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May I proffer one?
Many nursery rhymes have supposed origin stories or alternative meanings attached to them. The stories often (very often) don't stand up to close investigation, but they can be persistent nevertheless.
Name the nursery rhymes associated with the following interpretations:
1. A complaint about tax rates
2. Part of the propaganda campaign against the Catholic Church during the reign of King Henry VIII
3. The Great Plague of 1665 - "Ring a Ring o' Roses" Bilbo1967
4. Making fun of Mary, Queen of Scots - "Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary" Bilbo1967
5. Making fun of the defeated Richard III
6. Making fun of Cardinal Wolsey's humble origins
7. The burial of a human sacrifice in the foundation of a building
8. Persecution of Protestants under Mary I
9. The busy home life of Queen Caroline, wife of George II
10. Making fun of an official who supposedly did rather well out of the dissolution of the monasteries in England - "Little Jack Horner" orlok
Bonus question:
What's the rhyme that
- is sometimes said to refer to the worship of the Egyptian goddess Hathor
- makes an appearance in altered form in a well-known fantasy novel
Last edited by Shayne Parkinson; 09-21-2012 at 06:02 AM.
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