• The de Tabley is a verse form patterned after Chorus from Medea by John Leicester Warren, Lord de Tabley (1835-1895). De Tabley’s poetry reflected his study of the classics and his passion for detail.
The de Tabley is:
○ stanzaic, written in any number of quatrains.
○ metric, alternating iambic pentameter and iambic trimeter lines. L1 of each stanza begins with a trochee
○ rhymed, rhymed scheme abab cdcd etc.
Chorus from Medea by John Leicester Warren, Lord de Tabley
SWEET are the ways of death to weary feet,
Calm are the shades of men.
The phantom fears no tyrant in his seat,
The slave is master then.
Love is abolish’d; well, that this is so;
We knew him best as Pain.
The gods are all cast out, and let them go!
Who ever found them gain?
Ready to hurt and slow to succour these;
So, while thou breathest, pray.
But in the sepulchre all flesh has peace;
Their hand is put away.
Pasted from <http://www.poetrymagnumopus.com/index.php?showtopic=668>
My thanks to Judi Van Gorder for the fine PMO resource.
My example poem
An Old Man’s Dog (The de Tably)
Fate had to play a part in bringing you
looking at pups that day.
Your wife thought it was something fun to do,
and thus you said okay.
Tiny, and still unsteady on my feet,
knowing we had a fit,
I curled up in your hand and felt complete.
How soon you did commit!
Less than a minute passed before we knew
we’d be each other’s pride.
The bond, so evident twixt me and you,
the kennel-master cried.
Never was I an incidental pet
Not just a thing or toy;
We taught each other and we’re learning yet,
thus multiplying joy.
Chewing on shoes is part of puppyhood
and I did spoil one pair.
You said, “Bad dog!” to me, then like you should
hid them from me somewhere.
Bad Dog! became a phrase without a smile
warning me to change my ways.
Those words I haven’t heard now for a while;
I try to earn your praise.
Likely I’ll live until you die my friend.
I’ll miss you every day
and dream of you each night until my end.
I hope it works that way.
Should I become so ill I cannot cope
please take me to the vet.
That in your arms I pass, remains my hope;
just give me one more pet.
© Lawrencealot – June 27, 2014
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