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Song in the Manner of Housman

O woe, woe,
People are born and die,
We also shall be dead pretty soon
Therefore let us act as if we were
dead already.

The bird sits on the hawthorn tree
But he dies also, presently.
Some lads get hung, and some get shot.
Woeful is this human lot.
Woe! woe, etcetera . . . .

London is a woeful place,
Shropshire is much pleasanter.
Then let us smile a little space
Upon fond nature's morbid grace.
Oh, Woe, woe, woe, etcetera . . .

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Comments

  • cafegroundzero
    March 25, 2007
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    We need to have Houseman's poetry on here for comparison

    Apparently, Pound is satyrizing the verse of Houseman.

  • witchyflyer
    July 26, 2004
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    I think this poem is meant to mock the thought of death... he also says "Therefore let us act as if we were/ dead already." which is... strange, to say the least... but I think it might be a poem coming from everyones fear of death... and a lot of people choose to make fun of the things they fear. Wait... woah woah woah (no pun intended there *cough*) the title refers to a poet... hmmm Okay... meaning is changing. He's not making fun of death... he's making fun of a very strange, cryptic poet... who writes in a very "emo"ish fashion. Ahhhh. Now it's an even better poem.
    Feelings- well... I got a lot of "huh?" feelings from this... but what I actually "felt"? A bit of "yeah... that's how it is, actually" and maybe some curiosity... I don't know... I just didn't "feel" a lot from this. Sorry, Poundy.
    I did love this poem, though... Maybe not with what I first interpreted it as... but once I found out you were mocking another poet! oh ho ho! Then it was the awesome! I'll have to see what this poem would normally write... then maybe it'll be even cooooler.
    Technical-
    I thought "etcetera" was two words...but dictionary.com says we're both right.
    I actually didn't like all the "woe woe woe woe woe woe etcetera" stuff... but that's probably where the mocking is most present... so yeah... You write with strange imagry... things that I would never think of putting together, and it makes for a nicely vivid (yet strannnnggggeeeee) poem.
    I likes.

    -Chelsea