Thursday, January 31, 2008

A Sonnet for Grendel

I asked the students in my Renaissance Literature class to write sonnets in either the Petrarchan or English (Shakespearean) form in order to get an idea of the strictness of the form (meter, rhyme, etc). They did a fabulous job. I said I would write one, too, and thought I would post it here. It's nowhere near as good as Grendel's efforts, but nonetheless contains a kernel of how I feel about this little four-footed paradox.


Shall I compare my Grendel to a normal hound?
He has a tail, a snout, four paws, and barks,
Aside from these no likeness can be found
To other denizens of canine parks.
His misanthropic nature is quite clear:
He hates all humans equally as strong,
And little children run away in fear
When this four-footed terror comes along.
His repertoire of tricks is quite diverse
He sits, and shakes, and dies upon command;
His dietary habits, quite perverse:
He’ll eat most any poop upon the ground.
If Man’s Best Friend he’ll clearly never be,
Though yet I love him-paradoxic’ly.

9 comments:

DogBlogger said...

Oh, that is ever so beautiful... I never did get around to writing a sonnet, but for a dog, I might be able to pull it off.

zorra said...

I know what you mean. I still love Zorra (RIP) that way--irrationally, fiercely.
I haven't attempted a sonnet since high school. This was great.

Paul said...

Way cool. I hope you read it to Grendel and it was appreciated.

I write them once in a while; they're fun but quite a challenge. I think my pulse rate was about 210 when I wrote my first love sonnet. I was young and foolish, of course.

Lapinbizarre said...

Thanks.

Fran said...

Grendel - I have not been here for awhile so imagine my delight to read this sonnet for you.

It is like the best word kibble awash in gravy.

Lovely! Just like you. (you know I find you lovely and not at all as misanthropic as you like to present yourself as!)

Grendel said...

I think it is a Good Poem. I am glad that you all like it.

Diane M. Roth said...

gorgeous -- and that would be a Shakespearean sonnet, right?

Lapinbizarre said...

Love the sonnet so much I keep revisiting it.

Lindy said...

Dear Grendel,

I am glad that you got a poem written about you so you can know how good it feels. Poems are word love, just like gravy is liquid love... lumpy, liquid, love.

I love you but I am not gravy. I am your friend,

Rowan