I do not like thee, Doctor Fell


I do not like thee, Doctor Fell is an epigram, said to have been written by satirical English poet Tom Brown in 1680.

Origin and basis

The anecdote associated with the origin of the rhyme is that when Brown was a student at the Christ Church, Oxford, he was caught doing mischief. The dean of Christ Church, John Fell, who later went on to become the Bishop of Oxford, expelled Brown but offered to take him back if he passed a test. If Brown could extemporaneously translate the thirty-second epigram of Martial, his expulsion would be cancelled. The epigram in Latin is as follows:
A literal English translation is:
Brown made the impromptu English translation which became the verse:
Fell is said to have stayed Brown's dismissal from the college in admiration of this translation. However, the story is of apocryphal provenance, and it is known that Brown left Christ Church without a degree.

Nursery rhyme

The rhyme 'I do not like thee Dr. Fell' was not included in Mother Goose collections until the 1920s, following its inclusion in 'Less Familiar Nursery Rhymes' by Robert Graves.
The rhyme was also used by Charles Addams in his rather different version of Mother Goose. The Chas Addams Mother Goose.