It's a Bird! It's a Plane! It's a Double-Dactyl!!!

How to Join	Member's Area	Private Library	Search	Sanctuary		Login
Main Forums	Discussion	Tech Talk	Mature Content	Archives	A home without a wall, Our haven without ends, A circle we all call Our Family of Friends!

Balladeer

Administrator

Member Empyrean

since 1999-06-05

Posts 25505
Ft. Lauderdale, Fl USA

0 posted 2008-08-05 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.

MOCindy
Member

since 2008-07-30

Posts 73

1 posted 2008-08-05 11:21 PM

Tiger in vinegar
Souring his power when
Softens his powerful
Claws in his paw

Gentleman’s dignity
Soaring up ego to
Meteorologist’s
Point of her awe

C tried one

Balladeer

Administrator

Member Empyrean

since 1999-06-05

Posts 25505
Ft. Lauderdale, Fl USA

2 posted 2008-08-06 12:17 PM

Thanks, Cindy! You got the double-dactyl construction down well. Not sure I understand most of the poem, though. Could you explain it to this dense mind?

Alison

Member Rara Avis

since 2008-01-27

Posts 9318
Lumpy oatmeal makes me crazy!

3 posted 2008-08-06 01:49 AM

Oh nooooooooo

FEET!!!

:: runs off waving arms hysterically ::

Mysteria

Member Laureate

since 2001-03-07

Posts 18328
British Columbia, Canada

4 posted 2008-08-06 03:41 AM

Alison,

Michael just has way too much on his hands, or I mean feet.

Good grief!

MOCindy
Member

since 2008-07-30

Posts 73

5 posted 2008-08-06 12:32 PM

Dear sir Balladeer,
That "poem" was mostly on words playing.

But vinegar is related to "feminism", or other womanized character.

Gentleman's dignity does grow his ego (a positive good.) or not? I may need a philosopher here.

Thank you for the lesson on the new style.

Balladeer

Administrator

Member Empyrean

since 1999-06-05

Posts 25505
Ft. Lauderdale, Fl USA

6 posted 2008-08-06 08:09 PM

AHA! That's why I get a vinegar taste in my mouth when thinking of my ex-wife!

Thanks for clearing that up!

Balladeer

Administrator

Member Empyrean

since 1999-06-05

Posts 25505
Ft. Lauderdale, Fl USA

7 posted 2008-08-06 08:34 PM

Hey, Alison!!!

Prasad Nataraj
Senior Member

since 2008-05-29

Posts 1149
Bangalore,India

8 posted 2008-08-07 08:31 AM

Deer Sir,

Here's my attempt.
Please correct me if i am wrong, i don't know much about meter.

Pride

Higgledy-Piggledy
Sad Julius Cesar,
Had troubled dreams,
Blood streams.

Still Journeys through,
Incontrovertibly,
Ignoring the priest,
With pride it seems.

Prasad.N

"Hardwork pays in the long run"

chopsticks
Senior Member

since 2007-10-02

Posts 888
The US,

9 posted 2008-08-07 10:00 AM

“AHA! That's why I get a vinegar taste in my mouth when thinking of my ex-wife!”

Balladeer, say that again and then say you didn’t mean it .

Don’t ask Chopsticks to enlighten you.

Balladeer

Administrator

Member Empyrean

since 1999-06-05

Posts 25505
Ft. Lauderdale, Fl USA

10 posted 2008-08-07 05:39 PM

Prasad,I appreciate the attempt but for this exercise, a knowledge of meter is necessary. One of the types of meter used is the dactyl, which consists of an accented vowel followd by two unaccented ones. The hiddledy piggledy is a good example.....higg-led-y pigg-led-y. In your examples, the accented syllables are in bold...

higg-led-y pigg-led-y
sad Ju-li-us Ce-sar
Had troub-led dreams
Blood streams

Still jour-neys through
in-con-tro-ver-ti-bly
Ig-noring the
with pride it seems

You should be able to see where the deviations are.

Now, in this exercise, each of the first three lines in both stanzas must be comprised of two dactyls. Since a dactyl is comprised of three syllables (The first one accented followed by two unaccented), two dactyls, back to back, means each line must contain a total of six syllables.

The last line in each stanza must be comprised of a dactyl, followed by a single sound, which means that these lines would contain a total of four syllables.

