H is for History? (Three poems)

 H is for Historic

Bonus: 

This was a weird campaign.

Summary: I was feeling indecisive and so we're doing three poems today. 

Commentary:

1. "Charge of the Light Brigade" by Alfred Tennyson (1854)

Speaking of famous historical things...

There is, apparently, not a Sabaton song for this yet, which is surprising.

6ish (bounces with 5 and 7, unless we're doing some creative slurring) feet per line. Inconsistent rhyme scheme (usually 2 or 3 in the middle of a stanza).

Always go half a league more. Half is a good amount. A whole league is too much, but just a half a step further than people expect is usually manageable, practical, and impressive.

Tonight's "classics phrase" is: "Theirs not to reason why,/Theirs but to do and die."

4/5 pretty good poem.

2. "Ode on Solitude" by Alexander Pope (~1700)

8 feet, except the final line of each stanza (4). ABAB (with some aggressive slanting.

My only real comment on this one (pretty short) is how it's interesting that this dream is still widespread over 300 years later (and had been for over 1000 years before that). Man just wants a little farm and to farm and study. 3/5

3. "Hard Nuts" by John Bunyan (1678)

A poem about reading hard stuff! That's what this blog is about! 11 feet, AAAA scheme.

It's fine. I'd skip it if it wasn't thematic. 2/5

A to Z 2026: “Get up, get up for shame” by Robert Herrick (~1616)

 A to Z 2026: “Get up, get up for shame” by Robert Herrick (~1616)

Bonus: 

Not quite the same, but fun.

Summary: MOVE YOUR BUTT!

Commentary:

Not quite May yet, but we're about two weeks into spring. Always good to have a reminder to get up and do something. (That was a large percentage of the choices. "Gather ye rosebuds..." was also an option.)

10 feet, AABBCCDDEEFFGG. I think that's a sonnet?

I like the first verse the best. Some nice imagery or whatever, but the first one does well enough for the imagery and also gets the message across. "Above an hour since, yet you not drest;/Nay! not so much as out of bed?" Get off your phone and do stuff! 4/5

A to Z 2026: "For Auld Lang Syne" by Robert Burns (1788)

F is for "For Auld Lang Syne"

Bonus: 

For the Peanuts Gallery

Summary: Since days gone by...

Commentary: No meter scheme that I see, B always rhymes with Syne. 

One of the things I've most enjoyed with this blog is finding the origins of common sayings, references, etc. Next year you know what's up for new years. (Or when you cry during It's a Wonderful Life.)

It's a fun little ditty. Not really a lot to say about it. 3/5

A to Z 2026: "Ethereal minstrel! pilgrim of the sky!" (To the Skylark) by William Wordsworth (~1800)

"Ethereal minstrel! pilgrim of the sky!" (To the Skylark) by William Wordsworth (~1800)

Bonus: 

It is pretty ethereal. My cay is very interested.

Summary: Do birds like the ground, or not? They sure are pretty.

Content:

10 feet, ABABCC. (It's a sestain?)

I guess it's fine? Verse one kind of raises a question, but verse two opens with the (seemingly ever popular) "whatever bird vs the nightingale" theme that seems to pop up a lot. 2/5

A to Z 2026: Dies Irae by (maybe) Thomas of Celano (~1250, or not)

 Dies Irae

Bonus: 

I think the Mozart is more popular, but I prefer Verdi's. Those little bassoon runs...

Summary: Day of Wrath

Commentary: Surprisingly, not "D is for Drinking."

Let's get the song out of the way first. Besides the Verdi requiem, there's also Mozart's:

More of a "plotting villain" feel.

And the chant:

For your funeral mass.

Mostly 8 foot stanzas (my Latin syllable counting is probably off). Each verse rhymes with itself (AAA, BBB, etc.)

Lyrically, I think the first person urgency is what sticks out here:

What shall I, frail man, be pleading?

Who for me be interceding,

When the just are mercy needing?

Quid sum miser tunc dicturus?
Quem patronum rogaturus,
Cum vix iustus sit securus? 

There are plenty of first person hymns and salvation/judgement ones ("Amazing Grace" is both), but none with this level of desperation. 5/5 if you do the Verdi, other scores depending on accompaniment, or lack there of.

A to Z 2026: "Cheer up, my mates, the wind does fairly blow" by Abraham Cowley (1806)

 "Cheer up, my mates, the wind does fairly blow"

Bonus: 

Not the chair, but related.

Summary: Drinking in a historically significant chair.

Commentary:

It's possible I'm just changing the theme to drinking songs...

I like the opening where he explains where the poem would be said. It's like when someone writes POV: You're... today.

Mostly rhyming AABB... etc. The number of lines per stanza is inconsistent. Mostly 10 foot lines. I think it'd benefit from a refrain. 

I'm just impressed someone managed a page and a half all about a chair. 3/5

A to Z 2026: BEER! ("Beer bring I to thee..." and "Back and Side go Bare")

 B is for Beer!

Bonus: 

Beer, beer, and MORE BEER!

Summary: Poets like beer.

Commentary: So, one of the idiosyncrasies of  doing A to Z out of the index is that I'm seeing a lot of repeats. Today I had a lot of "bless" and "bonnie" poems to pick from. Beer isn't the kind of thing I normally think of when I think of poetry, and because it kind of surprised me I'm going to do two poems today (already breaking my rules on day 2).

"Beer bring I to thee..." is a long song? from the middle of one of the sagas. I haven't read much of them, but it feels similar to the Greek epics. It's got some kennings like Beowulf (Learnt for ship's saving,/For the good health of the swimming horse;) I don't see any particular rhyme or meter. Lots of references to to beer, ale, mead, etc. It's fine, I guess. A poem in the middle of a chapter in the middle of a larger piece is going to be weird.

"Back and Side go Bare" feels like it needs to be sung. I don't really see how to bridge the last two lines of the refrain (Whether-enough), but it's fun. 

The verses mostly alternate between 7 and 8 feet, and the 1st and 3rd lines rhme.

It's mostly just a fun drinking song. 4/5.