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The figure of Mother Goose is the imaginary author of a collection of French
fairy tale A fairy tale (alternative names include fairytale, fairy story, magic tale, or wonder tale) is a short story that belongs to the folklore genre. Such stories typically feature magic, enchantments, and mythical or fanciful beings. In most cult ...
s and later of English
nursery rhyme A nursery rhyme is a traditional poem or song for children in Britain and many other countries, but usage of the term dates only from the late 18th/early 19th century. The term Mother Goose rhymes is interchangeable with nursery rhymes. From ...
s. As a character, she appeared in a song, the first stanza of which often functions now as a nursery rhyme. This, however, was dependent on a Christmas
pantomime Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment. It was developed in England and is performed throughout the United Kingdom, Ireland and (to a lesser extent) in other English-speakin ...
, a successor to which is still performed in the United Kingdom. The term's appearance in English dates back to the early 18th century, when
Charles Perrault Charles Perrault ( , also , ; 12 January 1628 – 16 May 1703) was an iconic French author and member of the Académie Française. He laid the foundations for a new literary genre, the fairy tale, with his works derived from earlier folk tale ...
’s fairy tale collection, ''Contes de ma Mère l'Oye'', was first translated into English as ''Tales of My Mother Goose''. Later a compilation of English nursery rhymes, titled ''Mother Goose's Melody, or, Sonnets for the Cradle'', helped perpetuate the name both in Britain and the United States.


The character

Mother Goose's name was identified with English collections of stories and nursery rhymes popularised in the 17th century. English readers would already have been familiar with Mother Hubbard, a stock figure when
Edmund Spenser Edmund Spenser (; 1552/1553 – 13 January 1599) was an English poet best known for '' The Faerie Queene'', an epic poem and fantastical allegory celebrating the Tudor dynasty and Elizabeth I. He is recognized as one of the premier craftsmen o ...
published the satire
Mother Hubberd's Tale ''Mother Hubberd's Tale'' is a poem by English poet Edmund Spenser, written in 1578–1579. The more commonly read version of the poem is a revision of the original, created sometime in 1590, and published in 1591 as a part of Spenser's collection ...
in 1590, as well as with similar fairy tales told by "Mother Bunch" (the pseudonym of Madame d'Aulnoy) in the 1690s. An early mention appears in an aside in a versified French chronicle of weekly events, Jean Loret's ''La Muse Historique'', collected in 1650. His remark, ''comme un conte de la Mère Oye'' ("like a Mother Goose story") shows that the term was readily understood. Additional 17th-century Mother Goose/Mere l'Oye references appear in French literature in the 1620s and 1630s.


Speculation about origins

In the 20th century, Katherine Elwes-Thomas theorised that the image and name "Mother Goose" or "Mère l'Oye" might be based upon ancient legends of the wife of King
Robert II of France Robert II (c. 972 – 20 July 1031), called the Pious (french: link=no, le Pieux) or the Wise (french: link=no, le Sage), was King of the Franks from 996 to 1031, the second from the Capetian dynasty. Crowned Junior King in 987, he assisted his ...
, known as "Berthe la fileuse" (" Bertha the Spinner") or ''Berthe pied d'oie'' ("Goose-Footed Bertha" ), often described as spinning incredible tales that enraptured children. Other scholars have pointed out that
Charlemagne Charlemagne ( , ) or Charles the Great ( la, Carolus Magnus; german: Karl der Große; 2 April 747 – 28 January 814), a member of the Carolingian dynasty, was King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774, and the first E ...
's mother, Bertrada of Laon, came to be known as the goose-foot queen (''regina pede aucae''). There are even sources that trace Mother Goose's origin back to the biblical
Queen of Sheba The Queen of Sheba ( he, מַלְכַּת שְׁבָא‎, Malkaṯ Šəḇāʾ; ar, ملكة سبأ, Malikat Sabaʾ; gez, ንግሥተ ሳባ, Nəgśətä Saba) is a figure first mentioned in the Hebrew Bible. In the original story, she bring ...
. Stories of Bertha with a strange foot (goose, swan or otherwise) exist in many languages including Middle German, French, Latin and, Italian.
Jacob Grimm Jacob Ludwig Karl Grimm (4 January 1785 – 20 September 1863), also known as Ludwig Karl, was a German author, linguist, philologist, jurist, and folklorist. He is known as the discoverer of Grimm's law of linguistics, the co-author of t ...
theorised that these stories are related to the Upper German figure
Perchta or (English: Bertha), also commonly known as and other variations, was once known as a goddess in Alpine paganism in the Upper German and Austrian regions of the Alps. Her name may mean "the bright one" ( goh, beraht, bereht, from Proto-Germ ...
or Berchta (English Bertha). Like the legends of "Bertha la fileuse" in France and the story of Mother Goose Berchta was associated with children, geese, and spinning or weaving, although with much darker connotations. Despite evidence to the contrary, it has been stated in the United States that the original Mother Goose was the
Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
ian wife of Isaac Goose, either named Elizabeth Foster Goose (1665–1758) or Mary Goose (d. 1690, age 42). She was reportedly the second wife of Isaac Goose (alternatively named Vergoose or Vertigoose), who brought to the marriage six children of her own to add to Isaac's ten. After Isaac died, Elizabeth went to live with her eldest daughter, who had married Thomas Fleet, a publisher who lived on Pudding Lane (now Devonshire Street). According to Early, "Mother Goose" used to sing songs and ditties to her grandchildren all day, and other children swarmed to hear them. Finally, it was said, her son-in-law gathered her jingles together and printed them. No evidence of such printing has been found, and historians believe this story was concocted by Fleet's great-grandson John Fleet Eliot in 1860.
Iona and Peter Opie Iona Margaret Balfour Opie, (13 October 1923 – 23 October 2017) and Peter Mason Opie (25 November 1918 – 5 February 1982) were an English married team of folklorists who applied modern techniques to understanding children's literature and ...
, leading authorities on nursery lore, give no credence to either the Elwes-Thomas or the Boston suppositions. It is generally accepted that the term does not refer to any particular person.


