On The Ning Nag Poem Analysis

The two contrasting poems I have chosen to compare historically, thematically and stylistically are, ‘THE STORY OF LITTLE SUCK-A-THUMB’ by Dr Hoffman and ‘ON THE NING NANG NONG’ by Spike Milligan. (McGough and Moxley, 2002)
The 18th century was when traditional oral rhymes were put into print, from lullabies to nonsense rhymes. These rhymes are difficult to trace the origins of, however, Iona and Peter Opie suggest that most traditional oral rhymes originate from ballads, folk songs and old traditions that were not intentionally for children, but handed down across generations. (Styles, 2009) Poetry is considered the first form of children’s literature, which has developed from its original form and into printed books such as ‘A Little Pretty

My second poem ‘On The Ning Nang Nong’ by Spike Milligan (McGough and Moxley, 2002) is a good example of nonsense poetry. In the 19th century women began to influence children’s poetry, ‘The Star’, better known today as ‘Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star’ was written by Jane Taylor and is considered to be eventful in the world of children’s poetry, as it was not written to instruct but to delight and with the intent of encouraging children to ‘wonder’. (Styles, 2009) The Taylor sisters made their mark on ‘nursery poetry’ and were mimicked by other authors and poets. The Taylors were adept at writing about the tender nature of the mother and child bond. (Styles, 2009) This imaginary ‘I wonder’ element is apparent in ‘On The Ning Nang Nong’ as Spike Milligan uses a narrative tone (Open University) describing the noises that the animals and trees make on the island, I imagine it to be an island, but perception and interpretation is a very personal thing. Ted Hughes and Charles Causley wrote poetry with no distinction of who it was for, ‘On The Ning Nang Nong’ seems to have the sense of appeal to both adults as parents or teachers as well as children of different ages. (Styles, 2009) Maybe this is due to there being no direct addressee of the poem, it just positions the reader ‘On The Ning Nang Nong’ (Jeffries, 2009) It also becomes apparent that the themes and ideologies of

From the overtly moralistic original oriented poetry that may well have been handed down as folk tales across the generations. Poetry is now more heavily concerned with the entertainment of children, using playfulness that children hopefully take into the playgrounds and share with their peers. Encouraging them to experience and experiment with language and to wonder, as Jane Taylor hoped. Michael Rosen however does not take poetry in just a light hearted form, he takes verse and explores realistic subjects frequently taking the form of unfinished conversations and adopting the voice of the child. (Styles, 2009) Poetry uses its rhythmic patterns to make it memorable and easy to read, setting up expectations for the reader, these expectations can be conformed to in such poetry as ‘The Story Of Little Suck-A-Thumb’ or broken in nonsense poetry to add to the humour it conveys. (Open University) Such easy to read and memorable literature has been used to tackle heavy issues such as race. Supporting some children to deal with emotions. (Rosen, 2009) Walter de la Mare was one of the first to use poetry to tell a story making them easy to read and remember. (Styles, 2009) This theme has continued in to writings of authors such as Janet and Alan Ahlberg, they have also managed to write stories