Egypt’s Intifada
A tsunami of human proportion
Ends backpacking from Egypt to
Jordan.
The olive trees spilled their
fruits on the streets
And caused politicians to quit
their seats.
On the tombs of the Pharaohs much
wailing
Because! They have been barred,
from e-mailing;
An immense volcano has erupted;
Peace of a nation so vastly
ruptured.
Hosni Mubarak surfs in Waterloo;
Obama's West Wing ponders
what to do.
The water is deadly cold on all fronts;
Egyptians strike back
at Mubarak's stunts.
Now the eighty-two year old President
Hosni Mubarak, is their detriment.
Years of bottled anger sadly
unleashed;
Genie in bottle looks for a
new niche.
Dinosaur, please go with
your monarchy,
Jobs and ladders needed, not
poverty.
The virus of the Jasmine has
attacked;
Mubarak measures ways to save his back.
Meanwhile cutthroats, thieves and
liars are out,
Police vexed as hell, since they
lost their clout.
World watches and waits to see
what comes next,
The Arab Spring has become
hypertext.
For years the world thought Egypt
was peaceful;
Now Pharaoh must listen to his
people.
Move fast to kneel and bake
the people's loaves;
Guests are fleeing by the thousands
in droves.
Stop the hemorrhaging of your
people now;
From US come the building
blocks of know how.
Deliver on democracy's promise;
Folks don't care for your bloody
synopsis!
Bring out paper plates without the
pat-down;
Let them say who should wear
Pharaoh's last crown.
President Mubarak! You must man-up;
Stubborn ways, and rigid mind,
please give-up.
Democracy is asleep, for so long;
"Change is coming", El
Baradei tells throng.
(January
30, 2011)
Genre - Social
Commentary
Form - Nineteen
Couplet Stanzas
Tags - Closed
couplets, open couplets, enjambment, heroic verse
Comments on – Egypt’s Intifada 2011
After watching daily CNN’s coverage
of the Egyptian Revolution of 2011, the idea came that this revolt should be
captured poetically in a form most appropriate for such a
dramatic and deadly event. The
heroic couplet was just the right form for such a deadly event. “Egypt’s
Intifada 2011” is a social commentary poem narrated in nineteen stanzas of
rhyming heroic couplets; of course, heroic couplets are always written in
iambic pentameter. Here is a sample taken from this 21st century poem “Egypt’s
Intifada 2011” showing the use of both closed and open couplets and how they
rhyme:
Egypt’s Intifada
A
tsunami of human proportion
Ceased
back-packing from Egypt to Jordan; Open Couplet
The
olive trees spilled their fruits on the streets
And
caused politicians to quit their seats; Open Couplet
On
the tombs of the Pharaohs much wailing
Because!
They have been barred, from e-mailing; Open Couplet
An
immense volcano has erupted;
Peace
of a nation so vastly ruptured. Closed Couplet
Hosni Mubarak surfs in Waterloo;
Obama's
West Wing ponders what to do. Closed Couplet
Notice that the heroic couplet is
always written with a rhyming iambic pentameter often forming a distinct
rhetorical as well as metrical unit. The origin of the heroic couplet in
English poetry is unknown, but Geoffrey Chaucer in the 14th century
was the first to make extensive use of it as shown in the following examples:
Geoffrey Chaucer
(1343-1400) the Father of English Literature is considered the greatest poet of
the middle Ages. He is credited for his use of heroic verses and in them he
used open couplets and closed couplets in “Canterbury Tales” (The Plowman’s
Tale).
The “Canterbury Tales” a
collection of frame stories between 1387 and 1400 which is a story of a group
of thirty folks who travelled as pilgrims to Canterbury in England. These
pilgrims were drawn from all sectors of the society and they told stories to
each other as a means of killing time while journeying to Canterbury.
Also Geoffrey Chaucer
used open and closed couplets in “The Legend of Cleopatra” one of the ten
moving parts in the “Legend of Good Women” created from a dream vision he had.
