Balladeer
Moderator
Member Seraphic
since 06-05-99
Posts 21223
Ft. Lauderdale, Fl USA
|
0 posted 08-05-2008 10:04 PM
| |
A dactyl is a poetic foot of the form >-- (ON-off-off). For example, matador, realize, cereal, limerick, etc. A double dactyl can therefore mean simply two dactyls in a row.
A double dactyl is also a verse form, also known as "higgledy piggledy," invented by Anthony Hecht and Paul Pascal in 1961. Like a limerick, it has a rigid structure and is usually humorous, but the double dactyl is considerably more rigid and difficult to write. There must be two stanzas, each comprising three lines of dactylic dimeter followed by a line with a dactyl and a single accent. The two stanzas have to rhyme on their last line. There is also a requirement for at least one line of the second stanza to be entirely one double dactyl word, for example "va-le-dic-tor-i-an".
Ok, fearless students! Gimme a dactyl and make it a double! A eight-line poem with the first three lines of each stanza comprised of two dactyls back to back, and the fourth line containing one dactyl and a single sound. One of the double dactyl lines in the second stanza must be one word only.
The first line can be gibberish, and often is, which is why it is referred to as "hggledy piggledy" verse. Other beginnings have been higggamus hoggamus, patty cake patty cake and hay-nonny, ho-nonny.
Here's a couple of mine for examples...
Passions is always a
Place full of treasures where
Thousands of poets have
Come to reside.
Pouring out feelings as
Deep as a river runs
Melodramatically
Spill their insides.
..........or..............
Moose is a poet who
Frequents these hallowed halls
Writing grafitti to
Make people smile.
Thorn in the teacher's side
Mainly on purpose he
Over-emphatically
Shows quite a style.
|
Main Forums
)
Good grief!
