas the weight of a society’s morals and mores, a history whispered through the ages. To unravel their meaning is to journey through time, peeling back the layers to reveal not just what is spoken, but what is concealed in the spaces between the lines. Here, We embark upon a meticulous exploration of each rhyme, to lay bare both the overt and the obscured truths they hold.

Here is a selected list of such questionable modern English rhymes, at least from the perspective of teaching such rhymes to Indian students as a part of the curriculum (Click on the poem title for a detailed critical analysis, or visit this page):
 

• Peter Peter Pumpkin eater

• Mary Mary Quite Contrary

• Ring a Ring O' Roses

• Chubby Cheeks

• Georgie Porgie

• Hey-a-rub dub

• Little Bunny Foo Foo

• Punch and Judy

• Humpty Dumpty

• Mary had a little lamb

• Baa Baa Black Sheep

• Pussy Cat

• Goosey Goosey Gander

• Jack and Jill

• Ladybird Ladybird

• Sing a song O sixpence

• Little Miss Muffet

• Here we go round the Mulberry bush

• Orange and lemons

• Eeny Meeny Miny Moe

• Ten little Indians

• The little turtle

• Rock-a-Bye-Baby

• The farmer in the Dell

• The old woman who swallowed a fly

• Two little ducks

• Rain, Rain go away

• One, two, three, four, five

• Little Polly Flinder

• One, two, I love my coffee

• Knock, knock, knock

• Tom, Tom, the piper's son

• The queen of hearts

• Old king cole

• Little Dicky Dilver

• London bridge is falling down

• Row, row, row your boat

• Hunting we'll go

• One two, buckle your shoe

• Tisket, O Tasket

• Lavender's blue

• Five little monkeys

• Three blind mice

• Hey Diddle Diddle

• This is the house that Jack built

• This old man

• The old woman who lived under a hill

• The old woman in a basket

• Pop goes the weasel