Question 589

Today's question contributed by Chinmay Buzruk:
Many have associated X with the Great Plague of London in 1665. The invariable sneezing and falling down in modern English versions have given would-be origin finders the opportunity to say that X dates back to the Great Plague. A rosy rash, they allege, was a symptom of the plague, posies of herbs were carried as protection, sneezing was a final fatal symptom, and '___________' was exactly what happened." The line Ashes, Ashes in alternative versions of the X is claimed to refer variously to cremation of the bodies, the burning of victims' houses, or blackening of their skin, and the theory has been adapted to be applied to other versions of X.
What literary work X?



Answer: Ring-a-ring-o-roses nursery rhyme