sherlock60 | Mrs. Hudson's Poetry Page: The Sign of Four, Chaps. 7

Welcome once again to my poetry page!

I hope each week you will read Dr. Watson’s delightful narrative and then be inspired to write a poem related to it in some way. All forms of poetry are permitted, and further down the page there is a selection you might like to consider using over the coming weeks.

This week my featured form is one of my own devising: the 221B verselet.

This is a tribute to the 221B ficlet—a form of writing that some of Mr. Holmes’ admirers like to indulge in. (I do feel sorry for Mr. Holmes on occasion. They are on the whole charming girls but sometimes he has only to step out of the front door for a group of young ladies to surround him, furiously sketch him, and then stampede to the Post Office to post the pictures to their friends.)

My definition for the 221B verselet:

A poem four lines long—the first line having 2 words, the second line having 2 words, the third line having 1 word and the fourth line having 1 word, beginning with ‘b’.

So only six words in total. But you appreciate a bit of minimalism in your poetry writing when simultaneously having to cope with your tenant setting fire to the curtains.

Here is my example:

Treasure lost.
Treasure found:
Watson’s
Bride.

As always, this is simply something to consider for the future. Any form of poetry is welcome this week—and every week! Here are a few suggestions for you:

acrostic poetry, clerihew, epigram, haiku, limerick, palindrome poetry, sedoka, sestina, sonnet, tanka, terza rima, tongue twister poetry, triolet, tyburn, villanelle

Please leave all your poems inspired by The Sign of Four in the comments on this post. I look forward to seeing them!

Warm regards,

Mrs. Hudson

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

That opportunist crocodile,
Possessed of a most dreaded smile,
Expired sans answer to the question:
Who gave him such indigestion?

Very nice:-)

Thank you! Part of me feels that I'm cheating at Clerihews to have consistent meter throughout, but I hope the silliness made up for it a bit.

It flows really well:-)
Not cheating:-p

What a brilliant choice of subject for the clerihew ^^ (Must admit it took me a moment to remember where the crocodile came into things ^^") I love the final couplet - it's just perfect ^__^

Oh, thank you! I'd forgotten the crocodile as well until revisiting the story on Sunday, so I absolutely credit this community with reminding me of one point of view that had not yet been exploited :D

I nearly went the Captain Hook route with a ficlet, but this tickled me even more than that idea.

This is excellent. And that last line is brilliant.

Oh, thank you so much! Given some of your past work, I was relieved that you had not already done something from the crocodile's POV. :D

Ha! I think the crocodile is probably one of the few creatures who didn't contribute somewhere along the line.

LOL! The poor croc. I guess, despite appearances, Smallwood wasn't very edible after all.

It's true, Doyle was hopelessly anthropocentric when discussing the meeting between his antagonist and his crocodilian attacker. The man lost a leg, but what if the croc lost more? :D

Mrs. Hudson's Poetry Page: The Sign of Four, Chaps. 7 - 12

Clerihew: A Small Snack

Re: Clerihew: A Small Snack

Re: Clerihew: A Small Snack

Re: Clerihew: A Small Snack

Re: Clerihew: A Small Snack

Re: Clerihew: A Small Snack

Re: Clerihew: A Small Snack

Re: Clerihew: A Small Snack

Re: Clerihew: A Small Snack

Re: Clerihew: A Small Snack

Re: Clerihew: A Small Snack