Why do we automatically assume that Humpty Dumpty was an egg?

Question

but no where in the rhyme does it say anything about his shape

For all those that answered with intelligent or polite answers, thank you. For those that decided to answer with smart-*** remarks, well, you just proved yourself to be even less intelligent than my question, which was only asked for humorous reasons. It was more of a joke and I did not actually intend to do anything other than bring a smile to someone's face. So try to lighten up a little bit.

Answer 1

that is because of the line in that famous Nursery Rhyme "Couldn't put Humpty Dumpty together again." Since it was meant for kids to understand, the formulation of the idea that he was an egg was used. we all know that it is nearly impossible to put back an egg to its original shape. this illustration is simple but to make kids give in to the rhyme, they have to imagine. so therefore, the egg was the best example, since they see it often at their momma's kitchens.

Answer 2

Humpty Dumpty is a character in a Mother Goose rhyme, portrayed as an anthropomorphized egg. Most English-speaking children are familiar with the rhyme:

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall.
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.
All the king's horses and all the king's men
Cannot put Humpty Dumpty together again.
That Humpty Dumpty is an egg is not actually stated in the rhyme. In its first printed form, in 1810, it is a riddle, and exploits for misdirection the fact that "humpty dumpty" was 18th-Century reduplicative slang for a short, clumsy person. Whereas a clumsy person falling off a wall would not be irreperably damaged, an egg would be. The rhyme is no longer posed as a riddle, since the answer is now so well known. Similar riddles have been recorded by folklorists in other languages, such as Boule Boule in French, or Thille Lille in Swedish; though none is as widely known Humpty Dumpty is in English.

Answer 3

LOL! Well, call me gullible, but when I used to sit on Dad's lap as a kid while he read to me, I always looked at the pictures. For some reason, Humpty wasn't a kid doing the Humpty Dance. He was always a big ol' egg wearing a pair of shorts with a belt, some socks and shoes and a nice button-down short-sleeved shirt. I think he even had the nerve to wear a hat! He was always leaned back a little bit with his eyebrows up and making an "O" with his mouth. As in "Uh-oh!" Nowadays, I would think "What the cracky!", but when you're taught something as a child, it seems "normal". Good question! =)

Answer 4

"....the very undeniable actuality that Humpty Dumpty is an egg isn't easily reported in the rhyme. In its first printed sort, in 1810, it really is a riddle, and exploits for misdirection the very undeniable actuality that "humpty dumpty" become 18th-Century reduplicative slang for a short, clumsy individual. while an awkward individual falling off a wall does no longer be irreparably damaged, an egg will be. The rhyme is not any longer posed as a riddle, because the reply is now so nicely favourite...."

Answer 5

i thik it's easier for poeple to think of him as an egg because it's nothing if an egg falls off a wall and shatters but when u think of a person falling and shattering, well, that's not the kinda thing i 'd want my neice to go around singing about. maybe somewhere in the past this was a real person and when a kid ask there parents, the rhyme was what they told there kids to protect there mind. and i have also noticed that a lot of people on here are smart a$ses.

Answer 6

Have you ever tried to put an egg back together after it has fallen???

Answer 7

That's the way it was always drawn in the story books.

Answer 8

You must have skipped all the books in kindergarten, didn't you?

Answer 9

Humpty was pushed!!!!

Answer 10

because that's what we were taught as children for generations.