Mrs. Hudson's Poetry Page: The Bruce-Partington Plans

[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, is this week’s suggested poem to read—a suggestion inspired by the themes and subjects in this week's story. Hopefully you will enjoy the poem, and perhaps it 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.



Sonnets from the Portuguese 6: Go from me. Yet I feel that I shall stand

By Elizabeth Barrett Browning


Note from Rachel: My heart goes out to poor Miss Westbury in her grief. I believe she will carry Mr. West's memory in her heart through the years to come.



Thank you so much to Rachel.

And I thought we might also have a try at a new poetry form this week: lies. (The page is headed ‘Poetry for Kids’. Please scroll down for the ‘lies’ form.)

Mrs. Mitchell's Virtual School gives this definition:

In this type of poem, each line contains an outrageous lie. Each line must begin differently. The main rule is not to say anything that hurts anyone.



Here is my example:


My beauty equals the full moon,
Makes ladies weep and strong men swoon.
Gin will never pass my lips;
I take tonic wine in small sips.

Ah! Mr. Holmes’s capers warm my heart!
Dear God, do never let us two part!
When I yell abuse, it’s really love diffusing
And I don’t understand any of the words I’m using.



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, blitz poem, blues stanza, bref double, Burns stanza, call and response, chastushka, cinquain, circular poetry, clerihew, colour poems, compound word verse, concrete poetry, Cornish verse, curtal sonnet, diamante, doggerel, double dactyl, ekphrasis, elegiac couplet, elegiac stanza, elfje, englyn, epigram, epistle, epitaph, epulaeryu, Etheree, fable, Fib, florette, found poetry, free verse, ghazal, haiku, In Memoriam stanza, Italian sonnet, jueju, kennings poem, lanturne, lies, limerick, line messaging, lyric poetry, mathnawī, micropoetry, mini-monoverse, musette, palindrome poetry, pantoum, Parallelismus Membrorum, poem cycle, quintilla, renga, rhyming alliterisen, 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 Bruce-Partington Plans in the comments on this post. I look forward to seeing them!


Warm regards,

Mrs. Hudson

Comments

Re: Lies: secret life of Mycroft Holmes

[okapi1895.livejournal.com]

Hee, hee! Fabulous!

Re: Lies: secret life of Mycroft Holmes

[scfrankles.livejournal.com]

I love that ^____^ That's the secret of a good lie - your audience has to really, really wish it was true ^___^

Re: Lies: secret life of Mycroft Holmes

[thesmallhobbit.livejournal.com]

Of course this is what he likes ;)

Re: Lies: secret life of Mycroft Holmes

[gardnerhill.livejournal.com]

It's all right, honey, it was just a bad dream. Your valet has your tea and chocolate croissant.

Re: Written earlier...on a less foggy day

[okapi1895.livejournal.com]

Wonderful expansion on the Jupiter comment and Holmes's lack of astronomy knowledge. Clever link to make!

Re: Written earlier...on a less foggy day

[scfrankles.livejournal.com]

I agree with Okapi - it's such a clever spin on Holmes' remark about Mycroft ^_^

I particularly like the line: Why waste time on science fiction? Science facts were all around. ^_^

Re: Written earlier...on a less foggy day

[thesmallhobbit.livejournal.com]

Yes, great version of events.

Re: Written earlier...on a less foggy day

[gardnerhill.livejournal.com]

Great riff on that "Jupiter" line. I like that Holmes refers to his brother as Jupiter - not only in honour of him being the chief deity in the Roman pantheon, but quite possibly a dig at his brother's planetoid dimensions.

[okapi1895.livejournal.com]

My Watson thinks I’m cross-indexing
crimes with culprits, pipes with ashes.
In truth, I’m sketching how he’d look
With mutton chops and curled moustaches.

[debriswoman]

Excellent:-)

[scfrankles.livejournal.com]

That is so, so charming ^___^ I love that idea, I really do ^_____^

[thesmallhobbit.livejournal.com]

Haha, far more entertaining!

[gardnerhill.livejournal.com]

Doodle doodle doodle doodle - "Of course I'm working!"

The poetry of Mrs H

[debriswoman]

Heartfelt in the negative, Mrs H:-)

RE: The poetry of Mrs H

[okapi1895.livejournal.com]

Seconded!

Re: The poetry of Mrs H

[scfrankles.livejournal.com]

It felt good to get it out, Mrs. P.

Clerihew

[gardnerhill.livejournal.com]

Colonel Valentine Walter:
See nobility fail and falter;
For a moment of debt, swapped his country for gold
And lost brother, his good name, and honour all told

Re: Clerihew

[okapi1895.livejournal.com]

Yup. All down the drain. Hope you recovered from your tag.

RE: Clerihew

[debriswoman]

Yes...so much lost.
Well done:-)

Lies Poem

[thesmallhobbit.livejournal.com]

According to my experience, it is not possible to reach the platform of a Metropolitan train without exhibiting one’s ticket

It must have fallen through the hole in my pocket
I gave it to my companion, he must have forgot it
I slipped it inside the lining of my hat
I’ve got it somewhere – quick look, there’s a rat
I was absolutely sure it was in my hand
I must have dropped it, where did it land?
Of course I’ve got one, where did I stick it?
One day I’ll get through without a ticket

Re: Lies Poem

[okapi1895.livejournal.com]

The collector is having none of it. Not even the ferretfully scurrying rat!

Rachel's poem

[okapi1895.livejournal.com]

You can't go wrong with a Browning love poem, sad or not. I thought the BBC did a good job with capturing West's fiancée, too.

Re: Rachel's poem

[scfrankles.livejournal.com]

It is a beautiful poem.

And Lauren Crace (ashamed to say I had to just look up her name) did a wonderful job with what was a minor role. I really felt for Lucy. She had such dignity in her grief - she loved her fiancée so much. And I admired the way she never faltered in her belief he wasn't guilty and was prepared to stand up for him when he could no longer do it himself. I liked the way Lucy was written - an excellent reworking of the canon character.