In case you've not yet read their posts, let me summarise what a double dactyl is. The form was only devised as recently as 1951 by Anthony Hecht and Paul Pascal. It has been compared to the limerick (which originated in Ireland in the early 1700s) inasmuch as both are concise and often comedic in content, but the prosodic requirements of the double dactyl are more demanding. By the way, it has nothing to do with pterodactyls.
Hecht and Pascal
First of all it should comprise a single sentence split over two four-line stanzas. Secondly, the first three lines in each stanza should be a pair of dactyls (dum-di-di dum-di-di) and the fourth line should be a choriamb (dum-di-di-dum). Thirdly the opening line should be a nonsense rhyme (e.g. higgledy piggledy). Fourthly the second line in the first stanza should strictly speaking be a proper noun and the subject of the poem. Fifthly, the second line in the second stanza should strictly speaking be a single double dactylic word (e.g. incontrovertibly). Sixthly, the end words of the two stanzas should rhyme. Simples!Examples always help, so I've uncovered two to share with you. In the first, Roger L. Robison metapoetically and quite amusingly nails the double dactyl form thus:
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.This second example by Joanna Daniel is rather splendid. I believe she said it was a piece of cake to write:Clickety clacketyQueen Marie Antionette"Let them eat cake" she saidWhen they'd no breadDue to her callousnessImprovisationalFrench mob decided then"Off with her head!"
Okay, I think that's given you the general idea. So let me offer you a trio of double dactyls of my own devising. For the first one, as I've been feeling the influence of all those Greatest Dancer blogs from the other week, I've penned something in praise of Caroline Rafferty. It's the one I'm most pleased with in that I think it accords one hundred percent with the strictest rules of the form.
Caroline Rafferty
I wasn't too sure what title to give it, as most double dactyl poems don't appear to have one, but I thought it deserved something and so I've simply called it...Dance TimeTippety-tappetyCaroline RaffertySweet showgirl prodigyDanced to the top
Brimming with energyIndefatigablyStamped until forty thenKnew when to stop.
For the second, and prompted by Terry Quinn's double dactyl about a Birmingham City player, I've elaborated upon a hoary old joke about Manchester United's first Chinese footballer - "young Lee Sharpe". I'm not quite so happy with this one as it's not really all about Lee Sharpe. But hey.
Young Lee Sharpe
Apologies in advance for any historical inaccuracies or perceived stereotype bias. Again, I've given it a title in deference to the famous Goon song it references...Milligan ReduxYing tong yiddle i poYoung Lee Sharpe see him goChina loves how red manUnited flow
Growing the brand out EastExponentiallyWarms Glazers' brazen heartsIt's a goon show.
The final one is a political swipe at General Augusto Jos茅 Ram贸n Pinochet. When the USA decided to unseat the democratically elected Marxist government of Salvador Allende in Chile in 1973, Pinochet was the right-wing Chilean army general who led the American-backed coup. The overthrow of Allende and all who supported him was swift and brutal. Thousands of people were rounded up and killed. Thousands more fled the country.
Augusto Pinochet crushes democracy in Chile
Chile entered a long and oppressive reign by the military junta and then under Pinochet as President after one-sided elections. Pinochet's rule was decried as fascist with a track record of human rights violations. When he was eventually replaced he came to live in London where he was arrested on charges of corruption and genocide and sent back to Chile to face trial. A thoroughly nasty man, he died of a heart attack in 2006. This final double dactyl is a return to the classic form.A Right BastardUppity puppetyAugusto PinochetBacked by the USATo lead a coup
Toppled democracyUnhesitatinglyRuled Chile brutallyLoved by the few.
And that's your lot. Thanks for reading. Do have a go at home. If you come up with anything you like, feel free to add it in the comment below. S ;-) Email ThisBlogThis!Share to TwitterShare to Facebook
