Essay for Week 12: Nursery Rhyme Analysis

Nursery Rhyme Analysis

(My brain's image of Nursery Rhymes which did not match the reality of this unit)

I was going to do a story analysis this week for the Nursery Rhymes Unit, but there was really no similar theme or moral running through all of the poems other than morbidity. I have written on the theme of morbidity before so I did not want to be redundant. In this case, however, it would be worth it to say that the rhyming of morbid topics makes them less morbid and therefore seems like a defense mechanism in a way.

I did not really enjoy this week’s readings. A lot of them made no sense and had no point. Some of the stories I have read before are like this, but they were longer and I could use my imagination to create a point. These were so short that my imagination has nothing to go off of. I think I read for purpose and functionality. I do not read for fun…that is what I have discovered about myself this semester. I like to feel productive while I read and I feel frustrated through these shorter, nonsensical readings.

I think the Paradoxes and the Songs were my least Favorite parts of the Nursery Rhymes. They were weird. My favorite stories would have to be the Riddles. Those are functional. There is brain involvement in reading those. Kept me on my toes! There was not really any information that these rhymes lacked, I appreciated you providing the Wikipedia links for explanations. I think people really need to pay attention to the fact that each of the parts of the unit consist many different rhymes. They just have to remember that for their reading adventures!

This unit did not fit my expectations or goals for this class. I cannot really put my finger on why I did not enjoy this unit other than its lack in productivity and purpose. In comparison to the Native American stories which were my favorite, the nursery Rhymes fell short. The Native American stories had purpose and I learned a lot from reading them. I like being productive. But I did not learn anything from this unit aside from a final confirmation that I do not read for fun. I must have substance in what I am reading. My imagination is not as active as others I guess!