Rhyme thrives at both poles of literature. It is the material of a greeting card—“Roses are red / Violets are blue / Sugar is sweet / And so are you”—and the high-tragic language of Racine. Rhyme ...

When a Muppet calls something weird, you know it is. Well, such is the case for the heart-racing, albeit brief nursery rhyme “Jack Be Nimble,” which “roving reporter” Kermit the Frog showcases below ...

Early versions of the rhyme included the words ‘bloody’ and ‘blooming’—and sometimes didn’t feature a spider at all. ByM/DigitalVision Vectors/Getty Images (spider), VladSt/DigitalVision Vectors/Getty ...

Something can start off dark, even heinous, written hundreds of years ago, and by the time it hits modernity, it’s as soft and fluffy as a cloud. Or it can have rumors attached to it that seemingly ...

London librarian Chris Roberts fills Debbie Elliott in on the three men in the tub as a series on the real meaning of nursery rhymes continues. Roberts is the author of Heavy Words Lightly Thrown: The ...

The nursery rhyme “Frère Jacques,” also known as “Brother Jacques” or “Brother John” in English, tells the tale of a monk who is being summoned to ring the bells, which he seems not to have done yet ...

When sounds match up at the end of a line It’s called ‘end rhyme’ and sounds mighty fine So who wins the battle? And the prize of a rattle? Let’s call it a draw? Okay, that’s fine. When words have ...

Host Debbie Elliott and Chris Roberts dissect the meaning of the nursery rhyme "Little Jack Horner." It's about a real estate swindle in 16th-century England. Roberts is the author of Heavy Words ...