Despite hardship, working-class communities cultivated unique oral culture. Children and adults shared stories, songs, and rhymes passed down orally. Slang developed as a marker of identity, allowing members to communicate with cultural nuance. Pubs, streets, and marketplaces became hubs for storytelling. Oral traditions preserved history, taught morals, and provided entertainment. These cultural practices fostered community cohesion and resilience. Observers noted creativity and wit even amid poverty. This cultural richness challenges assumptions that wealth correlates with sophistication.
Oral culture preserved identity and fostered community cohesion.
It shows that cultural sophistication isn’t limited to economic privilege.
Did you know working-class rhymes and slang often carried subtle critiques of industrial society?
[History Extra, historyextra.com]