The Goose and the Common

Common card · No. 283142

"The Goose and the Common" is an anonymous English poem which comments on the social injustice caused by the privatization of common land during the enclosures in England. As an orally transmitted folk poem, it is found in various forms and variations. It is estimated to have been composed in the mid to late 18th century. It is found recorded in magazines as early as 1810, with its first recorded attestation in a 4 stanza form in 1821. The poem has had an enduring presence in English oral tradition, being often quoted or referenced in discussions and debates around inclosure, including on more than one occasion in the houses of parliament. Today, the poem is often referenced in connection to the privatization of common resources, not just land, such as seed genetics, the human genome and publicly funded research. The poem consists of pairs of rhyming couplets, sometimes only one stanza.

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