Legally, regally
Arthur of Camelot
'Round the Round Table with
Lancelot sat.
Proving his worth as an
Egalitarian
Arthur exchanged his gold
Crown for a hat.
joet 11.23.2003
(You should have warned me Hugh; now that I've fallen prey to the demonic and dastardly double dactyllians, it's impossible to escape their grasp).
I know, they are addicting. I once got a DD down to one word per line, if you are interested:
Varius-Barius
Heliogabalus
Overdiversified
Bachelorhood;
Tri-sexuality's
Characteristically
Ideologically
Misunderstood.
Yeah, I know, not very good but it was a bitch to compose.
For those times when the rhythm absolutely has to be altered, either for a name that does not quite fit, or for a two-syllable ending, one can switch to the McWhirtle. It is a relatively new verse form, invented by Bruce Newling circa 1989. It is named for this little ditty:
Dear Ann Landers
-----------------------
I'm really disgusted
With Myrtle McWhirtle,
The out-of-work bimbo
Residing next door.
She knows where to find
Herself honest employment
But chooses instead to be
Neighborhood whore.
Apparently, Bruce invented it accidentally, while messing up the rhythm of a DD. Still, it is an accepted verse form now, and some even grace the pages of Light Quarterly, the only contemporary light verse magazine I am aware of.
Here is one with the trailing syllables, for comparison:
A scholar who lives in
The village of Cadder
Delivered a talk from
A rickety ladder.
So now he discourses
On physical forces
That clearly have made him
Much wiser if sadder.
The basis formula is that each stanza opens with an iambus, followed by seven anapests. The metrical feet are allowed to rove over from one line to the next. The last words of each stanza rhyme; rhymes elsewhere are optional.
Here is the first one I wrote, messing up the meter, of course:
Said Quintus Horatius,
"Dear me, and good gracious!"
It seems that we rocked him
And terribly shocked him:
He found us translating
His adage on dating,
'Carpe diem', misstating
His tip, 'carpe noctem'.
Torelli, gorelli
Author of Camelot
Round the square table
Joseph has sat
Showing his mirth at the
Antiquitarian,
Joseph beheld the past
on his prat.
No offense intended Joseph, it just rhymes.
Les
Hugh:
Oh, how I wish you hadn't told about McWhirtles. It's bad enough that I mumble in my sleep now; McWhirtles may actually cause me to wake up screaming.
I love your one-word-per-line double dactyl; it is very clever and amusing. I suppose I'll be trying my hand at something similar, as well as the trailing syllable verse.
Thanks for taking the time to read my stuff.
joet
Les:
How can I be offended? You are always considerate and willing to help everyone on emule. I enjoyed being the subject of your DD.
joet
Sorry, Joseph, but Hugh's double dactyl brought back memories of this earlier one.
Les
Heh, heh---Egalitarian....nice. I wouldn't dare get started on these or I'd be muttering and boom ba ba'ing allatime! Most admirably done....!
ncw