Critical Analysis of Nursery Rhyme

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Language and Style – Assignment 3 Rewrite of ‘Jack and Jill’ in the style of a children’s story or fairy story (2000 words) The first part of the assignment concentrates on the critical analysis of the original nursery rhyme, ‘Jack and Jill. ‘Jack and Jill’ in literal terms can be described as a short story told in a nursery rhyme of two friends failure to fetch a bucket of water. The nursery rhyme concludes that Jack having fallen and banged his head, returns home waterless and tends to his wounds. Jill, having been dealt a similar fate does the same. In reality, the nursery rhyme supposedly refers to the beheading of King Louis XVI and the same fate that followed his Queen, Marie Antoinette (Nursery rhyme & History). Therefore, ‘Jack and Jill’ conforms to the ideals of a Nursery rhyme in which it ‘reflect[s] on real happenings that took place in history [and that the basis of a] nursery rhyme has always been on royal, political…events of the day’ (Luntude Editors). The verses is written in past tense, signified through use of words ‘went’ and ‘fetch’ and the introduction of the subject matter is clarified in the opening sentence ‘Jack and Jill went up the hill, to fetch a pail of water’. The simple sentences provide the reader with subject and the verb; the topic. The statement sentences elevate the mood of the nursery rhyme structuring the reading so that it’s short and declarative. The limited used of punctuation structures the reading of the nursery rhyme so that it reads as an event and a conclusion, for example the first verse states the reason Jack and Jill were climbing a hill – ‘to fetch a pail of water’, and the second verse provides the conclusion and outcome ‘Up got Jack, and home did trot/…He went to bed and bound his head’. In just two verses the nursery rhyme provides all the factual elements necessary of a short story; the

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