We have reached the end of our summer poetry unit. I hope you all had fun waxing poetic. I’ve certainly enjoyed reading your clever creations. I’ve decided to end this unit with a retro repost from 2013. I’ve updated it a bit, since I’ve learned a few things since then. I hope you enjoy it.
Ever heard of doggerel? Let’s look it up.
From Dictionary.com: doggerel
- a. comic verse, usually irregular in measure
b. ( as modifier ): a doggerel rhythm - nonsense; drivel
From the Online Etymology Dictionary: doggerel
late 14c. (adj.); 1630s (n.), probably from dog + pejorative suffix -rel and applied to bad poetry perhaps with a suggestion of puppyish clumsiness, or being fit only for dogs. Attested as a surname from mid-13c., but the sense is not evident.
Basically, for us novelists, the poems and songs many of us write for our books can sometimes be called doggerel. Don’t be offended that the definition of doggerel calls our stunning words “bad poetry.” It’s just that, for the most part, we usually aren’t trying to write poems that have poetic form or rhyme scheme patterns. Though now that we’ve practiced a bit and understand many different types of poetry, we certainly could challenge ourselves to do it right.
Still, generally speaking, most poems or songs that have been written within fantasy novels don’t usually stagger the literary world. Yet sometimes doggerel is still quite entertaining. Here is one you may recognize:
Chip the glasses and crack the plates!
Blunt the knives and bend the forks!
That’s what Bilbo Baggins hates—
Smash the bottles and burn the corks!
Cut the cloth and tread on the fat!
Pour the milk on the pantry floor!
Leave the bones on the bedroom mat!
Splash the wine on every door!
Dump the crocks in a boiling bowl;
Pound them up with a thumping pole;
And when you’ve finished if any are whole,
Send them down the hall to roll!
That’s what Bilbo Baggins hates!
So, carefully! carefully with the plates!
I actually had quite a bit of fun writing doggerel for my Blood of Kings trilogy. Here are a few of my favorites.
A song Achan sings to distract himself from the lure of Darkness:
Hail the Piper
Hail the piper, fiddle, fife,
The night is young and full of life.
The Corner teems with ale and song.
And we shall dance the whole night long.
Hear the pretty maiden sing,
Hair and ribbons all flowing.
She can take my heart away,
By her side I long to stay.
And here is the song Achan learns in Berland, the love song that Yumikak sang to him. I put this one to music, Unfortunately, I’ve lost the recordings I made when I moved my website. Someday, perhaps, I’ll re-record.
View Not My Face
View not my face, I am undone beside you.
The beating of my heart will not cease,
Whilst I am near you, whilst I am near you.
Pity on my heart, from the day I first saw you.
Your pleasing face burns my memories,
Whenever we’re apart, whenever we’re apart.
Though I am nothing to you, I love you, I do.
How shall I make it known, that I love you?
Interesting tidbit about View Not My Face. I had written the lyrics, written music, and recorded the song before I realized this was a Berlander song, yet my lyrics didn’t reflect the way they spoke. This is why I added the “I do” after the line “Though I am nothing to you, I love you, I do.”
This is what sometimes happens in the editing phase.
And finally a song from book three—with spoilers! This is another that I put to music and recorded. Another that I lost the audio file. However, this one is used briefly in the book trailer some of my readers made for book three, From Darkness Won, a book trailer that I got to be in. Leighton and his sister Ness played The Pawn Our King much better than I did. The song clip is 00:27 in the trailer.
And here are the lyrics.
The Pawn Our King
He grew up here in Sitna Town,
The hand his life was dealt.
He milked the goats and fetched the wood
Or Poril gave him the belt.
The pawn our king, sing merry, merry, merry.
The pawn our servant king.
For he was once the lowest of all strays
And now claims to be king.
Then the Great Whitewolf took him up,
Taught him to use a sword.
He fought quite well, his blade struck true,
And blood from Esek poured.
Remember us, sing merry, merry, merry.
Remember us, O king.
For you were once the lowest of all strays
And now you’ll be our king.
Ever write doggerel for your books? Feel free to share some in the comments. And if you never have, give it a whirl. You might find it a lot of fun.
Jill Williamson is a chocolate loving, daydreaming, creator of kingdoms, and the author of several young adult fantasy novels including the Blood of Kings trilogy. She loves teaching about writing. She blogs at goteenwriters.com and also posts writing videos on her YouTube channel and on Instagram. Jill is a Whovian, a Photoshop addict, and a recovering fashion design assistant. She grew up in Alaska without running water or electricity and now lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and two kids. Find Jill online at jillwilliamson.com or on Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter.
I also like the poems “The Herons” from the brotherband series by John Flanagan.
It goes like this:
The Herons! The Herons!
The mighty, fighting Herons!
No other Brotherband you’ll see
Is even half as darin’
We sailed away from Hallasholm, we had to be real quick,
For Kloof had eaten Erak’s ax and chewed his walking stick.
We sailed across the Stormwite and we struck a mighty storm.
We had to wear our woolly caps to keep us nice and warm.
We sailed around Cape Shelter and then south to Araluen.
We called upon the people there to find out what was doin’.
We chased an evil slaver to the market of Socorro.
“We can’t rescue them tonight,” said Hal. “We’ll get them out tomorrow.”
Lydia and the Ranger burned the market to the ground.
The rest of us, we freed the slaves then headed out of town.
The Herons! The Herons!
The mighty, fighting Herons!
No other Brotherband you’ll see
Is even half as darin’
The slave master named Mahmel was a nasty kind of thug,
So Stiggy dropped a rock and crushed him like a bug.
We sailed back to Cresthaven and we set the captives free.
King Duncan said, “Well done, my lads, you’re just the boys for me.
My Ranger Gilan has to go hunt down some assassins
So go along with him and give these wicked types a thrashin’.”
A pirate galley barred our way. We quickly overtook ’em.
And Ingvar led the charge aboard to stab and chop and hook ’em.
We beat the Tualaghi and the Scorpions as well.
The Ranger stuck his saxe into the leader, the Shurmel.
When all the assassins threw a fit of wild hysterics,
Hal grabbed up the Shurmel’s staff and brought it back for Erak.
The Herons! The Herons!
The mighty, fighting Herons!
No other Brotherband you’ll see
Is even half as darin”
That’s so fun, Litore! Thanks for sharing.
It’s too bad that poetry is done. Thanks for doing this, you covered everything really well, Jill.