thatpaul - Network

I am a spooky skeleton wearing a suit made of skin and haunted by a ghost.You?

I am a spooky skeleton wearing a suit made of skin and haunted by a ghost.

You?

Hi. How is everyone this fine afternoon?

Hi. How is everyone this fine afternoon?

I need questions for Ask Good Paul / Bad Paul! Ask me a question about poetry! I'll give you writing advice, reading advice,...

I need questions for Ask Good Paul / Bad Paul! Ask me a question about poetry! I'll give you writing advice, reading advice, relationship advice, whatever you need!

https://clockworksacademy.com/advice

In terms of content, the Milne poem isn't saying anything profound. They went to find the pole, they went all together, they didn't...

In terms of content, the Milne poem isn't saying anything profound. They went to find the pole, they went all together, they didn't know where it was... yay!

But it DOES have a narrative that goes somewhere, a tight focus, and several moments of surprise or reversal.

There is more to be said, but I think that's enough for now. I enjoyed myself a lot, and I hope some of you found this at least a little bit interesting!

And surprise is a key to good poetry that isn't trying to be funny, also. In content, the two things that make a poem good (that make...

And surprise is a key to good poetry that isn't trying to be funny, also. In content, the two things that make a poem good (that make any literature good) are the conflicting pulls of familiarity and surprise.

We get pleasure from reading something that we already know, that we recognize, that reminds us of the shared nature of human experience. But we also get pleasure from reading something we didn't already know. A new insight, or perspective.

And there's the next level of analysis. So far I've entirely focused on formal considerations, which really is the thing a computer...

And there's the next level of analysis. So far I've entirely focused on formal considerations, which really is the thing a computer should be best at because it's made up of straightforward rules.

But Milne is fun and funny, and the bot is boring.

The key to humour, above all, is surprise. Milne's poem isn't bust-a-gut laughing funny, but it is smile-worthy, because of moments like "Pole/tole" and the repeated refrain, and the "It's a Thing you Discover" and the "Sing Hey!"

And finally, "Pole/tole" is definitely a forced rhyme, but it's a freely and playfully forced rhyme instead of a banal and...

And finally, "Pole/tole" is definitely a forced rhyme, but it's a freely and playfully forced rhyme instead of a banal and obvious one. "Tole" for "told" is funny. It doesn't read like Milne couldn't think of a rhyme, it reads like he is playing with vocabulary and sounds as a joke.

Milne uses the inertia of meaning to carry us through the change in the rhyme scheme, and then the inertia of the rhyme scheme to carry us...

Milne uses the inertia of meaning to carry us through the change in the rhyme scheme, and then the inertia of the rhyme scheme to carry us through the next change in meaning.

Next we have Pooh/too/knew:Eeyore, Christopher Robin and PoohAnd Rabbit’s relations all went too⁠—And where the Pole was none of them...

Next we have Pooh/too/knew:

Eeyore, Christopher Robin and Pooh
And Rabbit’s relations all went too⁠—
And where the Pole was none of them knew.⁠ ⁠…

This moment is a change in the rhyme scheme, so none of these rhymes feel predictable or expected.

We expect another "Owl and Piglet and Rabbit and all" after "Pooh", but instead Milne changes the rhyme pattern and also ties the line "Eeyore, Christopher Robin and Pooh" and the next one to the refrain line by expanding on its meaning.

Compare actual Milne. His rhyming groups are:Pole/tole, all/all/all, Pooh/too/knewAll/all/all is a chorus. It's not just a rhyming end,...

Compare actual Milne. His rhyming groups are:

Pole/tole, all/all/all, Pooh/too/knew

All/all/all is a chorus. It's not just a rhyming end, the whole line is almost the same each time. That creates cohesion and playfulness, and makes the whole thing feel like a song.

That playfulness is the opposite of a forced rhyme.

"Aside" really makes no sense in the line:"While Eeyore sits and mopes aside"What it means is Eeyore is on the...

"Aside" really makes no sense in the line:

"While Eeyore sits and mopes aside"

What it means is Eeyore is on the sidelines. But that's not really what "aside" means. But it rhymes with pride.

