And putting him back together again could just be a saying as he has fallen and he is slightly dazed and dropped his stuff.. you know...
2007-02-22 07:46:44 · 21 answers · asked by Anonymous in Education & Reference ➔ Trivia
I mean humpty.. not hupty lol
2007-02-22 07:47:09 · update #1
Good observation. Still, it fits. It's old so the etymology might have something to do with it and seeing it in it's original publication. Eggs are the only thing that come to mind when trying to put something together. Walls aren't all that tall except for castle walls. It's a deep political comment, actually. Sitting on the political fence.
2007-02-22 07:51:13 · answer #1 · answered by vanamont7 7 · 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 irreparably damaged, an egg would be. The rhyme is no longer posed as a riddle, since the answer is now so well known.
According to an insert taken from the East Anglia Tourist Board in England, Humpty Dumpty was a powerful cannon during the English Civil War. It was mounted on top of the St Mary's at the Wall Church in Colchester defending the city against siege in the summer of 1648. Although Colchester was a Royalist stronghold, it was besieged by the Roundheads for 11 weeks before finally falling. The church tower was hit by enemy cannon fire and the top of the tower was blown off, sending "Humpty" tumbling to the ground. Naturally all the King's horses and all the King's men (Royalist cavalry and infantry respectively) tried to mend "him" but in vain. Other reports have Humpty Dumpty referring to a sniper nicknamed One-Eyed Thompson, who occupied the same church tower.
Through the Looking Glass
by
Lewis Carroll
(Alice in Wonderland, was first published on 4 July 1865,
HUMPTY DUMPTY
***HOWEVER, the egg only got larger and larger, and more and more human: when she had come within a few yards of it, she saw that it had eyes and a nose and mouth; and, when she had come close to it, she saw clearly that it was HUMPTY DUMPTY himself. `It can't be anybody else!' she said to herself. `I'm as certain of it, as if his name were written all over his face!' **
2007-02-22 09:06:15 · answer #2 · answered by Kate 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
In the LYRICS? Geeez ... it was a riddle stated as a poem
you were to guess what it was
Humpty Dumpty sat on the wall
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall
All the king's horses and all the king's men
Couldn't put Humpty together again.
Question: What was Humpty Dumpty
Answer: Humpty Dumpty was an EGG
2007-02-22 08:19:20 · answer #3 · answered by istitch2 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Who was Humpty Dumpty?
Humpty Dumpty was a colloquial term used in 15th century England to describe someone who was fat or obese - giving rise to lots of theories pertaining to the identity of Humpty Dumpty. However, in this case the question should be not Who was Humpty Dumpty but What was Humpty Dumpty? Humpty Dumpty was in fact an unusually large canon which was mounted on the protective wall of "St. Mary's Wall Church" in Colchester, England.
When this rhyme was popularised they drew a rounded person and over the space of time it slowly grew to resemble and egg!
2007-02-23 04:06:57 · answer #4 · answered by elin1607 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Humpty Dumpty first appeared in Alice Through The Looking Glass, and he was an egg in that. The rhyme is from that story.
2007-02-22 08:12:21 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
The Humpty Dumpty rhyme is actually a riddle.
Riddle rhymes were, historically, a popular source of entertainment. The answer to the Humpty Dumpty riddle is, of course, "an egg," and later illustartors seem to use this answer as the basis for their pictures.
2007-02-22 08:11:37 · answer #6 · answered by incinerated_newt 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Humpty Dumpty was in fact believed to be a large cannon! It was used during the English Civil War ( 1642 - 1649) in the Siege of Colchester (13 Jun 1648 - 27 Aug 1648).
http://www.rhymes.org.uk/humpty_dumpty.htm
2007-02-22 10:30:09 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
This was a children's riddle. The last line was "who was humpty dumpty?"
The correct answer was an egg.
That's why, as you say, there's no mention of an egg in the lyrics.
2007-02-26 06:40:58 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
humpty dumpty sat on a wall
humpty dumpty had a great fall
all the kings horses and all the kings men said..
anyone fancy an omlette then?
so they do sort of mention egg!
2007-02-22 07:53:48 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I don't know how it first happend but I do it because it was drawn as an Egg/Boy wearing shorts when I first read the story in books
Humpty Dumpty was actually a huge cannon
2007-02-26 02:39:41 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