I cite these immortal lines from Jagindranath Sarkar's 'Hashikhushi,' published back in 1897. It was where the author included a group of popular folk rhymes, including a few of his own. This verse, ...

Sometimes friends ask me what drew me to poetry, what first compelled me to write poems? And my answer is two-fold: jump rope tunes and nursery rhymes. These oral forms of poetry fostered my love of ...

Traditional nursery rhymes could be in peril as parents claim they are too old-fashioned to interest their children, a survey suggests. The survey by the charity Booktrust, to mark National Bookstart ...

“Jack and Jill”, which used to seem like an innocent frolic, is actually about France’s Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette. In 1793, they were guillotined. These dark origins seem to be so for other ...

Nursery rhymes from the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries are sung to children, yes, but often contain thematic elements that are fairly dark—beheadings, bridge collapses, and more. In this game, host ...

Old Mother Hubbard… Never has anything in her cupboard (Picture: Alamy) There are no labour laws (although there is a lot of child labour) in nursery rhymes. But if there were, one person would have ...