A gothic version of "Humpty Dumpty" written by Dylan Curry in the style of Edgar Allan Poe.

See the original story here: Humpty Dumpty (nursery rhyme)

Poetry's Corner is proud to present a dramatic reading of Humpty Dumpty, by Edgar Allan Poe.

Good evening.

Once upon a wall of stone
Sat Humpty Dumpy all alone
Shrouded in a web of gloom
His fate as near as tomorrow's tomb

For earth called him
As he teetered and fell
And the ground took him
And mangled his shell

All the angels in heaven
And demons below
Were soaked in yolk
As they fought for his soul

Now my own days grow shorter
The final hour is soon
And as Humpty before me
I must bid you adieu


Today's broadcast was made possible in part by "Cart Before the Horse", "The Paperhand Lincoln Institute" and by viewers like you. Thank you.

It's not fair...

This is poetry, so you must be ready for a lot of symbolic and metaphorical meanings. I'll give you the literal meaning of the words though.

DRAMATIC READING= The reading of a piece of literature in an elegant way, with the right intonation and pace, as actors in a play.

ONCE= One day.
Traditional fairy tales usually begin with the phrase "once upon a time" (= one day, a long time ago).

UPON= (old fashioned) On.

HUMPTY DUMPTY= A popular character from a nursery rhyme (a traditional song for children). Humpty Dumpty was a man in the shape of an egg. He was sitting on a wall, fell down and broke into pieces and nobody could put him together again. This character also appeared in "Alice in Wonderland".

SHROUDED= (formal) Wrapped, covered with (the word "shroud" means "a cloth o clothing used to wrap your body for burial")

WEB= A spider web (a silken fabric made by spiders to trap insects).

GLOOM= An atmosphere of darkness and/or sadness.

FATE= Destiny.

FOR= Because.

TEETER= To move unsteadily.

MANGLE= To mutilate, disfigure, break into pieces.

SHELL= The hard outer cover of an egg or some animals such as turtles, crabs, snails, etc. (Humpty Dumpty was a man in the shape of a big egg, so he had a shell).

DEMONS= Bad spirits (the angels are good spirits).

SOAKED= All wet with a liquid.

YOLK=  /jəʊk/ The yellow part of an egg.

SOUL= Spirit.

GROW SHORTER= Become shorter (my days are becoming shorter because death is coming nearer).

BID YOU ADIEU= Say goodbye to you.
ADIEU= /ədu:/  (old fashioned) Goodbye forever (you say it if you're going to die or, for some other reason, you know you will never see them again).