Mrs. Hudson's Poetry Page: The Valley of Fear, Part 1

[scfrankles.livejournal.com]

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 Burns stanza.

Wikipedia gives this definition:

The Burns stanza is a verse form named after the Scottish poet Robert Burns, who used it in some fifty poems. It was not, however, invented by Burns, and prior to his use of it was known as the standard Habbie, after the piper Habbie Simpson (1550–1620). It is also sometimes known as the Scottish stanza or six-line stave.

The stanza is six lines in length and rhymes aaabab, with tetrameter a lines and dimeter b lines. The second b line may or may not be repeated.

Tetrameter = 4 metrical feet
Dimeter = 2 metrical feet

That is, the a lines are twice as long as the b lines.




Here is my example poem:


Mr. Holmes breaks the code every day with all ease
But jumble and nonsense is what this reader sees.
‘j’s hover above lines; squashed grapes are in fact ‘d’s;
‘g’s look like snakes fighting.
Can’t someone teach me how to understand, please,
A doctor’s handwriting?



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, Burns stanza, 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, epitaph, epulaeryu, Etheree, fable, found poetry, ghazal, haiku, Italian sonnet, kennings poem, lanturne, limerick, lyric poetry, mathnawī, 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 Valley of Fear in the comments on this post. I look forward to seeing them!


N.B. Next Sunday I will be away—celebrating with Mrs. Turner and her family. But you will be left in the capable hands of a lady from the Marylebone Monthly Illustrated. (Small, dainty, rather squeaky voice.) She will be doing something rather lighthearted and fun I believe, but do feel at liberty to prepare and post poems for the second half of The Valley of Fear as well!

Happy Christmas and I will see you all in a fortnight!



Warm regards,

Mrs. Hudson

Comments

Limerick

[gardnerhill.livejournal.com]

Moriarty had struck once again –
And Watson had heard of him then!
(“You’ve heard of him?” “Never.”
Doyle’s not all that clever –
Ask James, I mean John. Bloody pen…)

Re: Limerick

[scfrankles.livejournal.com]

That last line did make me giggle ^_^ And lines 3 & 4 are clever even if ACD isn't - I think this might be one of your very best limericks ^^

Re: Limerick

[thesmallhobbit.livejournal.com]

Ah, the recurrent amnesia which made Watson forget whether or not he was married ;)

RE: Limerick

[debriswoman]

Very clever...and it wasn't as though Doyle had a cast of thousands to keep track of...

Re: Limerick

[laurose8.livejournal.com]

Very enjoyable. I can see Watson or Doyle - or both - nodding ruefully at this one.

A Burns stanza

[scfrankles.livejournal.com]

Now for a moment I will ask leave to remove my own insignificant personality and to describe events which occurred before we arrived upon the scene…


Story-driver, navigator of the deftly written word
Watson always starts off in first, gently easing into third
Removing his own person from the adventure is preferred
Skilful authors know their place.
Has no need of admiration; doesn’t want the limelight shared
Watson is quick to self-efface.

Re: A Burns stanza

[thesmallhobbit.livejournal.com]

Even if I cannot read his handwriting, I know Dr Watson is always considerate of others. Unlike some I could mention.

RE: A Burns stanza

[debriswoman]

Nicely done...excellent last line, in particular

Re: A Burns stanza

[gardnerhill.livejournal.com]

Even the Paget illos emphasize this - Holmes and a bunch of other people doing something active...and a man with a moustache stands behind, watching.

Re: A Burns stanza

[laurose8.livejournal.com]

Well done! This graceful verse should be in all books of Holmes criticism.

Not Watson's best attempt

[thesmallhobbit.livejournal.com]

My dear Holmes, you may jest
When I say “I am inclined to think”
But may I remind you who it is
Who has driven our landlady to drink?

Your behaviour I fear
Is sending Mrs Hudson away
Which is why we have Mouselet
In charge of poems next Sunday

RE: Not Watson's best attempt

[debriswoman]

Very well put:-)

Re: Not Watson's best attempt

[scfrankles.livejournal.com]

Lovely :P And I await with interest (and mild trepidation) what Mouselet comes up with ^^

Re: Not Watson's best attempt

[laurose8.livejournal.com]

Yay! Though I hope it's not all Hopkins.

Also hope Mrs Hudson returns, refreshed.

Re: Not Watson's best attempt

[gardnerhill.livejournal.com]

Aha! The Christmas celebration was just a cover-up!

Almost a Burns Stanza...Watson replies to Mrs H

[debriswoman]

My dearest Mrs Hudson, as a practicing physician,
I am sorry you were moved to rhyme, in obvious derision,
Declaring that my penmanship required complete revision.
I scrawl, it's true;
But writing out prescriptions with an easy, clear precision
Would never do.
~0~

Re: Almost a Burns Stanza...Watson replies to Mrs H

[thesmallhobbit.livejournal.com]

Splendid rhyming there!

Re: Almost a Burns Stanza...Watson replies to Mrs H

[scfrankles.livejournal.com]

Your 'a' rhymes are outstanding ^_^

(And thank heavens they all use computers and printers nowadays ^^)

Re: Almost a Burns Stanza...Watson replies to Mrs H

[gardnerhill.livejournal.com]

Nice rebuttal!

[okapi1895.livejournal.com]

My (dead) granny smacks her gums: "ah sweetie, this be the one by ol' Bobbie Burns!" smack, smack.

[scfrankles.livejournal.com]

Thank you for this charming look into your personal history ^___^

[okapi1895.livejournal.com]

And can I just say if next week we're expected to sing rounds of "Bring back my Inspector to me (to me!)" which is not an actual carol, despite protests to the contrary, the fruit drink better be good and strong.

[thesmallhobbit.livejournal.com]

Rest assured, Mouselet has been told exactly what is and is not expected. The fruit drink will be strong and without any unexpected swimmers.

I don't understand the feet business (sorry granny) but I got the rhyming part

[okapi1895.livejournal.com]

Hidden in the king's hole, with only time to bide,
Waits a fugitive until suspicion has died
Detectives searching elsewhere, only Holmes has spied
His English oubliette.
All for naught as he soon learns there is no place to hide
From those who won't forget.

Re: I don't understand the feet business (sorry granny) but I got the rhyming part

[scfrankles.livejournal.com]

Oh, that's really, really good ^^" I love that play on "oubliette" - "His English oubliette" and "From those who won't forget".

Incidentally, a foot is just a unit of rhythm. The unit of rhythm can be anything the poet likes: te te TUM or TUM te or te TUM, and so on. Whatever rhythm is chosen is repeated throughout the poem. (Though I have played rather free and easy with that rule ^^")

Tetrameter means there's 4 of those units in a line; dimeter means there's 2 of those units in the line.