All You Need To Teach Comprehension 10+

Name
Date
Text Model
BLM 28
Gruesome Rhymes. Jack and Jill
Jack and Jill went up the hill
To fetch a pail of water
Jack fell down and broke his crown
And Jill came tumbling after.
Up Jack got, and home did trot
As fast as he could caper
Went to bed and bound his head
With vinegar and brown paper.
People have different ideas about the history of the first verse
of this popular children’s rhyme. One theory is that it was based
on real events that occurred in France in 1793. The character,
Jack, relates to King Louis XVI, and Jill, to his wife, Queen Marie
Antoinette. The theory suggests that the rhyme tells the gruesome
story of the beheading of the King and Queen during a violent
period known as the ‘Reign of Terror’.
Those sentenced to death ascended a flight of stairs to a
stage upon which sat a machine called a guillotine. The
victims took turns kneeling, with their necks placed across the
section of the guillotine on which the blade would land when
released.
The executioner’s job was to prepare King Louis XVI and
Queen Marie Antoinette for beheading, shackle their wrists
and release the blade which would sever the head cleanly
from the body. The stage provided a clearer view for
onlookers watching the grisly event.
Many who believe this explanation of the events in
the rhyme think that the original rhyme had only
one verse. A second was later added to provide
a more cheerful ending for young children.
What do you think?
behead: to decapitate
or cut off somebody’s
head
guillotine: a machine
with a sharp, heavy
blade which slides
vertically
ascend: to go up
theory: idea or way
of thinking
All You Need to Teach Comprehension Ages 10+ © Angela Ehmer/Macmillan Education Australia. ISBN 978 1 4202 7254 3
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