Examples were these open and closed couplets are located are shown in Table below:
The Canterbury Tales
by Geoffrey Chaucer
(Excerpt)
|
||
The Plowman’s
(Excerpt)
|
Syllabic Count
|
Iambic
Pentameter
|
With hym was a
Plowman, was his brother
That hadde ylad of
dong ful many a fother;
A trewe swynkere and a
good was he,
Lyvynge in pees and
parfit charitee.
God loved he best with
al his hole herte
At alle tymes, thogh
him gamed or smerte,
And thane his
neighebor right as hym-selve.
He wolde thresshe, and
therto dyke and delve,
For Cristes sake, for
every povre wight
Withouten hire, if it
lay in his might.
|
With hym ׀ was a ׀ Plowman, ׀ was his ׀ brother ׀
That hadde ׀
ylad of ׀ dong ful ׀ many a ׀ fother; ׀
A tre ׀ we swyn ׀ kere and ׀ a good ׀ was he, ׀
Lyvynge ׀
in pees ׀ and par ׀ fit cha ׀ ritee. ׀
God loved ׀ he best ׀ with al ׀ his hol ׀ e herte ׀
At al ׀ le tymes ׀, thogh him ׀ gamed ׀ or smerte, ׀
And tha ׀ ne his ׀ neighebor ׀ right as ׀
hym-selve. ׀
He wolde ׀
thresshe,׀ and ther ׀ to dyke ׀ and delve, ׀
For Crist ׀ es sake, ׀ for e ׀ very ׀ povre wight ׀
Without ׀ en hire, ׀ if it ׀ lay in ׀
his might. ׀
|
5 feet
5 feet
5 feet
5 feet
5 feet
5 feet
5 feet
5 feet
5 feet
5 feet
|
With hym was a
Plowman, was his brother )
That hadde ylad of
dong ful many a fother; ) Open
Couplet
A trewe swynkere and a
good was he,)
Lyvynge in pees and
parfit charitee. ) Closed
Couplet
God loved he best with
al his hole herte )
At alle tymes, thogh
him gamed or smerte, ) Open Couplet
And thane his
neighebor right as hym-selve. )
He wolde thresshe, and
therto dyke and delve, ) Open Couplet
For Cristes sake, for
every povre wight )
Withouten hire, if it
lay in his might ) Closed
Couplet
|
||
The Legend of Cleopatra
by Geoffrey Chaucer
(Excerpt)
After the deeth of
Tholomee the king, )
That al Egipte hadde
in his governing,) Open
Couplet
Regned his quene
Cleopataras; )
Til on a tyme befel
ther swiche a cas,) Closed Couplet
That out of Rome was
sent a senatour,)
For to conqueren
regnes and honour ) Open
Couplet
Unto the toun of Rome,
as was usaunce,)
To have the world unto
her obeisaunce; ) Closed Couplet
And, sooth to seye,
Antonius was his name.)
Sfil hit, as Fortune
him oghte a shame
)
Open
Couplet
|
||
The heroic couplet became the principal
meter used in drama about the mid-17th century, and its form was
perfected by John Dryden and Alexander Pope in late 17th and early
18th centuries, examples
from Dryden and Pope are shown below:
John Dryden (1631-1700)
an English poet from Northamptonshire, England used both open and closed
couplets in poems in heroic verses as shown in the poem “A Prologue”.
A Prologue
(Excerpt)
Gallants, a bashful poet
bids me say,
He's come to lose his
maidenhead to-day.
Be not too fierce; for
he's but green of age
And ne'er, till now, debauched
upon the stage.
He wants the suffering
part of resolution,
And comes with blushes
to his execution.
Ere you deflower his
Muse, he hopes the pit
Will make some
settlement upon his wit.
Gallants, a bashful poet
bids me say, )
He's come to lose his
maidenhead to-day. ) Closed
Couplet
Be not too fierce; for
he's but green of age, )
And ne'er, till now,
debauched upon the stage. ) Open
Couplet
He wants the suffering
part of resolution, )
And comes with blushes
to his execution. ) Open
Couplet
Ere you deflower his
Muse, he hopes the pit )
Will make some
settlement upon his wit. ) Open Couplet
Alexander Pope
(1688-1744) died at age fifty-six was a linen merchant of Plough Court, Lombard
Street, London, Great Britain. He was famous for his use of heroic couplets as
per excerpts taken from poems “Eloisa to
Abelard” and “An Essay on Man: Epistle II”
as shown below:
Eloisa to Abelard
(Alexander
Pope)
Canst
thou forget that sad, that solemn day,
When
victims at your altar’s foot we lay
Canst
thou forget what tears that moment fell,
When,
warm in youth, I bade the world farewell?
