Brief History of English Poetry
 

Brief History of English Poetry

Chaucer anchor
Shakespeare clanker
Donne canker
Johnson cranker
Wordsworth franker
Tennyson thanker
Swinburne spanker
Eliot banker
Thomas tanker
Larkin wanker
Motion manqué

Rather irreverent towards the great masters, the word play is somewhat enjoyable. I find it lacks depth, even for comedy.

Mark

If he's looking for depth I think Mark is asking a little too much from your 22 word poem. I thoroughly enjoyed this one - ingenious, entertaining and genuinely funny.

Best,
Holly

Meh. I suppose it works on a certain level as doggerel...but some of the verbs seems arbitrary. I don't know what you mean by clanker about Shakespeare unless you mean that his meter was rough...which it might have been, but I don't think you can say it clanked. I don't see how Donne is meant to be a canker unless you mean he's a canker on the literary tradition of England. I don't see how Tennyson is a thanker...really, I can't think of anything. And Swinburne liked being spanked, not spanking, so I don't think you can call him a spanker.

Just some late night silliness. Forgive and forget.

Poe danker
Jerry Rice flanker

If you made it "English and American poetry," you could get in Whitman Yank-er, cummings prankster, Frost blanker . . . this one was fun!

Actually, only the final line disappoints for me, as the non-rhyme lands with a thud. I like Julie's suggestion for further work.

Skelton lanker

Shakespeare ranker

Dryden flanker

Pope outflanker

Burns hanker

Swinburne swanker

Crane dranker

McKuen stanker

----
. . . . pranker

If this were written by any number of people, I'd go along with the crowd urging further work. But I don't see this becoming worthy of Sam even if the poet list and anker rhymes were to be sharpened. I'd say move on.