sherlock60 | Mrs. Hudson's Poetry Page: The Disappearance of Lady Frances Carfax

scfrankles.livejournal.com posting in

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 the mat̲h̲nawī.

Wikipedia, gives this definition:

Masnavi, or mat̲h̲nawī, is the name of a poem written in rhyming couplets, or more specifically, "a poem based on independent, internally rhyming lines". Most mat̲h̲nawī follow a meter of eleven, or occasionally ten, syllables, but have no limit in their length. The mat̲h̲nawī consists of an indefinite number of couplets, with the rhyme scheme aa/bb/cc.

Turkish mat̲h̲nawī

Turkish mat̲h̲nawī are strongly driven by their plot, and are usually categorized into three genres—mutaḳārib (heroic), ramal (religio/didactic), and hazadj (romantic). Some mat̲h̲nawī were written with an understanding that the audience would appreciate the importance of the subject of the poem, but some were also written purely for entertainment purposes.

Here is my example poem (which admittedly does not have much plot to it):

They drive me insane but I can always expect
Mr. Holmes and the Doctor to give me respect.

At first an employer and a wage earner.
Now we’re best chums: Mesdames Hudson and Turner.

What need have I of power, palaces and riches,
Laughing with the Knitting Circle over dropped stitches?

Parents die, siblings die, a happy marriage ends.
But a woman ought never to be without friends.

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:

221B verselet, abecedarian poetry, acrostic poetry, alexandrine, beeswing, blackout poetry, blues stanza, bref double, call and response, chastushka, cinquain, circular poetry, clerihew, colour poems, concrete poetry, Cornish verse, curtal sonnet, diamante, doggerel, double dactyl, ekphrasis, elegiac couplet, englyn, epigram, epulaeryu, Etheree, fable, found poetry, ghazal, haiku, Italian sonnet, kennings poem, lanturne, limerick, lyric poetry, mat̲h̲nawī, palindrome poetry, pantoum, poem cycle, quintilla, renga, riddle, rime couée, Schüttelreim, sedoka, septet, sestina, sonnet, tanka, tercet, terza rima, tongue twister poetry, triolet, tyburn, villanelle

Please leave all your poems inspired by The Disappearance of Lady Frances Carfax in the comments on this post. I look forward to seeing them!

Warm regards,

Mrs. Hudson

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

scfrankles.livejournal.com

If you go on adventures, aches are the aftermath
Which is why Doctor Watson went off to the Turkish bath.

As the steam did its work, soothing those rheumaticky places,
In the changing room it relaxed too Watson’s suit, boots and laces.

The laces soon slackened as the air became hot
As with Watson’s muscles, heat undid every knot.

On departure, languid laces kept slipping apart so
That’s why the boy had to tie both in a firm double bow.

From:

thesmallhobbit.livejournal.com

Aw, languid laces, too relaxed to do their work properly :)

From:

okapi1895.livejournal.com

No comment other than: you are slaying me!

From:

scfrankles.livejournal.com

*giggles*

From:

okapi1895.livejournal.com

I can't tell if she's doing it on purpose or it just comes naturally :)

From:

scfrankles.livejournal.com

It's an image that amuses me ^_^

From:

debriswoman

Pleased his clothing was de-stressed by the experience, too:-)

Edited Date: 2015-12-06 03:10 pm (UTC)

From:

scfrankles.livejournal.com

It's a holistic experience ^__^

From:

laurose8.livejournal.com

A nice litttle Turkish bath of a poem, very well laced up at the end.

From:

scfrankles.livejournal.com

Thank you ^_^

(deleted comment)

From:

okapi1895.livejournal.com

Oh wow. That's epic! The whole story. Nicely done.

From:

debriswoman

Thank you very much:-)

From:

thesmallhobbit.livejournal.com

I'm particularly taken with the moral of the tale; one should definitely take heed from the sad story of Lady Frances Carfax.

From:

debriswoman

Thank you...important lesson here:-)

From:

scfrankles.livejournal.com

Is there a name for this form..? (Curtal couplets, perhaps ^^)

I love the rhythm - that last shortened line in each verse gives a little dramatic emphasis every time. It draws you into the story and then pulls you on through the narrative.

From:

debriswoman

The short last line is used in Sapphic verse:-)
And thank you very much:-)

From:

gardnerhill.livejournal.com

An epic.

From:

debriswoman

Thank you.

