I do not like thee, Doctor Fell facts for kids
Quick facts for kids "I do not like thee, Doctor Fell" |
|
|---|---|
| Nursery rhyme | |
| Written | 1680 |
| Genre | Traditional rhyme |
| Songwriter(s) | Tom Brown |
The famous rhyme I do not like thee, Doctor Fell is a short, clever poem. It was supposedly translated by an English poet named Tom Brown in 1680. Over time, this poem became known as both a nursery rhyme and a common saying or proverb.
The Story Behind the Rhyme
This rhyme has a fun story about how it started. It involves a student named Tom Brown and his college dean, Doctor John Fell. Tom Brown was studying at Christ Church, Oxford university.
One day, Tom Brown got into trouble for doing something mischievous. Doctor Fell, who was the head of the college, decided to expel him. But Doctor Fell gave Tom Brown a chance to stay.
The challenge was to translate a short Latin poem on the spot. This poem was an "epigram" by an ancient Roman poet named Martial. If Tom Brown could translate it well, he would not be expelled.
The Latin poem said:
Non amo te, Sabide, nec possum dicere quare.
Hoc tantum possum dicere: non amo te,
This means, "I do not like you, Sabidius, and I cannot say why. This much I can say: I do not like you."
Tom Brown quickly came up with his own version, which became very famous:
I do not like thee, Doctor Fell,
The reason why – I cannot tell;
But this I know, and know full well,
I do not like thee, Doctor Fell.
Because of his quick thinking, Tom Brown was allowed to stay at the university.
How the Rhyme Was Used Later
For a long time, this verse was not thought of as a nursery rhyme. It did not appear in collections of rhymes for children until the late 1800s.
In 1802, people even quoted it during a debate in the English Parliament. They called it "the English parody" of Martial's original poem. An encyclopedia from 1809 also mentioned it.
By 1877, people in New Zealand were calling it "the old nursery rhyme" during their own parliamentary debates. In the United States, it was described as a "nursery jingle" in a 1914 magazine.
A famous composer named Samuel Barber even included it in his music. He set it to music as part of his "Nursery rhymes or Mother Goose rhymes" collection between 1918 and 1922.
Later, in 1935, the rhyme appeared in The Oxford Dictionary of Proverbs. This showed that it was also seen as a common saying or proverb, not just a children's rhyme.
