Marriage is a give and take. Think of it this way: two people blow up a balloon and then for the rest of their lives they have to keep it afloat. If they’re able to, they remain together. If they don’t, they walk away. Indeed, it takes two to keep it going.
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But this lesson isn’t always well taken and not always so easily or readily passed on. It can be hard to give advice on marriage or how to maneuver its pitfalls or handle the effort it takes to keep it going. But that’s where a nursery rhyme like “Jack Sprat” comes into play. Here below, let’s dive into the history and meaning of the work, as well as its concision and clarity.
[RELATED: Behind the Hard Working Nursery Rhyme “One, Two, Buckle My Shoe”]
Opposites Attract
They say opposites attract in the matters of love. This, of course, makes sense, both from a scientific standpoint and a social one. You don’t necessarily want people to be the same when they come together (and reproduce). Diversity is important. And that’s what “Jack Sprat” tells us in just a few short, humorous, easy to remember words. The nursery rhyme reads,
Jack Sprat could eat no fat,
His wife could eat no lean.
And so between them both, you see,
They licked the platter clean.
If you think of what each eats as a metaphor for simply being able to compliment one another in any general task in life, then these two are perfect. So good that their platter is licked clean.
The Origins
The concise, four-line nursery rhyme dates back to the 1500s (the name Jack Sprat was even shorthand for someone who was short) and a version was later published in a collection of sayings by John Clarke in 1639 (Later, the rhyme was published in Mother Goose’s Melody around 1765). That one read,
Jack will eat not fat, and Jull doth love no leane.
Yet betwixt them both they lick the dishes cleane.
Some believe that the poem was inspired by King Charles I, who was without money (or lean) when his parliament denied him taxation. But Charles, who was short, then dissolved parliament and he and his wife were able to do what they wanted after that (like licking the plate clean). This explanation, however, is unlikely. Charles may have fit the bill, but a nursery rhyme is not conjured up due to one example, nor does it subsist for centuries because of it.
Final Thoughts
There is a lot to learn from nursery rhymes. What may seem like a laughable lark in just four lines can really be the key to sustaining a relationship for life. While it’s never as simple as the rhyme lays out, in this case, the idea of working together and complimenting one another—like in keeping a balloon afloat or finishing a plate of food—that’s never a bad idea.
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