Rhyme thrives at both poles of literature. It is the material of a greeting card—“Roses are red / Violets are blue / Sugar is sweet / And so are you”—and the high-tragic language of Racine. Rhyme ...

Chances are that when you were a kid, your parents sang you nursery rhymes to get you to sleep. And if that was the case, it is very likely they sang old nursery rhymes that were passed on from ...