*Bandersnatchy - a poem I just wrote

[Nemesis]

I felt I bit inspired today, so I wrote a little poem. Here it goes:

*Bandersnatchy

'Twas brilling and the scrawny cat
did chase the singing, happy drunk,
and at the market Lo-Hak sat,
but only selling junk.

"Beware the Morgoth boss my son,
his 'Grond' will smite, his summons hatch.
And when you die you're far from done;
re-roll and start from scratch!"

He took his 'Ringil' sword in hand,
long time that Sauron foe he fought,
so rested he, with the shift-r key,
and stood a while in thought.

When on the hundredth floor he stood
he heard a suspect grinding sound,
and clearly up to nothing good
came Morgoth now around!

One-two, one-two, and through and through
the 'Ringil' sword went snicker-snack!
He striked him down, and with his crown
he went recalling back.

"And hast thou slain the Morgoth boss?
Come to my shop now with your loot
You came from hell with stuff to sell
you've plunder'd from that brute!"

'Twas brilling and the scrawny cat
did chase the singing, happy drunk,
and in the market Lo-Hak sat,
but only selling junk.

[HallucinationMushroom]

Bonus points! I really liked this.

[Zikke]

This is very good! I also enjoyed it immensely (and I especially like the meter).

[Nemesis]

This is very good! I also enjoyed it immensely (and I especially like the meter).

It is written in iambic tetrametre, with the exception of the last line in each stanza, which is iambic trimetre. At one point, the meter is broken (an extra unstressed syllable is thrown in):

He took his 'Ringil' sword in hand,
long time that Sauron foe he fought,
so rested he, with the shift-r key,
and stood a while in thought.

This is however intentional, as *Bandersnatchy is a parody of Lewis Carrol's Jabberwocky, which also has a iamb replaced by an anapest at the corresponding place. That poem is the reason we have Jabberwocks in Angband, NetHack and the DOS version of Rogue (which gave all D&D monsters uncopyrighted names).

Jabberwocky:

’Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.

“Beware the Jabberwock, my son!
The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!
Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun
The frumious Bandersnatch!”

He took his vorpal sword in hand:
Long time the manxome foe he sought—
So rested he by the Tumtum tree,
And stood awhile in thought.

And as in uffish thought he stood,
The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame,
Came whiffling through the tulgey wood,
And burbled as it came!

One, two! One, two! and through and through
The vorpal blade went snicker-snack!
He left it dead, and with its head
He went galumphing back.

“And hast thou slain the Jabberwock?
Come to my arms, my beamish boy!
O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!”
He chortled in his joy.

’Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.

American folk singer/guitarist Donovan did by the way a beautiful job putting music to Jabberwocky, do yourselves a favour and listen to it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQ-AGLyMVHM

[Nick]

Excellent. People who do this sort of thing too rarely pay attention to the rhythm, and IMHO it's critical to making it work.

[cofresi]

@ Nemesis:

Your timing in this posting is impeccable. This very day one of the women at work brought a copy of ' Alice's adventures in Wonderland' which featured the Jabberwocky on the cover. Lo and behold, I get home to find this thread!

[edit: the book they brought to work most likely included Through the Looking-glass as well.]

For those inclined, there are free versions of the books at Project Gutenberg :

http://www.gutenberg.org/browse/authors/c#a7

(just scroll to: Carroll, Lewis, 1832-1898)

as per the disclaimer on the site:

"Our books are free in the United States because their copyright has expired. They may not be free in other countries. Readers outside of the United States must check the copyright laws of their countries before downloading or redistributing our ebooks. "

[buzzkill]

Excellent!