Canst
thou forget that sad, that solemn day, )
When
victims at your altar’s foot we lay ) Open Couplet
Canst
thou forget what tears that moment fell,
)
When,
warm in youth, I bade the world farewell? ) Open Couplet
An Essay on Man: Epistle
II
Alexander Pope
(Excerpt)
I.
Know then thyself,
presume not God to scan;
The proper study of
mankind is man.
Plac'd on this isthmus
of a middle state,
A being darkly wise,
and rudely great:
With too much
knowledge for the sceptic side,
With too much weakness
for the stoic's pride,
He hangs between; in
doubt to act, or rest;
In doubt to deem
himself a god, or beast;
In doubt his mind or
body to prefer;
Born but to die, and
reas'ning but to err;
Alike in ignorance,
his reason such,
Whether he thinks too
little, or too much:
Chaos of thought and
passion, all confus'd;
Still by himself
abus'd, or disabus'd;
Created half to rise,
and half to fall;
Great lord of all
things, yet a prey to all;
Sole judge of truth,
in endless error hurl'd:
The glory, jest, and
riddle of the world!
I.
Know then thyself,
presume not God to scan; )
The proper study of
mankind is man. ) Closed Couplet
Plac'd on this isthmus
of a middle state, )
A being darkly wise,
and rudely great: ) Closed
Couplet
With too much
knowledge for the sceptic side, )
With too much weakness
for the stoic's pride, ) Closed Couplet
He hangs between; in
doubt to act, or rest; )
In doubt to deem
himself a god, or beast; ) Closed Couplet
In doubt his mind or
body to prefer; )
Born but to die, and
reas'ning but to err; ) Closed Couplet
Alike in ignorance,
his reason such, )
Whether he thinks too
little, or too much: ) Closed Couplet
Chaos of thought and
passion, all confus'd; )
Still by himself
abus'd, or disabus'd; ) Closed
Couplet
Created half to rise,
and half to fall; )
Great lord of all
things, yet a prey to all; ) Closed Couplet
Sole judge of truth,
in endless error hurl'd: )
The glory, jest, and
riddle of the world! ) Closed Couplet
Pope opined throughout
the poem on principles that guide human actions as they relate to narcissism and
achievement. He mused that narcissism and achievement are not contrasting
principles, but rather concomitant principles where narcissism played a
regulatory role and achievement is there to regulate the actions of homo-sapiens.
Here are some more examples
of poets who used open couplets. John Donne (1572-1631) used them in the poem
“A Hymn to Christ at the Author’s Last Going into Germany”. Here is excerpt taken from his poems shown
below:
A Hymn To Christ At The
Author's Last Going Into Germany
John Donne
In what torn ship soever
I embark,
That ship shall be my
emblem of thy Ark;
What sea soever swallow
me, that flood
Shall be to me an emblem
of thy blood;
Though thou with clouds
of anger do disguise
Thy face, yet through
that mask I know those eyes,
Which, though they turn
away sometimes,
They never will despise.
In what torn ship soever
I embark,
That ship shall be my
emblem of thy Ark; Open Couplet
What sea soever swallow
me, that flood
Shall be to me an emblem
of thy blood; Open Couplet
Though thou with clouds
of anger do disguise
Thy face, yet through
that mask I know those eyes, Open Couplet
Which, though they turn
away sometimes,
They never will despise. Closed Couplet
So too was the Anglo-Irish poet Sir John
Denham (1615-1619) used couplets in the poem “Cooper’s Hill”. Here is excerpt shown below:
Cooper's Hill
(Sir John Denham)
My eye, descending from
the Hill, surveys
Where Thames among the
wanton valleys strays.
