Mrs. Hudson's Poetry Page: The Hound of the Baskervilles, Chaps. 9-12

[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.

My housemaid is currently still on secondment to Mr. Holmes. As far as I understand it, Rachel is undercover in Bermondsey as ‘Dr. John Wilson’; Dr. Watson is undercover in Brixton as ‘Sherlott Hyams’; and Mr. Holmes is popping back to Baker Street each morning as ‘Raquel’ in order to do the ironing. (I do not pretend to understand. This is why I keep gin in the house.)

Rachel should be back with us next week but until then, here is a new poetry form to try: the tanka.

Shadow Poetry gives this definition:

Tanka is a classic form of Japanese poetry related to the haiku, with five unrhymed lines of five, seven, five, seven, and seven syllables. (5, 7, 5, 7, 7)

You do not need any more information than that to write your poem but if you follow the ‘tanka’ link above, that will take you to an article by Kathy Lippard Cobb which goes into the form in a little more detail.


In The Hound of the Baskervilles, Mr. Holmes mentions, with regard to the Doctor’s reports, “I made excellent arrangements, and they are only delayed one day upon their way. Naturally I was the one who received the… honour... of assisting Mr. Holmes with posting the reports straight back to Grimpen Post-Office again, and here is my example poem on that very subject:



Arrangements were made
And I sent back to Grimpen
The Doctor’s reports.
Next time trust that first class male:
Mister Holmes, please do take note.



But you do not have to use this form, if you do not wish to. 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, florette, found poetry, ghazal, haiku, In Memoriam stanza, Italian sonnet, jueju, kennings poem, lanturne, limerick, lyric poetry, mathnawī, micropoetry, mini-monoverse, musette, 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 The Hound of the Baskervilles in the comments on this post. I look forward to seeing them!


Warm regards,

Mrs. Hudson

Comments

Clerihew

[gardnerhill.livejournal.com]

Sir Hugo Baskerville
Whose ghost looms over, still
Is that his figure that shadows the tor
Who revels in murder upon this dark moor?

RE: Clerihew

[okapi1895.livejournal.com]

Nice rhyming! Lots of potential ghosts running around there: Hugo, yeoman's daughter, hound...

Re: Clerihew

[thesmallhobbit.livejournal.com]

This has a very shadowy feel to it.

Re: Clerihew

[scfrankles.livejournal.com]

That's a very spooky thought ^^" ACD may have missed a trick there.

Re: Clerihew

[laurose8.livejournal.com]

Very nicely done! Lovely swinging last line.

RE: Clerihew

[debriswoman]

Very atmospheric:-)

Tanka

[thesmallhobbit.livejournal.com]

A cigarette stub,
Thrown down on charging inside
To catch the quarry,
Gives a clue to the latter
His friend unknowingly waits

RE: Tanka

[okapi1895.livejournal.com]

Very nice encapsulation of the scene.

Re: Tanka

[scfrankles.livejournal.com]

The move from Watson's POV to Holmes's is very neatly done. I gather tankas should ideally be made of two parts - 3 lines and then 2 - and your transition between the two parts is very smooth.

Re: Tanka

[laurose8.livejournal.com]

So neatly and clearly put.

RE: Tanka

[debriswoman]

Neatly turned around:-)

Mrs. Hudson's poem

[okapi1895.livejournal.com]

Love the wordplay. Very very clever.

Re: Mrs. Hudson's poem

[scfrankles.livejournal.com]

You are most kind, madam. Thank you. (There will always be a cup of tea waiting for you at Baker Street.)

Tanka

[okapi1895.livejournal.com]

The serpent's wisdom
Distraction through inquiry
Using the ego's conceit
Sharp questions deflect like shields
Draw the curious away

Re: Tanka

[scfrankles.livejournal.com]

What a great subject to choose ^_^ I especially like the line Sharp questions deflect like shields - the deliberate contradiction. Makes me think of the serpent's sharp teeth too.

Re: Tanka

[thesmallhobbit.livejournal.com]

Very clever, and accurate, Using the ego's conceit

RE: Tanka

[debriswoman]

Clever, and nicely balanced lines

Re: Not a tanka (but does have 31 syllables)

[laurose8.livejournal.com]

What a thoughtful and very well written poem! (I do wonder if she might have felt it the more for feeling relief at his death herself.)

Re: Not a tanka (but does have 31 syllables)

[thesmallhobbit.livejournal.com]

Poor woman, whatever happened it was never going to end happily, but to know how little her brother's death mattered must have been even harder.

Re: Not a tanka (but does have 31 syllables)

[okapi1895.livejournal.com]

Very poignant. Captures an exceedingly complex emotional situation with its many facets well.

Re: Not a tanka (but does have 31 syllables)

[scfrankles.livejournal.com]

Holmes and Watson's relief was understandable but it must have been hard to read for someone who had loved him.

Re: A chain rhyme (and Drabble) written earlier

[laurose8.livejournal.com]

Just perfect. Thank you for a terrific read.

Re: A haiku written earlier

[laurose8.livejournal.com]

No, indeed. Thanks for this fresh and vivid little poem.