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| Author |
Message |
md
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The Iambic Pentameter Item
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Apr 4 17:39 UTC 2002 |
Responses to this item all must be
cast in unrhymed pentameter, five feet
per line, one line or more, on any subject:
the middle east and what to do about it;
bullshit, Republican or Democrat;
cars or trains or bicycles or trucks;
your favorite TV show or current movie;
the latest electronic gadgetry;
anxiety, depression, suicide;
you name it. Any questions? No? YOUR TURN:
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| 94 responses total. |
other
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response 1 of 94:
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Apr 4 17:44 UTC 2002 |
For your information, line 5 of your
response zero is not writ in iambs.
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md
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response 2 of 94:
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Apr 4 17:48 UTC 2002 |
I could say something, but I think I won't.
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brighn
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response 3 of 94:
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Apr 4 18:39 UTC 2002 |
I think it's plain for all to see, the truth:
Not all the lines of post the first here scan
(and mean I not the post which bears the mark
of "1", instead I mean that post which comes
before the post which bears the mark of one).
But let's dwell not on such a flaw as this:
The thought was good, and sound, and bound to bring
some small degree of pleasure to our lot,
as passing time goes by in iambed lines.
That Hermes fair did break the rules he set
should not be cause to ridicule, or moan,
instead should spur those on among us who
(from strength or defect in their mind) are wont
to do a better job than post the first.
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oval
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response 4 of 94:
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Apr 4 19:21 UTC 2002 |
i do agree with brighn on this here point
and those who think i'm wrong can kiss my grits
cuz sometimes people try and then they fail
to show how clever they can rilly be.
but i knows emm dee meant well cuz he's nice
and grex could do with arsty farsty threads
cuz all this talkin bout things like sharon
and arafat and scat and emm ess daws
is makin me right sick to my stomach
so les hear whatchoo got you clever folks.
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remmers
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response 5 of 94:
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Apr 4 20:38 UTC 2002 |
The number five - whence comes this urge to chant
in lines the beats of which come this to match?
A numerologist perhaps would say
that in the number five itself there lies
the answer to this puzzle. I'm not sure.
A number is a cold thing, and abstract,
whereas the rhythm of our human speech
surely is a warm response to life.
The erudite biologist might state
that in our D N A are to be found
bouquets of molecules so arranged
that to the beat of five they resonate,
infusing us with five-ness through and through
so e'en our speech is five-infected. Well,
this I cannot falsify, nor prove,
but must say I'm inclined to disbelieve -
the gap between our building blocks and our
higher functionality exceeds
the distance such a link could likely span.
I think that I shall let the mystery stand,
a thing of wonder by an agent planned
unknown to me, unlikely to be known -
I shall not plumb the matter to its roots,
but am content just to enjoy the fruits.
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md
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response 6 of 94:
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Apr 4 22:24 UTC 2002 |
As other's, brighn's and oval's efforts show,
it doesn't take an awful lot of skill
to throw together something passable;
and remmers demonstrates that native wit
and Harvard-honed intelligence produce
excellent verse -- though not the requisite
attentiveness to heed the word "UNRHYMED"
in the instructions, or the common sense
to realize that humans have five fingers
on which to count the accents in a line!
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brighn
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response 7 of 94:
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Apr 4 22:44 UTC 2002 |
A point of metaverse I must point out:
"Wit" and "requisite" rhyme too. (You lout!)
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remmers
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response 8 of 94:
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Apr 4 23:33 UTC 2002 |
View hidden response.
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remmers
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response 9 of 94:
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Apr 4 23:44 UTC 2002 |
In any case, "unrhymed" to me entails
that rhyme is not required. You did not say
that no two lines in sequence may not rhyme.
As to the finger argument, it has
a certain weight of common-sense appeal,
until one thinks of dancing to a waltz,
and that we humans do not have three feet.
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orinoco
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response 10 of 94:
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Apr 5 00:48 UTC 2002 |
But waltzing and pentameter do share
one attribute -- an odd number of beats --
which makes them less monotonous than if
an even-numbered rhythm had been used.
(Of course, as this here item clearly shows,
monotony is where you find it. Any
rhythm will get tiresome someday.)
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jor
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response 11 of 94:
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Apr 5 02:02 UTC 2002 |
awesome
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brighn
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response 12 of 94:
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Apr 5 02:50 UTC 2002 |
Oh nay, dear John, you did not count correct:
When two do dance, from pair they make one leg,
And one of each of them, it shall stay free
So un et un et un (you see) make tres
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md
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response 13 of 94:
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Apr 5 14:26 UTC 2002 |
My old _Princeton Encyclopedia
of Poetry and Poetics_ makes the case
that blank verse (which is what we're writing here)
is closest to the form of English speech.
"It is the medium of nearly all
verse drama and of much reflective verse,"
it says, as if to illustrate the point.
And it is true that if you stay alert
while watching CNN or reading Time,
you'll soon have heaps of found pentameters:
"Clinton denies affair with White House intern;
"Pablo Picasso dead at ninety-three";
"Arab-Israeli conflict heating up";
"An unindicted co-conspirator."
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keesan
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response 14 of 94:
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Apr 5 15:11 UTC 2002 |
Some tetrapods had seven toes, not five.
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md
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response 15 of 94:
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Apr 5 20:01 UTC 2002 |
Something I entered in another item
becomes, with very minor editing:
In other words, the Leatherman not only
sounds like a hippie faggot affectation,
it *is* a hippie faggot affectation.
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brighn
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response 16 of 94:
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Apr 5 20:52 UTC 2002 |
I think too much is made of Leatherman.
It's just a tool, a thing to drill with, so
overall, I find it rather boring.
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senna
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response 17 of 94:
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Apr 7 17:14 UTC 2002 |
I think you people are in need of help
I can't believe that I'm typing this crap
md has too much time on his fingers
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slynne
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response 18 of 94:
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Apr 7 18:08 UTC 2002 |
This item is giving me a headache.
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brighn
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response 19 of 94:
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Apr 7 19:15 UTC 2002 |
Try aspirin. I hear it helps a lot.
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other
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response 20 of 94:
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Apr 7 19:23 UTC 2002 |
I'm bummed because I missed Iolanthe.
Oops, sorry. Put this in the wrong item.
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keesan
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response 21 of 94:
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Apr 7 20:16 UTC 2002 |
Most of the last four responses are not iambic pentameter (19 can be read with
four or five stresses).
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remmers
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response 22 of 94:
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Apr 7 21:31 UTC 2002 |
*ALL* of response 21 was non-iambic.
Shame on you, you awful Keesan pern.
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other
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response 23 of 94:
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Apr 7 21:52 UTC 2002 |
Isn't that the pot calling the kettle
a verse devoid of meter a propos?
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senna
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response 24 of 94:
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Apr 7 22:06 UTC 2002 |
I am a bit too short on beauty sleep
please tell me where my lines have gone awry
Without a censor log in place, I'm fine
Honest, I swear I shall consume you all
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