I Do Not Like Thee, Doctor Fell Lyrics
An Oxford student in trouble with his college head was offered a way out: translate a Latin verse on the spot. His answer became one of the best-known rhymes in English.
I Do Not Like Thee, Doctor Fell
I do not like thee, Doctor Fell;
The reason why I cannot tell;
But this I know, and know full well,
I do not like thee, Doctor Fell!
Printed from https://nurseryrhymes.co/i-do-not-like-thee-doctor-fell/
- Type
- Mother Goose
- Tune
- Spoken rhyme
- Best for ages
- 6 to 11 years
What Does I Do Not Like Thee, Doctor Fell Mean?
The speaker dislikes Doctor Fell and cannot explain why. That is the whole rhyme, and it describes a feeling most people recognize: taking a dislike to someone without a real reason. A person you dislike for no clear reason is still sometimes called a Doctor Fell.
Thee is an old form of "you", so the first line just means "I don't like you, Doctor Fell."
History and Origin
The story is one of the few in the nursery with a named person behind it. Around 1680, a student called Tom Brown was in trouble at Christ Church, Oxford, whose dean was Dr. John Fell. Fell said he would let him off if he could translate a short Latin epigram by the Roman poet Martial, which begins "Non amo te", I do not love you. Brown replied with this rhyme on the spot, turning Martial's lines into a verse about Fell himself.
John Fell was a real and important figure, later Bishop of Oxford, who did much to build up the Oxford University Press. Even so, he is best known today because of four lines by a student.
Learning Activities
- Talk about it: with older children, discuss whether it is fair to dislike someone without a reason, and how first impressions can change.
- Translate it: rewrite the rhyme in modern English, keeping the rhymes if you can.
- Be the student: give children one minute to make up a four-line rhyme about a pet or a food they dislike.