Thames! the most loved
of all the Ocean's sons,
By his old sire, to his
embraces runs,
Hasting to pay his
tribute to the sea,
Like mortal life to meet
eternity;
Though with those
streams he no resemblance hold,
Whose foam is amber, and
their gravel gold:
His genuine and less
guilty wealth t'explore,
Search not his bottom,
but survey his shore,
My eye, descending from
the Hill, surveys
Where Thames among the
wanton valleys strays. Closed Couplet
Thames! the most loved
of all the Ocean's sons,
By his old sire, to his
embraces runs, Closed Couplet
Hasting to pay his
tribute to the sea,
Like mortal life to meet
eternity; Closed Couplet
Though with those
streams he no resemblance hold,
Whose foam is amber, and
their gravel gold: Closed Couplet
His genuine and less
guilty wealth t'explore,
Search not his bottom,
but survey his shore, Closed Couplet
Samuel Johnson from
Lichfield, Staffordshire, England born 18 September 1709 and died 13 December
1784 used couplets in the poem “Vanity of Human Wishes” which quite frankly is
an opinion poem on politics and societal living of his day. Johnson poetically
opined throughout the poem that happiness can be attained only through virtuous
action that flows from God’s infinite love. An excerpt of this poem is shown
below:
The Vanity of Human
Wishes
The Tenth Satire of
Juvenal, Imitated
But scarce observ'd the
Knowing and the Bold,
Fall in the gen'ral
Massacre of Gold;
Wide-wasting Pest! that
rages unconfin'd,
And crouds with Crimes
the Records of Mankind,
For Gold his Sword the
Hireling Ruffian draws,
For Gold the hireling
Judge distorts the Laws;
Wealth heap'd on Wealth,
nor Truth nor Safety buys,
The Dangers gather as
the Treasures rise.
But scarce observ'd the
Knowing and the Bold,
Fall in the gen'ral
Massacre of Gold; Closed Couplet
Wide-wasting Pest! that
rages unconfin'd,
And crouds with Crimes
the Records of Mankind, Open Couplet
For Gold his Sword the
Hireling Ruffian draws,
For Gold the hireling
Judge distorts the Laws; Closed Couplet
Wealth heap'd on Wealth,
nor Truth nor Safety buys,
The Dangers gather as
the Treasures rise. Closed Couplet
Oliver Goldsmith
(1728-1774) the Irish poet used open and closed couplets in heroic verses in poem
“The Deserted Village. Excerpt from this poem is shown below:
The Deserted Village
(Excerpt)
Sweet Auburn,
loveliest village of the plain,
Where health and
plenty cheared the labouring swain,
Where smiling spring
its earliest visit paid,
And parting summer's
lingering blooms delayed,
Dear lovely bowers of
innocence and ease,
Seats of my youth,
when every sport could please,
How often have I
loitered o'er thy green,
Where humble happiness
endeared each scene!
Sweet Auburn, loveliest village of the plain,
Where health and plenty cheared the labouring swain, Closed Couplet
Where smiling spring its earliest visit paid,
Where health and plenty cheared the labouring swain, Closed Couplet
Where smiling spring its earliest visit paid,
And parting summer's
lingering blooms delayed, Open
Couplet
Dear lovely bowers of
innocence and ease,
Seats of my youth,
when every sport could please, Closed Couplet
How often have I
loitered o'er thy green,
Where humble happiness endeared each scene! ) Closed Couplet
Where humble happiness endeared each scene! ) Closed Couplet
John Keats (1795-1821)
the 18th century English romantic poet from Moorgate, London,
England used couplets in heroic verses as shown in poem “Lamia”.
36. Lamia
Part I
Upon a time, before the
faery broods
Drove Nymph and Satyr
from the prosperous woods,
Before King Oberon's
bright diadem,
Sceptre, and mantle,
clasp'd with dewy gem,
Frighted away the Dryads
and the Fauns
From rushes green and
brakes, and cowslip'd lawns,
Upon a time, before the
faery broods
Drove Nymph and Satyr
from the prosperous woods, Closed Couplet
Before King Oberon's
bright diadem,
Sceptre, and mantle,
clasp'd with dewy gem, Closed Couplet
Frighted away the Dryads
and the Fauns
From rushes green and
brakes, and cowslip'd lawns, Closed Couplet
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