From:

thesmallhobbit.livejournal.com

Your coat is splattered on one side
This tells me you have shared your ride

Your boots are tied a different way
I think I know how you spent your day

I find myself feeling rather old
And no longer enjoy a wash in the cold

And generally I think it much more fun
To be at baths where I’m not the only one

From:

okapi1895.livejournal.com

I cannot, I cannot, what are you doing? BWAH!

From:

thesmallhobbit.livejournal.com

Just adding to the fun ;)

From:

scfrankles.livejournal.com

I'm rather tickled that you coincidentally chose to write a poem in couplets for this week ^_^ Nice form by the way - having first Holmes speaking and then Watson replying.

And generally I think it much more fun
To be at baths where I’m not the only one Oh, Watson... ^____^

From:

thesmallhobbit.livejournal.com

I was amused reading your poetry description and thinking "oh, that's what I've written."

From:

debriswoman

You tell him, Watson!

From:

thesmallhobbit.livejournal.com

Simply, so even Holmes understands.

From:

okapi1895.livejournal.com

Why lost, Sir Arthur, a lady of means, driftin’?
Wake up, Sir Arthur, the times they be shiftin’

From:

scfrankles.livejournal.com

I think the rather sad moral of the story is that Lady Frances needs to learn to be more worldly-wise and less trusting. There's no reason why she should get married and settle down, but she has to learn to stand up for herself. I suppose her upbringing never prepared her for that.

I'm sure you're a great deal more capable than poor Lady Frances ^^

From:

okapi1895.livejournal.com

I completely see your point and thinks it's valid. I hadn't though of it like that. But you're right, you'd think with her traveling she'd been a little more wary of the Reverend & co.

But we don't really know a whole lot about Lady Carfax since we don't hear her own voice (which in and of itself is suggestive), but I think ACD (through Holmes) was laying it on a bit thick, painting a whole subset of the population with the same brush in the paragraph about the 'most dangerous class of people.' It seemed to me to be something a man would say about a woman who isn't legally/financially tied (father/brother/husband--even a dead one) to another man.

From:

scfrankles.livejournal.com

I would agree with you that it's notable that Lady Frances doesn't appear in the story at all - even at the end she's unconscious. But I think that's just an unfortunate side effect of the plot, rather than ACD being sexist.

However, I would agree that the attitude he gives Holmes is sexist. "One of the most dangerous classes in the world..." is a patronising and just plain odd description of single ladies with a private income. And you're right - we don't really know anything about Lady Frances at all. Maybe I'm wrong; maybe she was just unlucky in being tricked by Peters. These things can happen to the most worldly-wise of us.

From:

debriswoman

Yep, one or two assumptions made by Mr Doyle...

From:

okapi1895.livejournal.com

The 'dangerous' part got me.

From:

laurose8.livejournal.com

Well put! I think Lady Frances would thank you for giving her those lines to say.

From:

okapi1895.livejournal.com

She's a 'dangerous' woman is she? Dangerous to whom?

From:

gardnerhill.livejournal.com

Snort! Yeah, wake up Artie, or the sight of a flapper will make your head go pop.

From:

okapi1895.livejournal.com

Probably a good thing he missed those.

From:

laurose8.livejournal.com

I think this excellent sample has a most excellent plot. Thank you.

From:

scfrankles.livejournal.com

Thank you very much. That is most kind.

From:

debriswoman

Nicely done Mrs H...and having two long pointy needles at hand may have other benefits:-)

From:

scfrankles.livejournal.com

It has to be said Mr. Holmes always makes himself scarce once I bring out the knitting needles. I believe facing the ladies of the Knitting Circle en masse makes him nervous.

From:

gardnerhill.livejournal.com

A lady is lost in Lausanne;
Two rogues pawned her jewels and ran.
A burglar and ruffian
Find double-bedded coffin –
And now Green will do what he can.

From:

scfrankles.livejournal.com

I'm rather taken with the phrase "double-bedded coffin". It's so clever and so appropriate - and so horrible too.

From:

gardnerhill.livejournal.com

Thanks. The whole story is rather horrible - it deals with one of the greatest dreads of Victorians.

From:

okapi1895.livejournal.com

I thought of you this week because there's a post going around tumblrs about limerick summaries of great poems. I thought, I know someone who could do that, who does that, every Sunday! Well done. Bonus: I now know how to pronounce Lausanne.