Sep 3, 2006 at 10:43 o\clock
Double dactyl: a form of light verse invented by Anthony Hecht and John Hollander. The double dactyl consists of two quatrains, each with three double-dactyl lines ( / _ _ / _ _ ) followed by a shorter dactyl-spondee pair (/_ _ /). The two spondees rhyme. Other rules of this "dismally difficult / Form" are that the first line must be a nonsense phrase, the second line a proper or place name, and one other line, usually the sixth, a single double-dactylic word that has never been used before in a double dactyl. For example,
Higgleby piggledy,
Bacon, lord Chancellor,
Negligent, fell for the
Paltrier vice.
Bribery toppled him,
Bronchopneumonia
Finished him, testing some
Poultry on ice.
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