Many English speaking children have their early language learning enhanced with nursery rhymes. The chanting of rhythmic patterns and the old-fashioned vocabulary have a special appeal to children. In early childhood these rhymes are often chanted while participating in playground games.

Ring a Ring o’ Roses

One such rhyme that has survived in popularity is Ring a Ring o’ Roses. I’m sure many of you will remember chanting and playing this game. There are many versions of the rhyme, but one of the most widely accepted versions is as follows:

Ring a ring o’ roses,

A pocket full of posies.

A-tishoo! A-tishoo!

We all fall down. 

Children really enjoy falling over at the end, laughing as they tumble onto each other. But did you know the origin of the rhyme was not based on the fun and laughter of childhood, but on death.

The Great Plague of London

This rhyme is said to have been telling the story of the Bubonic Plague, or the Great Plague of London in 1665. Another name for this plague was The Black Death. Although there had been earlier outbreaks of the plague, 1665 was the first outbreak for some time.

Conditions in London at that time were overcrowded, and black rats began inhabiting the city. These rats carried fleas, which in turn carried and spread the plague. The 1665 outbreak was thought to have started in the London parish of St Giles-in-the-Field, but quickly spread from parish to parish. It started in spring, but the number of deaths rose rapidly in the heat of summer.

Symptoms and Spread of the Disease

The first symptoms of the disease were a red rash, or ring of rose coloured spots, hence the first line of the rhyme, Ring a ring o’ roses. The disease was violent and swift, taking only four to six days from onset until death.

When someone in the family was confirmed as having the plague, the house was sealed off with the whole family isolated inside. This meant that family members were most certainly doomed to death. A red cross was painted on the door of the house, to warn others to stay away.

Protection from the Disease

People thought the strong smell resulting from the plague was the means by which it was spread. Consequently people started wearing small posies of sweet smelling herbs in their pockets, hoping to ward of the disease. This gives the second line of the rhyme, A pocketful of posies. 

The Mayor ordered cats and dogs to be killed, as a way of preventing the disease from spreading. However, this only resulted in the flea ridden rats being able to roam more freely through the city, and so became a cause of spreading rather than a means of protection.

Final Symptoms and Death

Eventually, a disease ridden patient would start sneezing violently, this being the final symptom before death. The last line of the rhyme, A-tishoo! A-tishoo, we all fall down relates to the finality of death.

Dead bodies were placed outside the house at night and a cart came along and carried the bodies to large communal burial pits. Over 100,000 people are believed to have died before the destructive 1666 Great Fire of London brought the disease under control.

Childhood Nursery Rhymes

This is just one example of  a nursery rhyme originating from an historical event. It would be a shame to take away the enjoyment of childhood by eliminating such rhymes from children’s experiences. Children learn a lot about language from chanting rhymes and when they start school the familiarity of the rhymes is often a link into more formal literacy learning. 

However, the horrific facts of the plague will appeal to older children and so they can be made aware of the circumstances behind this beloved rhyme. They could even be encouraged to investigate the historical events that have resulted in other rhymes they’re familiar with.