Understanding Ring around the Rosy
A Simple Spring Chant or a Rhyme about the Bubonic Plague?
Ring around the rosy
A pocketful of posies
"Ashes, Ashes"
We all fall down!
Alternate Version
Ring-a-Ring o'Rosies
A Pocket full of Posies
"A-tishoo! A-tishoo!"
We all fall Down!
Alternate Version
Ring-a-ring-a-roses
A pocket full of posies;
Hush! Hush! Hush! Hush!
We’ve all tumbled down.
Traditional Interpretation
Traditionally the nursery rhyme Ring Around the Rosy or Ring-a-Ring o’Rosies was believed to be a description of the people’s experiences with the bubonic plague.
Ring-a-ring o’Rosies referred to the circular rose-colored rash that appeared on the skin of those who were infected with the bubonic plague.
A Pocket full of Posies referred to the sweet herbs that people collected in pockets or pouches to carry with them in an attempt to prevent the disease. People believed the plague was transferred by bad smells so the posies were considered a beneficial ward against infection.
Ashes, Ashes / We all fall down! Falling down clearly refers to death. The phrase ashes, ashes refers to the cremation of the dead. Nearly 60% of the population died from the bubonic plague. The disease was not halted until the Great Fire of London in 1666, which turned the rats who carried the disease into ashes.
The variation A-tishoo! A-tishoo refers to the violent sneezing, which was another manifestation of the disease.
Modern Concerns
The poem did not appear in print until 1881 when it appeared as part of a Kate Greenaway collection of Mother Goose. The late date of any written record for the rhyme leads skeptics to believe that the rhyme has nothing to do with the bubonic plague.
Others argue that many of the words found in the rhyme cannot be corroborated in Middle English writing. Particularly problematic is the use of the word of and the word poesies. Defenders claim that while the word of is not found in all versions of the rhyme it is used in the version traditionally associated with the English which uses the Middle English variant o’.
While the word poesy is not found in many early documents the word poesy is found in a poem by Edmund Spenser called 'Prothalamion or A Spousal Verse' (1552-1599).
More Nursery Rhymes with Morbid Meanings
An analysis of Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary reveals the dark secrets of Mary Tudor otherwise known as Bloody Mary.
Goosey, Goosey Gander is a reminder of the dark side of the religious upheaval in sixteenth century England.
Sources
Baring Gould, William S and Ceil. The Annotated Mother Goose. Bramhall House, 1962.Christensen, James C.
Rhyme and Reasons an Annotated Collection of Mother Goose Rhymes. The Greenwhich Workshop Press, 1997.
Ring around the Rosy
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