Research Paper / 319Commens 1Ann Commens
Instructor A. Kamp
Senior English II
18 January 20—
Mother Goose: A Devoted TeacherMother Goose has survived generations of critics. Perhaps the most trying test of all for Mother
Goose has been through the honest and often unrestrained criticism by children (Grover 1).
These rhymes have survived because of their ageless quality of rhythm, rhyme, and motion
(Arbuthnot 3). They have been passed from parent to child for generations (Parker 46), becom-
ing such a part of the English-speaking world that it is a handicap for a child not to know them
(Becker 11). “The Mother Goose Page,” hosted on the Internet by Homework Central, attests
to the continuing recognition of their importance (Homework Central). The nursery rhymes of
Mother Goose, loved and recited by generations of children, help introduce children to good lit-
erature, create fantasy friends, provide contentment, stimulate imagination, and promote learning.
According to legend, Mistress Elizabeth Goose, known widely as Mother Goose, lived in
Boston 200 years ago. She is supposed to have recited her varied rhymes to her numerous
grandchildren. Her son-in-law, Thomas Fleet, is said to have published her nursery rhymes in
order to make some well-deserved money (Grover 2). Tourists and children still visit the site
in Boston where Dame Goose is believed to be buried (Huck and Kuhn 62). Contrary to the
Mother Goose legend, most authorities agree that Mother Goose appeared in 1697 as the
title of a book of fairy tales by Charles Perrault. The original Mother Goose contained such
popular tales as “Cinderella,” “Red Riding Hood,” and “Sleeping Beauty” (Huck and Kuhn 61).
Mother Goose’s fame spread from France to America and to England, where the first
collection of rhymes was published under her name in 1765 (Grover 2). Many of the