Punchinello

The name in this playground game belongs to a hook-nosed Italian stage clown from the early 1600s. Punchinello is the English spelling of Pulcinella, a servant character from commedia dell'arte who crossed the Channel, shrank into a glove puppet and became Mr Punch of Punch and Judy. Four hundred years later, small children stand in a circle and sing his name without any idea that they are naming a clown at all.

The game itself is simple copy-the-leader. One child stands in the middle, the ring asks what they can do, the child does something, and everybody copies it. Then a new Punchinello is chosen and the whole thing runs again.

Origins

Pulcinella was introduced to the commedia dell'arte stage by the Neapolitan actor Silvio Fiorillo around 1620. He wore a beaked mask and spoke in a squawking voice, and his name is usually traced to the Italian pulcino, meaning chick, a nod to that beak of a nose. Travelling Italian players carried him across Europe, where he was reshaped locally: Polichinelle in France, and in England Punchinello, later clipped to Punch. Samuel Pepys recorded watching a puppet version of the character in Covent Garden on 9 May 1662, the date usually given as Mr Punch's English birthday.

How the name reached a children's ring game is less well documented. The singing game appears in the United States around the turn of the twentieth century and is generally described as European in origin, quite possibly carried over by Italian immigrant families. No single author or first printing is established, which is why no firm date is given here. By the middle of the twentieth century the connection to a clown had faded almost entirely, and children were singing the word as a nonsense name.

Wording varies from playground to playground and from classroom to classroom. "Funny fellow" is the most common form, but "little fellow" is widespread, and American versions often use the feminine "Punchinella". The closing line differs too: some groups sing "Who do you choose?", others "We can do it too" and simply have the leader tap the next child on the shoulder. In one well-travelled variant the ring sings about Punchinella "in the shoe", a line whose origin nobody has convincingly explained.

Meaning & Interpretation

The words carry no story. They exist to frame the action, in the same way a square dance call exists to move dancers. The question in the first stanza puts one child on the spot in a friendly way, the second stanza rewards whatever they invented by making the whole ring do it, and the third hands the spotlight on.

That structure is the point. There is no winner, nobody is knocked out, and the "performance" lasts about four seconds before it turns into something everyone does together. Teachers use it for exactly that reason: a shy child gets to lead for a moment with no risk of being wrong, since any action counts and the group immediately joins in rather than watching. It needs no equipment, no preparation and no space beyond a circle, so it works as a transition activity or a five-minute filler.

Who was Punchinello?

Punchinello is the English form of Pulcinella, a stock servant clown of Italian commedia dell'arte, brought to the stage by the actor Silvio Fiorillo around 1620. He was recognisable by a hooked, beaklike nose and a harsh croaking voice, and his name probably comes from pulcino, Italian for chick. As the character spread through Europe he became Polichinelle in France and Punchinello in England, where the name was shortened to Punch. The Mr Punch of seaside puppet booths is his direct descendant.

How do you play Punchinello?

Children stand in a ring holding hands, with one child in the centre as Punchinello. The ring sings the first two lines while circling or clapping. Punchinello then performs any action they like: hopping, spinning, pulling a face, flapping like a bird. The ring sings the "we can do it too" lines and copies the action exactly. On the last stanza Punchinello points to or taps another child, swaps places with them, and the game begins again. Keep the rounds short so more children get a turn.

Is Punchinello the same as Punch and Judy?

The name is the same, and the character behind it is the same, but the game and the puppet show are otherwise unconnected. Punch and Judy is a violent, knockabout puppet play with a plot; the ring game borrowed only the clown's name and the idea of a funny figure everyone watches. Nothing in the song refers to the puppet show.

Why do some versions say "Punchinella"?

Both forms circulate, and neither is more correct. "Punchinella" is common in the United States and is often used when the child in the middle is a girl, while "Punchinello" keeps the older Italian masculine form. Because the game passed between children by ear rather than through printed songbooks, spellings and endings drifted freely.