If you go back to some of the earlier lessons, you will find several dealing with meter that may help you.

Then come back and TRY AGAIN!

MOCindy
Member

since 2008-07-30

Posts 73

11 posted 2008-08-08 01:26 PM

Dear Sir Balladeer, Chops was right.
Vinegar also means jealousy/envy in intimate relationship. Esp, when in mouth.

JenniferMaxwell

Member Elite

since 2006-09-14

Posts 2423

12 posted 2008-08-14 08:55 AM

Lickety splickety
Jenn’s off to Workshop to
study the meaning of
meter and feet.

Tripping on dactyls, she
stumbles and falls on her
unteachability,
sounds the retreat.

Just kidding, can't get rid of me that easily! Bring on the triples!

Balladeer

Administrator

Member Empyrean

since 1999-06-05

Posts 25505
Ft. Lauderdale, Fl USA

13 posted 2008-08-14 05:35 PM

hehe...you just prance in here, do the exercise perfectly.....who do you think you are? Dr. Moose???

Nicely done, Jenn. I'll have to see what I can come up with to challenge y'all a little bit more.

JenniferMaxwell

Member Elite

since 2006-09-14

Posts 2423

14 posted 2008-08-14 06:28 PM

It was a fun exercise, Balladeer, thanks for posting it, and harder than I thought it would be. Wasn’t sure about “unteachability”, exactly where the stresses came. Couldn’t find it in the dictionary. Just seemed like if you add “un” to a word, that changes the stress to the first syllable as in “Un Cola”. Anyway, that’s my story and I’m sticking to it!

Also, looked up the history of the word “dactyl”. That was fascinating and a little spicy if you read further on. Do I hear the sound of googling?

Someone just sent me a copy of Betjeman’s “Myfanwy” written in lovely dactyls. Well worth reading so here’s the link. http://oldpoetry.com/opoem/show/6208-Sir-John-Betjeman-Myfanwy

Longfellow uses dactyls in “Evangeline”, I think? Maybe hexameter, something extravagant like that? Good grief, hope you'd never expect...never mind, just keep googling!

Balladeer

Administrator

Member Empyrean

since 1999-06-05

Posts 25505
Ft. Lauderdale, Fl USA

15 posted 2008-08-14 06:42 PM

Unteachability worked well because, by that time, you had established a good rythym and preceded it with two unaccented and fairly tame syllables. The only problem I initially had was with the first line of "Jenn's off to workshop". I had the inclination to read it as jenn's OFF to WORKshop but, after having read the rest of the piece I could go back and see see it as JENN'S off to WORKshop, which is dactylically proper. I think the possibility of confusion came with the word "off", which is a fairly strong word. Perhaps something like "Jenn heads to workshop" would alleviate that situation.At any rate, it's fine the way it is.

Yes, many memorable pieces have been written in dyctalic verse and it has been a useful tool used by the big guys (and gals).

moonbeam

Member Elite

since 2005-12-24

Posts 2356

16 posted 2009-02-26 06:04 PM

Lyrical miracle
Ronald Carnellian,
Passionate poster of
verse true and wise.

Soon to be, doomed to be
Octogenarian,
Will the blue pages out
live his demise!?

Balladeer

Administrator

Member Empyrean

since 1999-06-05

Posts 25505
Ft. Lauderdale, Fl USA

17 posted 2009-02-26 08:20 PM

Nothing less than perfect, moonbeam! Brilliantly done

moonbeam

Member Elite

since 2005-12-24

Posts 2356

18 posted 2009-02-27 04:20 AM

You are very kind. Thanks Mike.

Dr.Moose1
Member Elite

since 1999-09-05

Posts 3448
Bewilderment , USA

19 posted 2009-02-27 11:52 AM

Balladeer makes it clear
poets at Passions steer
tortuous corridors
that they might learn.

Bumble-ing stumble-ing
to myself mumble-ing
"waddayaboddafor?"
at every turn.

But he's a glutton for
punishment either or
double-didactically
preoccupied.