Nursery tales and rhymes

Charles Perrault Charles Perrault ( , also , ; 12 January 1628 – 16 May 1703) was an iconic French author and member of the Académie Française. He laid the foundations for a new literary genre, the fairy tale, with his works derived from earlier folk tale ...
, one of the initiators of the literary
fairy tale A fairy tale (alternative names include fairytale, fairy story, magic tale, or wonder tale) is a short story that belongs to the folklore genre. Such stories typically feature magic, enchantments, and mythical or fanciful beings. In most cult ...
genre, published a collection of such tales in 1695 called '' Histoires ou contes du temps passés, avec des moralités'' under the name of his son, which became better known under its subtitle of ''Contes de ma mère l'Oye'' or ''Tales of My Mother Goose''. Perrault's publication marks the first authenticated starting-point for Mother Goose stories. An English translation of Perrault's collection,
Robert Samber Robert Samber (1682—c. 1745) was a British writer and translator. He is credited with the first English translation of the Mother Goose tales.See reprinted edition from Garland Publishing Co., 1977. He is also the English translator of the ''Fa ...
's ''Histories or Tales of Past Times, Told by Mother Goose'', appeared in 1729 and was reprinted in America in 1786.
Nursery rhyme A nursery rhyme is a traditional poem or song for children in Britain and many other countries, but usage of the term dates only from the late 18th/early 19th century. The term Mother Goose rhymes is interchangeable with nursery rhymes. From ...
s were once believed to have been published in John Newbery's compilation '', or, Sonnets for the cradle'' published some time in London in the 1760s, but the first edition was probably published in 1780 or 1781 by Thomas Carnan, Newbery's stepson and successor. Although this edition was registered with the Stationers' Company in 1780, no copy has ever been confirmed, and the earliest surviving edition is dated 1784. The name "Mother Goose" has been associated in the English-speaking world with children's poetry ever since.


