Higgeldy Piggeldies
Created | Updated Apr 13, 2014
A Higgeldy Piggeldy is a form of funny-verse, a little lesser known than the Limerick. It was invented by Anthony Hecht and Paul Pascal. Quite like a limerick, it has a rigid (if peculiar) structure. The rules below tell you how to make one:
1. A Hidgledy Piggeldy has 8 lines.
2. The 4th and 8th lines rhyme; the others do not.
3. The 4th and 8th line are both a dactylus and a upbeat ( - - U / - )
4. The other lines are all double dactyli ( - - U / - - U )
5. The 1st line must be nonsensical.
6. The 2nd line must be a name.
7. One line in the second stanza, preferably the 6th, must consist of a single six-syllable word.
The rules may be relaxed somewhat, but not too much, or else the verse will just be called a double-dactyl verse.
Some examples by Guy L. Steele, Jr, (c) 1976:
"I once read that space has three dimensions because orbits
aren't stable in 4-space.
I often have wondered in
What kind of orbit a
Planet proceeds in a
Tesseract space?
Multidimensional,
Hyperelliptical,
Dizzying spacemen in
Trans-solar chase.
[...]
When in Canada, do as the Canadans do...
Quaxiti quuxiti,
Remus et Romulus
Gemini fratres a
Lupa aluntur.
Romulus inquit: non
Aedificabitur
Paucis diebus, sed
Roma nascetur.
Quaxity quuxity,
Remus and Romulus,
Wolf-nourished brothers, were
Twins, so they say.
Romulus patiently
Founded a city; as
He said, "Rome will not be
Built in a day.
[...]
And why did Napoleon clutch his stomach? (Mail $1000 and a
self-addressed, stamped envelope, and we'll send you a jingle
in 25 words or less.)
Quaxity quuxy, Na-
Poleon Bonaparte
Conquered all Europe, but
What was the use?
Some say the problem was
Megalomania;
Others, he lacked modern
High-platform shoes."
And here is a self-referential Higgeldy Piggeldy (a Higgeldy Piggeldy which desribes itself), by Roger L. Robison:
"Long-short-short, long-short-short
Dactyls in dimeter,
Verse form with choriambs
(Masculine rhyme):
One sentence (two stanzas)
Hexasyllabically
Challenges poets who
Don't have the time."
1. A Hidgledy Piggeldy has 8 lines.
2. The 4th and 8th lines rhyme; the others do not.
3. The 4th and 8th line are both a dactylus and a upbeat ( - - U / - )
4. The other lines are all double dactyli ( - - U / - - U )
5. The 1st line must be nonsensical.
6. The 2nd line must be a name.
7. One line in the second stanza, preferably the 6th, must consist of a single six-syllable word.
The rules may be relaxed somewhat, but not too much, or else the verse will just be called a double-dactyl verse.
Some examples by Guy L. Steele, Jr, (c) 1976:
"I once read that space has three dimensions because orbits
aren't stable in 4-space.
I often have wondered in
What kind of orbit a
Planet proceeds in a
Tesseract space?
Multidimensional,
Hyperelliptical,
Dizzying spacemen in
Trans-solar chase.
[...]
When in Canada, do as the Canadans do...
Quaxiti quuxiti,
Remus et Romulus
Gemini fratres a
Lupa aluntur.
Romulus inquit: non
Aedificabitur
Paucis diebus, sed
Roma nascetur.
Quaxity quuxity,
Remus and Romulus,
Wolf-nourished brothers, were
Twins, so they say.
Romulus patiently
Founded a city; as
He said, "Rome will not be
Built in a day.
[...]
And why did Napoleon clutch his stomach? (Mail $1000 and a
self-addressed, stamped envelope, and we'll send you a jingle
in 25 words or less.)
Quaxity quuxy, Na-
Poleon Bonaparte
Conquered all Europe, but
What was the use?
Some say the problem was
Megalomania;
Others, he lacked modern
High-platform shoes."
And here is a self-referential Higgeldy Piggeldy (a Higgeldy Piggeldy which desribes itself), by Roger L. Robison:
"Long-short-short, long-short-short
Dactyls in dimeter,
Verse form with choriambs
(Masculine rhyme):
One sentence (two stanzas)
Hexasyllabically
Challenges poets who
Don't have the time."