And I don't mind the rhyme of "see/believe" except that in the lines:

But they're all friends, you see
In this wonderful land of make-believe

the "you see" is awkward and doesn't really make sense. It's just there to rhyme with "believe" but it DOESN'T rhyme with "believe".

And why is Pooh up for something new? Is there going to be novelty in this poem?No, it's just to rhyme with "Pooh".Tigger...

And why is Pooh up for something new? Is there going to be novelty in this poem?

No, it's just to rhyme with "Pooh".

Tigger bounces with great glee
And Piglet hides behind a tree

"Glee" is a weird word here. It's almost right, but not quite, but it rhymes with tree.

Most of the rhymes are simple true rhymes of one-syllable words. "Pride/aside" and "see/believe" are the exceptions.

The bot chooses banal and obvious rhymes almost always.What do I mean banal and obvious? The content of the poem is determined by the need...

The bot chooses banal and obvious rhymes almost always.

What do I mean banal and obvious?

The content of the poem is determined by the need to rhyme:

In the woods, the trees do grow
And the stream flows nice and slow
There's a little bear named Pooh
Who's always up for something new

Why are we mentioning that trees grow. Isn't that obvious? But it's to rhyme with the "slow" in the next line.

The bot's rhyme scheme isAABB CCDD EEFF, or we could say AABB for each stanza ... do grow ... and slow ... named Pooh... thing new... ...

The bot's rhyme scheme is

AABB CCDD EEFF, or we could say AABB for each stanza

... do grow
... and slow
... named Pooh
... thing new

... to play
... all day
... great glee
... a tree

... with pride
... aside
... you see
... believe

There's nothing inherently wrong with AABB CCDD EEFF, but mixing up the pattern like Milne does is definitely more interesting.

We could pick on the weak rhyme of "see" and "believe" in the third stanza, but really I want to pick on all the OTHER rhymes.

Then there's the rhyme.Milne's rhyme scheme isABABCCCA:... the Pole,... and all;... been tole... and all.... and Pooh... all went...

Then there's the rhyme.

Milne's rhyme scheme is

ABABCCCA:

... the Pole,
... and all;
... been tole
... and all.
... and Pooh
... all went too⁠—
... them knew.⁠ ⁠…
... and all!

He chooses a one-syllable stressed interjection with no filler unstressed syllables even though the metre expects an unstressed syllable...

He chooses a one-syllable stressed interjection with no filler unstressed syllables even though the metre expects an unstressed syllable there, because there's a pause after "Hey!" that functions as an unstressed syllable.

Milne's metre never misses like this. I'm not going to go line by line, but check it and see. There's no line where you're...

Milne's metre never misses like this. I'm not going to go line by line, but check it and see. There's no line where you're unsure where the stress should go, no line where he adds words or syllables only to meet the metrical requirements.

Even the last line:

"Sing Hey! for Owl and Rabbit and all!"

might seem like the HEY is just there for the metre, because interjections might feel like filler, but it isn't.

And finally:In this WONderful LAND of MAKE-beLIEVEisn't as bad as the last one, but also adds extra unstressed syllables, and messes...

And finally:

In this WONderful LAND of MAKE-beLIEVE

isn't as bad as the last one, but also adds extra unstressed syllables, and messes with the stress unstress pattern.

The next one:But THEY'RE ALL FRIENDS, you SEEputs three stressed syllables next to each other. You can drop an unstressed syllable now...

The next one:

But THEY'RE ALL FRIENDS, you SEE

puts three stressed syllables next to each other. You can drop an unstressed syllable now and then, but Milne never gives us a foot with no unstressed syllables at all.

We also, in natural speech, don't want to stress the THEY. So this line is a metrical mess. We have to force it into the pattern by breaking the rules of BOTH the pattern AND natural pronunciation.

That "in the" makes the line feel rushed, and it's also ambiguous, because we want to stress the IN, since we did in the first...

That "in the" makes the line feel rushed, and it's also ambiguous, because we want to stress the IN, since we did in the first line, but if we do we'll end up with five feet, or else we'll have to cram extra syllables in the second foot by making it "HUNdred acre".