Pantomime

In addition to being the purported author of nursery rhymes, Mother Goose is herself the title character in one recorded by the Opies, only the first verse of which figures in later editions of their book. Titled "Old Mother Goose and the Golden Egg", this verse prefaced a 15-stanza poem that rambled through a variety of adventures involving not only the egg but also Mother Goose's son Jack. There exists an illustrated chapbook omitting their opening stanza that dates from the 1820s and another version was recorded by J. O. Halliwell in his ''The Nursery Rhymes of England'' (1842). Other shorter versions were also recorded later. All of them, however, were dependent on a very successful
pantomime Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment. It was developed in England and is performed throughout the United Kingdom, Ireland and (to a lesser extent) in other English-speakin ...
first performed in London in 1806, and it is only by reference to its script that the unexplained gaps in the poem's narration are made clear. The pantomime, staged at
Covent Garden Covent Garden is a district in London, on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit-and-vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist si ...
during the Christmas season, was the work of
Thomas John Dibdin Thomas John Dibdin (21 March 1771 – 16 September 1841) was an English dramatist and songwriter. Life Dibdin was the son of Charles Dibdin, a songwriter and theatre manager, and of "Mrs Davenet", an actress whose real name was Harriett Pi ...
and its title, ''Harlequin and Mother Goose, or The Golden Egg'', signals how it combines the ''
Commedia dell'arte (; ; ) was an early form of professional theatre, originating from Italian theatre, that was popular throughout Europe between the 16th and 18th centuries. It was formerly called Italian comedy in English and is also known as , , and . Charact ...
'' tradition and other folk elements with fable – in this case " The Goose That Laid the Golden Eggs". The stage version became a vehicle for the clown
Joseph Grimaldi Joseph Grimaldi (18 December 1778 – 31 May 1837) was an English actor, comedian and dancer, who became the most popular English entertainer of the Regency era.Byrne, Eugene"The patient" Historyextra.com, 13 April 2012 In the early 1800s, ...
, who played the part of Avaro, but there was also a shorter script for shadow pantomime which allowed special effects of a different kind. Special effects were needed since the folk elements in the story made a
witch Witchcraft traditionally means the use of Magic (supernatural), magic or supernatural powers to harm others. A practitioner is a witch. In Middle Ages, medieval and early modern Europe, where the term originated, accused witches were usually ...
-figure of Mother Goose. In reference to this, and especially the opening stanza, illustrations of Mother Goose began depicting her as an old lady with a strong chin who wears a tall pointed hat and flies astride a goose. Ryoji Tsurumi has commented on the folk aspects of this figure in his monograph on the play. In the first scene, the stage directions show her raising a storm and, for the very first time onstage, flying a gander – and she later raises a ghost in a macabre churchyard scene. These elements contrast with others from the
harlequinade ''Harlequinade'' is a British comic theatrical genre, defined by the ''Oxford English Dictionary'' as "that part of a pantomime in which the harlequin and clown play the principal parts". It developed in England between the 17th and mid-19th cent ...
tradition in which the old miser Avaro transforms into Pantaloon, while the young lovers Colin and Colinette become Harlequin and Columbine. A new Mother Goose pantomime was written for the comedian Dan Leno by J. Hickory Wood in 1902. This had a different story line in which the poor but happy Mother Goose is tempted with wealth by the Devil. This was the ancestor of all the pantomimes of that title that followed, adaptations of which continue to appear. Because nursery rhymes are usually referred to as Mother Goose songs in the US, however, children's entertainments in which a medley of nursery characters are introduced to sing their rhymes often introduced her name into American titles. Early 20th century examples of these include ''A dream of Mother Goose and other entertainments'' by J. C. Marchant and S. J. Mayhew (Boston, 1908); ''Miss Muffet Lost and Found : a Mother Goose play'' by Katharine C. Baker (Chicago, 1915); ''The Modern Mother Goose: a play in three acts'' by Helen Hamilton (Chicago, 1916); and the up-to-the-moment ''The Strike Mother Goose Settled'' by Evelyn Hoxie (Franklin Ohio and Denver Colorado, 1922).


Sculpture

In the United States there is a granite statue of a flying Mother Goose by
Frederick Roth Frederick George Richard Roth (1872 – 1944) often referred to as F.G.R. Roth, was an American sculptor and animalier, well known for portraying living animals. The statue of the sled dog Balto in New York City's Central Park is perhaps his mos ...
at the entrance to Rumsey Playfield in New York's
Central Park Central Park is an urban park in New York City located between the Upper West and Upper East Sides of Manhattan. It is the fifth-largest park in the city, covering . It is the most visited urban park in the United States, with an estimated ...
. Installed in 1938, it has several other nursery rhyme characters carved into its sides. On a smaller scale, there is Richard Henry Recchia's contemporary bronze rotating statue in the
Rockport, Massachusetts Rockport is a seaside town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 6,992 in 2020. Rockport is located approximately northeast of Boston at the tip of the Cape Ann peninsula. Rockport borders Gloucester to its west, and ...
, public library. There Mother Goose is depicted telling the tales associated with her to two small children, with twelve reliefs illustrating such stories about its round base."Mother Goose genius design"
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See also

* List of children's songs * List of children's stories * Luis van Rooten, '' Mots d'Heures: Gousses, Rames'' (1967) * Thomas Fleet, published an American version of Mother Goose from stories told by his mother-in-law to his children.


References


External links


1904 Facsimile of earliest American compilation, John Newberry's ''Mother Goose's Melody'', 1791 edition


* At
Project Gutenberg Project Gutenberg (PG) is a volunteer effort to digitize and archive cultural works, as well as to "encourage the creation and distribution of eBooks." It was founded in 1971 by American writer Michael S. Hart and is the oldest digital libr ...
:
''The Tales of Mother Goose by Charles Perrault''
translated by Charles Welsh
''The Real Mother Goose''
illustrated by Blanche Fisher Wright
''The Only True Mother Goose Melodies''
(Anonymous)
''Mother Goose in Prose''
by L. Frank Baum *
Mother Goose Clip Art
Public domain illustrations of Mother Goose rhymes


Verses with artwork and audio recordings



Earliest extant evidence of an American Mother Goose in 1691

Illustrated Editions of Traditional Mother Goose Rhymes: A Bibliographical Listing
{{Authority control Fictional characters introduced in the 17th century English poetry collections Children's poetry English nursery rhymes Collections of fairy tales Collections of nursery rhymes Female characters in literature Fictional poets Fictional storytellers Fictional geese