“All the King’s Men” by Robert Penn Warren (post 5): Title is line from “Humpty Dumpty,” which may be a metaphor for multiple personality

“Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall,

Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.

All the king's horses and all the king's men

Couldn't put Humpty together again” (1).

Robert Penn Warren may have noticed that he was a man of parts, not only that he had various talents, but that he had various senses of identity. Usually this was not a problem; indeed, it was integral to his creative process.

However, occasionally, it was confusing or embarrassing, and at such times he wished he could just “get it together,” permanently.

But his getting it together never was permanent, and after each confusing or embarrassing episode he may have thought, “Well, another of my Humpty Dumpty moments.”

1. Wikipedia. “Humpty Dumpty.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humpty_Dumpty