English Deutsch Français Italiano Español Português 繁體中文 Bahasa Indonesia Tiếng Việt ภาษาไทย
All categories

Where in the nursery rhyme does it say Humpty Dumpty is an egg?

2006-08-09 14:01:54 · 14 answers · asked by Anonymous in Education & Reference Trivia

14 answers

it doesn't. People have interperetted it as an egg because he is hard to put together when he broke.

2006-08-09 14:12:08 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 1 1

Interesting question. Researching this important issue, I found that someone shares your curiosity on the Humpty/Egg merger.
external link

The nursery rhyme, as you note, never makes reference to Humpty Dumpty as an egg. The Humpty Dumpty rhyme, however, goes back to the early 1800's, and its focus was the then-popular characterization of a short, clumsy, person as a "humpty-dumpty.".

Although now we hear about Humpty's misfortune only in the children's nursery rhyme,

"Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall.
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall
All the king's horses and all the king's men
Couldn't put Humpty Dumpty back together again".

the original was in the form of a riddle. More from The Straight Dope:

"According to Martin Gardner, in The Annotated Mother Goose, 'the Humpty Dumpty rhyme is a riddle. Riddling rhymes were a popular source of entertainment for many centuries.' "

Mr. Gardner, however, fails to supply the verse in question. What was he thinking? Even the unrevealed riddle demands an answer. To his credit, Mr. Gardner does not disappoint a second time. He writes:

"The answer to the Humpty Dumpty riddle is, of course, 'an egg.' "

Why, yes. Of course. An egg. What else in the known universe could it have been? And that's where the egg enters the illustration, so to speak. Answer-to-riddle met character-in-rhyme, and they lived happily ever after, as one...until the fateful Day of Breakage, anyway.

A face, arms, and legs are a natural part of anthropomorphizing anything, including an egg. I just wonder why an egg-person would sit on a wall. Perhaps HD eschewed furniture, or even the great indoors. Surely, he was aware of his innate fragility. It's a sad story, really. What a waste. Obviously, none of the "Humpty's Great Fall" witnesses ever heard of Super Glue, but you'd think somebody could have come up with a roll of duct tape or some velcro for the cause. What was wrong with people back then, anyway?

And here's something else: Exactly when did horses develop the manual dexterity and hoof/eye coordination necessary to put something together, much less back together? If all the king's men were counting on all the king's horses for help with that operation, no wonder Humpty Dumpty remained a mess. The humans were looking to the ancestors of Trigger and My Friend Flicka for advice?! His Majesty must have been so proud of that army. What a wacky kingdom.

For more Humpty Dumpty stuff:

***2***
Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall,
All the Kings horses
and all the Kings men,
Couldn't put Humpty together again.

Humpty Dumpty was a common nickname for a fat slob in the 1400's The fat, obese King, is compared to the fragile egg, which, when cracked, like virginity, is lost for ever. The analogy is vivid, with the equally vivid follow up. Once he falls, not all the Kings infantry or all the King's cavalry could ever resurrect him again. This jaunty little nursery rhyme told the story of the Kings unfortunate but much celebrated destiny. As a nursery rhyme it was sung with delight by the populace while the censors probably listened serenely, not knowing that it celebrated their extinction. This is supposed to refer to King Charles I, who was toppled by a majority of the members of parliament and was ultimately executed. The people prevailed over the King, even though the average man did not have the right to vote at that time. It yet celebrated the the diminution of the power of the Royal proclamation.. The "Puritans" had out voted him the King Parliament and finally ousted him from power.

Another well accepted version is that "Humpty Dumpty" represented a powerful cannon the Royalists used to defend Colchester during the civil war between the Royalists and parliamentarians, in 1642-49 , The Royalists had captured and controlled the parliamentary stronghold of Colchester for 11 weeks The cannon was mounted atop the tower of St Mary's church in Colchester.. The parliamentarians succeeded in blowing the top of the tower off and the cannon came tumbling down. Neither the King's cavalry or the Kings infantry could put the cannon back together again. It symbolized the victory of the people's representatives over the King. Even though the average man did not have the vote at that time, it symbolized popular rule over Royal decree.

By Wakeley Paul

2006-08-09 21:09:55 · answer #2 · answered by sassy 6 · 0 0

There is no where in the nursery rhyme that says that, but apparently it's a riddle disguised as a rhyme. The answer to the riddle is that he's an egg.

Look at it this way: what could be sitting on a wall, have a great fall, and yet be irretrievably broken? A lot of things, evidently, but I believe the drawings for Humpty-Dumpty must go way back, also.

2006-08-09 21:07:57 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0 0

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.

2006-08-09 21:06:27 · answer #4 · answered by yer daddy 3 · 0 0

Humpty Dumpty was a powerful cannon during the English Civil War (1642-49).
This makes it more believable that the kings horses and men would care about fixing it!

2006-08-11 05:47:08 · answer #5 · answered by weegleajeems 2 · 0 0

It doesn't. The story is all wrong anyway.

Humpty Dumpty was pushed.

2006-08-09 21:06:46 · answer #6 · answered by a_poor_misguided_soul 5 · 0 1

Hi there,
I easily got for free Stronghold Kingdoms here: http://bit.ly/1BDx1DX

no surveys, no scams, just the full game!
The player has to build a new and powerful empire, creating and expanding a medieval city.
It's a must have game.

2014-09-15 03:52:12 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0 0

The Pictures

2006-08-09 21:06:46 · answer #8 · answered by mywaypink 7 · 0 1

I think it's a rumor, since he broke and all the kings horses and all the kings men couldn't put him back together again. I guess he could have been something else. Maybe a puzzle.

2006-08-09 21:08:32 · answer #9 · answered by weswe 5 · 0 0

In the books.

In the end he brakes.

That's the purpose of the story.

What kind of stupid egg sits on a wall.

2006-08-09 21:07:46 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0 0

thats a good question but it doesnt say its just that the animatiion version shows he's a egg

2006-08-09 21:07:05 · answer #11 · answered by LaxBaby. 3 · 0 0

fedest.com, questions and answers