Clever Little Maid of Gondolin, The
1. Author's Notes
I sincerely hope that those who are well aware of the ways in which poetry is to be read will forgive the pedantic lesson into which I am about to launch. As much as I hate to sound condescending, it has recently come to my attention that some of us who are checking out stories and poems for review are wholly unaware of even the simplest poetic forms and their uses.
Please understand that I am not, in any way, doing this in scorn--but, somewhat, in dismay. If I didn't think that this instruction was necessary, I would not bother to provide it.
The piece that you are about to read is a children's poem. It is a tale of fancy that is not to be taken literally as it is a fairytale in the form of a poem. I realize that mice do not, in fact, speak. The little maid in question is clever because she is able to see where her recent loss has given way to a gain that is worth more than double what she had before, where many people would simply focus on the loss, and neglect the opportunity at hand.
The poem is in the form known as the "single couplet quatrain" with an xaxa rhyme scheme. This means that it is a four-line stanza with only one rhyme which occurs between the second and fourth lines which further means that lines 1 and 3 do not rhyme but stand to carry the rhythm. A good example of this form is found in a poem called, "A Red, Red Rose" which is by one of my favorites, Robert Burns.
O My Luve's like a red, red rose,
That's newly sprung in June;
O My Luve's like the melodie
That's sweetly played in tune...
Although my lines tend to be a bit longer (and not as good--by a long shot) this is the basic rhythm to follow.
Thank you for indulging me. I hope that if this little tirade didn't utterly piss you off, that it helped you to enjoy the poem for the silly, little thing that it is.
Lasbelindi
Please understand that I am not, in any way, doing this in scorn--but, somewhat, in dismay. If I didn't think that this instruction was necessary, I would not bother to provide it.
The piece that you are about to read is a children's poem. It is a tale of fancy that is not to be taken literally as it is a fairytale in the form of a poem. I realize that mice do not, in fact, speak. The little maid in question is clever because she is able to see where her recent loss has given way to a gain that is worth more than double what she had before, where many people would simply focus on the loss, and neglect the opportunity at hand.
The poem is in the form known as the "single couplet quatrain" with an xaxa rhyme scheme. This means that it is a four-line stanza with only one rhyme which occurs between the second and fourth lines which further means that lines 1 and 3 do not rhyme but stand to carry the rhythm. A good example of this form is found in a poem called, "A Red, Red Rose" which is by one of my favorites, Robert Burns.
O My Luve's like a red, red rose,
That's newly sprung in June;
O My Luve's like the melodie
That's sweetly played in tune...
Although my lines tend to be a bit longer (and not as good--by a long shot) this is the basic rhythm to follow.
Thank you for indulging me. I hope that if this little tirade didn't utterly piss you off, that it helped you to enjoy the poem for the silly, little thing that it is.
Lasbelindi
This is a work of fan fiction, written because the author has an abiding love for the works of J R R Tolkien. The characters, settings, places, and languages used in this work are the property of the Tolkien Estate, Tolkien Enterprises, and possibly New Line Cinema, except for certain original characters who belong to the author of the said work. The author will not receive any money or other remuneration for presenting the work on this archive site. The work is the intellectual property of the author, is available solely for the enjoyment of Henneth Annûn Story Archive readers, and may not be copied or redistributed by any means without the explicit written consent of the author.
