Alice B. Gomme and “The Traditional Games of England, Scotland, and Ireland”

It is always valuable to explore the life and works of a pioneer in the literary field. This is for the reason that aside from his or her distinct and colorful existence, it is the originality and significance of a trademark literary work that imparted or provided the public with important principle and practices. This reality was what renowned British folklorist Alice Bertha Gomme or simply Lady Gomme exemplified to her readers and the public of the late nineteenth to early twentieth centuries.

A study of her life revealed her remarkable contribution in the genre of folklore which, in turn, created an important influence on the lives of the children. Particularly for her work “The Traditional Games of England, Scotland, and Ireland,” Gomme exuded the authority and gained the respect of her readers. It is therefore worthy to state that a research and presentation on Alice B. Gomme and her most famous work, relevant life realities particularly concerning children are conveyed. Through Children’s Games and Songs

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A presentation about British folklorist Alice B. Gomme showed how she was fond of children and their activities. This is the reason why children influenced and became the center of her materials in Gomme’s literary works. The focused was evident through her most acclaimed folklore “The Traditional Games of England, Scotland and Ireland. ” Beyond the nature and circumstances of children in Gomme’s folklores, her literary works best signified the kind of personality that she shared with her readers. That is, the works of Alice B.

Gomme, although traditional and controlled, clearly showed how she has lived and worked in a focused way (“A Proper Limitation,” 2001). As per the Musical Traditions Web Services’ (2001) description of Gomme’s life and analysis of her works, “her sweetly pretty children’s games and quaint old stories she was a proper Victorian lade in all senses of the word” (“A Proper Limitation,” 2001). Through a helpful scholarship, the supposed stereotyping concerning Gomme herself and the seemingly labeling of her folklores were removed.

In doing so, the range and intensity of her materials proved how she was worthy of her gotten and apparently striking achievements (“A Proper Limitation,” 2001). As the founder or pioneer and staunch advocate of the “Folk-Lore Society” and the “English Folk Cookery Association,” Gomme was obviously inventive in many disciplines of folklore. As such, it turned out that through children’s games and songs, Gomme showed her potential and created understandable famous books but did not compromise their academic aspect and essence.

In short, Gomme took into consideration that youthful life quality of children through the effective creation of children’s games and songs. The effort ultimately paved the way for the creation of meaningful and useful children-related materials that best suited the early stages of life of people (“A Proper Limitation,” 2001). The Traditional Games of England, Scotland and Ireland The material that best described the caliber of Gomme was the two-volume “The Traditional Games of England, Scotland and Ireland” which was provided to the public on 1894 and 1898.

These alphabetically-arranged lists of British games were the famous materials, specifically the games children normally play and even continue to play nowadays on Holidays and special events (Gomme, 1894 & Gomme, 1898). It became apparent that mostly on the list signified singing, vocalization, hands clapping as well as music-related content that evidently contributed as the foundation of a number of British conventional tunes and songs.

Beyond these facts however, Gomme’s “Traditional Games of England, Scotland and Ireland” became notable because although it was made more than a century ago, many of the games created by Gomme and included in the said work remained to influence today’s setting concerning how children play and carry songs (Gomme, 1894 & Gomme, 1898). Each volume of the Gomme masterpiece contained 500 pages entries of songs and games such as the “Accroshay” up to “Nuts in May” as well as the “Oats and Beans” up to “Would You Know” (Gomme, 1894 & Gomme, 1898).

The said folklore manifested the standard kinds of games and songs in the British Isles. As such, these included the natures, categories and features of English games and songs with their rules or guidelines which were arranged in a dictionary-like form based on the most oftentimes used songs and played games complete with all the activities concerned (Dorson, 1982). Additionally, the famous and very enjoyable folklore showed different characteristics and notes documents as well as varied rules that varied according to the quality of the songs and games, respectively.

Now, after more than 100 years of existence, Gomme’s “The Traditional Games in England, Scotland and Ireland” definitely survived and that the significance of the games and songs and most importantly, their implications to children and even those young at hearts are the things that happened and stood through time (Dorson, 1982). It was likewise notable that through the melodies, singing-rhymes and processes of carrying-out the games; the collected songs and plays turned out to be of real importance not only to the author but most especially to her public.

This is because the folklore aimed and eventually succeeded in presenting what relevant proof is to be obtained from separate research of the “Traditional Games of England” (Gomme, 1894 & Gomme, 1898). Gomme as the famous Song-catcher The conventionality of Gomme’s “The Traditional Games of England, Scotland and Ireland” did not hinder it from emerging as one of the best material of within its period. I fact, the attributes of the said traditional literary created a field of education and the entire subject matter for such discipline in general.

Relatively, the folklore and folk life in Gomme’s work became the basis in studying and relating the material in today’s contemporary setting. These very obvious features made Gomme as an undeniable song catcher. As the term itself indicates, the song-maker and game-founder in Gomme allowed her to efficiently grab the attention, interest and conduct of people particularly children. “The Traditional Games of England, Scotland and Ireland” is an existing evidence of the power of folklore in the lives of people.

Specifically for children, the Gomme material became their guide and inspiration in satisfying their childhood necessities and inclinations. Hence, this condition proved how Gomme and her folklore, with all its songs and plays, captured the hearts and imaginations of children. Conclusion It is undisputedly worthy to study and be inspired by Gomme and her “The Traditional Games of England, Scotland and Ireland. ” The fact that the author and her pioneering work were able to seize the likes of children is a concrete proof of how the power of such literary genre successfully influenced her readers in their youthfulness.

Ultimately, Gomme and her materials of songs and games grabbed the world of the children and this was a considerable factor in regarding the innovative folklorist worthy of her stature. References Dorson, R. M. (1982). Folklore and Folk life: An Introduction. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press. Gomme, A. B. (1894 & 1898). The Traditional Games of England, Scotland and Ireland (Vols. 1 & 2). London: Nutt. Musical Traditions Web Services. (2001). A Proper Limitation: Stereotypes of Alice Gomme. Retrieved June 16, 2009, from http://www. mustrad. org. uk/articles/gomme. htm

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