Mrs. Hudson's Poetry Page: A Study in Scarlet, Pt. 2

[scfrankles.livejournal.com]

Welcome once again to my poetry page!

I hope each week you will read Dr. Watson’s delightful narrative and then go on 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.

And here, courtesy of my housemaid Rachel, are this week’s suggested poems to read—suggestions inspired by the themes and subjects in this week's story. Hopefully you will enjoy the poems, and perhaps they may give you some ideas for a poem of your own or allow you to look at Dr. Watson's story in a new way.


Critics and Connoisseurs

by Marianne Moore


Note from Rachel: "Critics and Connoisseurs" seems to me to encapsulate Mr. Holmes's early attitude toward Scotland Yard. I imagine him comparing the inspectors to animals he observed during his college days—a territorial swan that Mr. Holmes could only prod into movement by feeding it a steady stream of morsels; an ant colony that patrolled in circles stubbornly waving sticks. "I have seen ambition without understanding in a variety of forms," the poet scoffs. I would love to hear your thoughts on Mr. Holmes's relationship with the official police and their interactions in these early years. The first stanza of this poem also serendipitously uses the image of a pup (perhaps Dr. Watson's elusive bull pup?) reaching for scraps at the dinner table. In contrast to the later stanzas, which describe Mr. Holmes's exasperation with the self-conscious parading of ambition, he finds himself oddly charmed by the ungainly, unself-conscious poetry of a new domestic life with Dr. Watson.


Fame is a Bee

by Emily Dickinson


Note from Rachel: The story ends with Dr. Watson vowing that someday he will ensure that Mr. Holmes gets the credit he deserves from the public. We know that Dr. Watson succeeds beyond his wildest dreams, but Mr. Holmes has a vexed relationship with the Doctor’s writings from here on out, relying on them for publicity and employment but also disparaging their style and at times uncomfortable with the notoriety they bring. But in the end, he sees Dr. Watson as his biographer and Boswell, and would be lost without him. I thought Emily Dickinson’s short reflection might fit this Holmesian theme.




And to finish, my suggested form to revisit this week is the englyn. (The link will take you back to a previous poetry page.)



But you do not have to use that form. 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, ballad, 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, elegiac stanza, elfje, englyn, epigram, epitaph, epulaeryu, Etheree, fable, Fib, found poetry, ghazal, haiku, Italian sonnet, jueju, kennings poem, lanturne, limerick, lyric poetry, mathnawī, micropoetry, mini-monoverse, palindrome poetry, pantoum, Parallelismus Membrorum, poem cycle, quintilla, renga, riddle, rime couée, Schüttelreim, sedoka, septet, sestina, sonnet, tanka, tercet, terza rima, tongue twister poetry, triangular triplet, triolet, Tyburn, villanelle


Please leave all your poems inspired by A Study in Scarlet in the comments on this post. I look forward to seeing them!



Warm regards,

Mrs. Hudson

Comments

Limerick

[gardnerhill.livejournal.com]

An American tale. Death taints
Hope’s story of life with the Saints:
Two decades’ chase fled,
‘Revenge’ writ in red.
“And the Yard gets the credit,” Holmes plaints.

Re: Limerick

[scfrankles.livejournal.com]

I really like ‘Revenge’ writ in red. The alliteration and the fact it's both literal and metaphorical.

Re: Limerick

[thesmallhobbit.livejournal.com]

Poor old Holmes! Never mind, they'll be back to ask for help again.

RE: Limerick

[debriswoman]

Nice rhthm and rhyming:-)

Re: Limerick

[laurose8.livejournal.com]

Nice! And I love the last word.

Re: Limerick

[okapi1895.livejournal.com]

Very nice. I also like the Revenge writ in red line.

Written earlier: "Afgod in Blod" (Old English kenning)

[gardnerhill.livejournal.com]

AFGOD IN BLÓD (Image In Blood)

