character english nursery rhyme probably originally best known english speaking world typically portrayed anthropomorphic egg explicitly described recorded versions rhyme date late eighteenth century england tune nursery songs origins obscure theories advanced suggest original meanings character united_states actor character literary allusion appeared referred large number works literature popular culture particularly looking glass rhyme listed folk song index lyrics melody rhyme best known popular english language common modern text single external rhymes follow pattern metre common nursery rhymes melody commonly associated rhyme recorded composer nursery rhyme collector nursery songs london folk songs variations number song origins earliest known version published lyrics manuscript addition copy published modern version different line set published version published collected version according oxford english dictionary term referred drink boiled seventeenth century probably exploited fact eighteenth century slang short clumsy person depend assumption clumsy person falling wall damaged egg rhyme longer posed answer known similar recorded languages french swedish norwegian different parts germany widely known english meaning rhyme explicitly state subject egg possibly originally posed theories original advanced adopted king richard iii england depicted tudor histories particularly shakespeare play defeated despite armies field professor suggested february siege engine armoured frame unsuccessfully approach walls parliamentary held city gloucester siege gloucester english civil war basis contemporary account attack evidence rhyme connected theory anonymous series articles origin nursery rhymes widely acclaimed derided sake declared spoof link children opera king men performed website tourist board attributed origin rhyme cannon recorded church wall royalist defenders siege walled town castle churches protected city wall story given large cannon website claimed colloquially called strategically placed wall shot parliamentary cannon succeeded damaging wall beneath caused cannon ground king men attempted raise wall cannon heavy king horses king men couldn author claimed book pop goes secret meanings nursery rhymes verses supporting claim claimed found old dusty library older book state book found pointed additional verses style seventeenth century existing rhyme fit earliest printed versions rhyme mention horses men looking glass appears looking glass discusses alice don know mean glory alice said course don till tell meant nice knock argument glory doesn mean nice knock argument alice objected use word said tone means choose mean question said alice words mean different things question said master alice minute began temper particularly manage lot passage britain lord judgement seminal case anderson protested distortion statute majority house_of_lords popular citation united_states legal opinions appearing judicial decisions database april including supreme_court cases hill miller suggested basis description finding faces hard recognise face goes generally alice remarked thoughtful tone complain said face everybody eyes marking places air thumb nose middle mouth eyes nose instance mouth help popular culture highly popular nursery rhyme character american actor helped character nineteenth century stage productions versions music rhyme character common literary allusion particularly refer person insecure position difficult reconstruct broken short fat person large range literary works addition appearance character looking glass including prose devised daughter king having witnessed death father soldiers efforts save early short story case story turned film noir style crime story involving queen hearts little old mother characters popular nursery rhymes victim serial fairy tale character murderer hollow chocolate apocalypse included novels lost plots big easy use respectively dissatisfied nursery rhyme characters threatening strike victim murder rhyme reference literary works including recurring motif fall man novel american novel king men story populist politician rise position governor eventual fall based career corrupt louisiana senator won pulitzer prize twice film king men winning academy_award best motion picture echoed book president men scandal referring failure president staff repair damage scandal leaked filmed president men starring similarly referred novel city glass characters discuss embodiment human condition quote extensively looking glass common motif popular music including heart king horses king horses travis love song jazz wrote different compositions titled case concept album inspired called mad song starting king horses king men divorced couple extra verse version mentioned afraid falling wall science demonstrate second law law describes process known measure number specific ways system arranged taken measure disorder higher higher disorder fall subsequent shattering inability representative principle highly unlikely impossible return earlier state lower isolated system decreases variation poem near sounding french nonsense words illustrate difficulty speech recognition different languages common version follows listener expecting nursery rhyme generally heard english version expecting french instead tend hear nonsense words
Humpty Dumpty