As evidenced by this
borderline ludicris
overgrammatical
piece but I tried

Three for the price of one
this is just too much fun
laughing hysterically.
Dactyllic feet

dancing to different drums
daring to vary some
"per-Fred-Astaire-ically"
down dactyl street

ananagram
New Member

since 2009-05-10

Posts 1

20 posted 2009-05-10 07:04 PM

More than a little bit
late to the party, but
Neverthelesslessly
I had a go!

-------

I like to write this stuff
While sitting comfortably
Very enjoyably
Plonked on my bum.

It took me minutes to
Come up with this word here;
Satisfactorily.
And it was fun!

Dr.Moose1
Member Elite

since 1999-09-05

Posts 3448
Bewilderment , USA

21 posted 2009-05-12 07:05 AM

ananagram,
Lol, nice entrance. Welcome to Passions, I'm sure you'll enjoy your stay.
Doc

playing.with.crayons
Member

since 2006-01-02

Posts 362
Neverland

22 posted 2009-06-16 09:06 AM

How very tellingly
I saw you merrily
Hopping and bopping
Down memory lane

Skipping along the street
Under a cotton sheet
Uncategorically
Back and again

I asked delightedly
Why you decidedly
Looked unrequitedly
Back and again

There you replied to me
Grinning emphatically
“Never will I do
Double dactyls again!”

--Late and imperfect
but that's how I roll. *grin*
-Cheye

Balladeer

Administrator

Member Empyrean

since 1999-06-05

Posts 25505
Ft. Lauderdale, Fl USA

23 posted 2009-06-16 09:08 PM

Yep, I'm sure you can see all of the errors in this one but you gave it a shot...roll on.

rachaelfuchsberger

Senior Member

since 2007-02-21

Posts 609
Las Vegas, NV

24 posted 2009-06-29 04:54 PM

Ok....ignorance is decidedly NOT bliss. Can someone please explain to me what a dactyl is in poetry?

Arana Darkwolf

Klassy Lassy
Member Elite

since 2005-06-28

Posts 2187
Oregon

25 posted 2009-06-29 07:33 PM

I'm just a visitor
rhyming inquisitor
smiling at rainbows
and feet

Flashing in stripes
pulsing delight
little heart kisses
that beat

A tom-tom surprise
for Alison's eyes
Balladeer's message
complete

LOL! That was cute. I doubt I did the exercise right, though. ~KL

Balladeer

Administrator

Member Empyrean

since 1999-06-05

Posts 25505
Ft. Lauderdale, Fl USA

26 posted 2009-06-30 12:03 PM

That's good, Lassy! You didn't follow the form in the last lines but everything else was right on....nice to see you here!

Alison

Member Rara Avis

since 2008-01-27

Posts 9318
Lumpy oatmeal makes me crazy!

27 posted 2009-06-30 01:19 AM

You got me laughing .. I love this.

A

rachaelfuchsberger

Senior Member

since 2007-02-21

Posts 609
Las Vegas, NV

28 posted 2009-06-30 01:28 PM

Thanks to the encouragement of the good Sir Balladeer, I have answered my own question. Dactyl:
A metrical foot of three syllables, one long (or stressed) followed by two short (or unstressed), as in happily. The dactyl is the reverse of the anapest.

Arana Darkwolf

Earth Angel
Member Empyrean

since 2002-08-27

Posts 40215
Realms of Light

29 posted 2009-08-13 10:25 AM

Well, leave it up to this 'fallen angel' to come up with a naughty double-dactyl. Hmm,I suppose that the sexy-sounding terms "double-dactyl" and "higgledy piggledy" put me in a naughty frame of mind!

Pleasure Seekers

Tinctures and potions can
Heighten one’s pleasure so
Passionate lovers seek
My special brew.

Doling out favours for
My special clients can
Satisfy me and I’m
Sure it will you!

LLD

Marc-Andre
Senior Member

since 2008-12-07

Posts 501

30 posted 2009-08-13 12:41 PM

Hickeldy-piggledy
Kittenish Valerie’s
Silicone surgery
Set me on fire;

Coveting sodomy
Anaprhodisiacally
Her own erection would
Quench my desire.

Earth Angel
Member Empyrean

since 2002-08-27

Posts 40215
Realms of Light

31 posted 2009-08-17 10:15 PM

MA ~

Mine might have been naughty but your's makes mind sound rather demure! lol

	⇧ top of page ⇧
All times are ET (US). All dates are in Year-Month-Day format.