Wounded and worn, to London came Watson.
Stamford was sympathetic, his suggestion salutary.
“Ha, hemoglobin! …How are you?” Holmes.
The two took up tenancy: Baker, two-twenty-one.
“Brag and bounce!” But correct; a bulls-eye. 5
Lauriston, and lifeblood; and Inspector Lestrade.
Watson, in wonder, watched his friend; witnessed.
A ring, and realization. They found red writing: RACHE.
“A fellow, florid-faced, with long fingernails.”
Rance was reprimanded; Holmes raged, “Won’t rise.” 10
A crone collected the ring, confounding them.
The dead identified; Enoch Drebber,
from Torquay Terrace, a terrible tenant.
At Halliday’s Hotel, further horrors held;
Stangerson stabbed, a study in scarlet. 15
Pills in a package, poison (the poor dog proved).
A cab was called – and the cabbie cuffed;
Holmes: “Here we have him; Jefferson Hope.”
Sadly, he spoke of the Land of Saints,
A lost love; how he’d longed to avenge his Lucy, 20
Farrier her father foully murdered; her forced
To marry a Mormon, her mourning mortal.
Hope hunted. The hounds in turn harried him;
The States, the sea, all Europe; a score
Of years, youth spent, till the Yankee 25
Called a cab, and was conquered. His constant companion
Stangerson, stalked and stabbed; Hope said “Self-defense.”
No hearing; his heart burst, a Higher court held.
…The papers’ proud praise for only the police
(Dismissing the detective) roused the Doctor; 30
He resolved to write and end this wrong,
Till all halls would hail: Sherlock Holmes!

Re: Written earlier: "Afgod in Blod" (Old English kenning)

[scfrankles.livejournal.com]

And speaking of alliteration... ^^

*applauds wildly*

I love that last line!

Re: Written earlier: "Afgod in Blod" (Old English kenning)

[thesmallhobbit.livejournal.com]

Impressive!

RE: Written earlier: "Afgod in Blod" (Old English kenning)

[debriswoman]

Summarised neatly in stately alliteration:-)

Impressive work

Re: Written earlier: "Afgod in Blod" (Old English kenning)

[laurose8.livejournal.com]

What a terrific piece of work. Thank you for this very English poem, which will doubtless confuse far future historians greatly.

Re: Written earlier: "Afgod in Blod" (Old English kenning)

[okapi1895.livejournal.com]

Wow, wow, wow. This is no small feat. I like how you start with the hemoglobin. It's such an interesting part of their meeting.

An englyn milwr

[scfrankles.livejournal.com]

Inspectors get the glory.
But that’s only before he—
His Boswell—writes his story.

Re: An englyn milwr

[thesmallhobbit.livejournal.com]

Nicely summarised.

RE: An englyn milwr

[debriswoman]

Very true:-)

Re: An englyn milwr

[laurose8.livejournal.com]

Neat. Thanks.

Re: An englyn milwr

[gardnerhill.livejournal.com]

His story = history. Brilliant!

Re: An englyn milwr

[gardnerhill.livejournal.com]

Oh yeah. Lestrade will learn not to steal the credit from the friend of a gifted storyteller! (The reason I wrote Scop (http://archiveofourown.org/works/765487), a Watson-POV of that same idea.)

Re: An englyn milwr

[okapi1895.livejournal.com]

Exactly! Watson will have his turn and then some!

Re: An Englyn variation

[scfrankles.livejournal.com]

Especially if you only attended a comprehensive :P

That's so witty ^_^ Excellent stuff.

Englyn

[thesmallhobbit.livejournal.com]

Lestrade takes the horse’s reins
The captive now held in chains
Telling the tale yet remains

Re: Englyn

[scfrankles.livejournal.com]

Oh, that's an excellent choice of rhymes. I don't know if it's deliberate, but I like the parallel between the horse being confined by its reins and the prisoner being confined by his chains.

attempt englyn

[okapi1895.livejournal.com]

'Holmes writ large' cry outraged lips
'Do what you will' the sleuths quips
Words that launched a thousand 'ships

Re: attempt englyn

[thesmallhobbit.livejournal.com]

Perfect!

[thesmallhobbit.livejournal.com]

I like the Emily Dickenson poem. As Rachel says, it does rather sum up Holmes' feelings towards Watson's writings.

[scfrankles.livejournal.com]

I like that poem too. It's a perfect example of minimalism - it says a great deal in its few words. No more is needed.

Rachel's poems

[okapi1895.livejournal.com]

I like both of them. The simplicity and pithy elegance of the bee one and there are some very nice lines also in the first one. I especially like the 'ambition without understanding' line mentioned. I think it sums up Holmes' early views of the Yard in a nutshell.

Re: Rachel's poems

[scfrankles.livejournal.com]

I suppose I find the first poem rather more difficult to understand - I'm not sure I would have grasped it at all without Rachel's guidance. But yes, it has some wonderful lines - it gives you a lot to think about. And it has so many phrases that you'd swear could be direct references to STUD.