Bloodthirsty poem?

[joanofarchitrave]

Any thoughts about a violent or bloodthirsty poem (pref short) that ds could learn? He's 9. Am leafing through Titus Andronicus but struggling....

Bit of Beowulf? Seamus Heaney's translation.

Would he be allowed a silly Horrid Histories one? Or does it have to be Serious Poetry?

How about a bit of Macbeth-the witches spell is pretty gruesome although some of it may need to be left out.

'The Assyrian came down like a wolf on the fold'? Not short, but a great rhythm and easy to learn.

(There's a fab parody of it by Ogden nash, too :) )

ooh takver good idea....

i kind of want it to be serious poetry elibean it's one of my weirder parenting things, though I don't [yet] make him recite it in front of grandparents...

Something from Roald Dahl's 'Revolting Rhymes' or 'Rhyme Stew'.

I still love that poem now I'm all grown up

The Jabberwocky? It has lines like
"He left it dead and with its head
he went galumphing back"
is a fun poem to learn - just about the only one I can still recite!

Not exactly serious but Jabberwocky 'One two, one two and through and through , the vorpal sword went snickersnack' (summat like that, I've never learnt it just heard DD chanting with gusto!)

xpost in the wrong order!

Absolutely has to be Jabberwocky!

A bit from the Lion and Albert?

You could see that the lion didn't like it
For giving a kind of a roll
He pulled Albert inside the cage with 'im
And swallowed the little lad... whole!

Or something from one of Roald Dahls revolting Rhymes? I've always loved Red Ridinghood

"The small girl smiled, one eyelid flickers,
she whipped a pistol from her knickers
She aims it at the creatures head
And bang bang bang she shoots him dead"

November the 5th has come and gone,
But thoughts of it still linger.

I held a banger in my hand....has anyone seen my finger?

Gruesome yet educational

Charge of the Light Brigade?

Ooh, thought of a good one, not exactly bloodthirsty but battle worn:
The boy stood on the burning deck

The Lesson by Roger McGough.

[shiver] beehatch, good one

liking all these

OMG the lesson!!

The Highway Man by Alfred Noyes ( Bess shoots herself) or Jim, Who Ran away From His Nurse and was Eaten by A Lion by Hillaire Belloc.

Or you could try a bit of Siegfreid Sassoon war poetry some of which is very violent (maybe too much for 9?) It is of course the centenary of the outbreak of WWI next year.