[Bards] Poetry Exercise #8

[Ulf Gunnarsson]

Well, the last lesson went over like a lead balloon.  If I ever turn
this into a regular course, I'll have to revise it.

The hunt was an important part of courtly life and, therefore, poetry. 
There was some thought at the time that hunting was the best pursuit of
a knight when not out righting wrongs, as it kept him out of bed... his
or others.  Poetry about hunts are a good opportunity for sexual
innuendo.  The chase, the weapons, the capture... These lend themselves
well to very indirect allusions of trying to win a woman or woe a
woman.  They work for other topics, as well.

They are also a good time for comedy, especially when the competent is
shown to be incompetent by the wily fox or some other "lower life
form".  Man is supposed to be superior to animals, yet the hunt is a
good vehicle to follow the classic definition of comedy: tragedy
reversed.

I will not introduce a new form to follow for this topic.  Choose one
you are comfortable with, or one you want to experiment with.  Shorter
lines are bouncier and good for speed or comedy.  Longer lines allow
more development and are therefore good for illustrating the more
intellectual concepts.  Generally.  But I'm sure someone here will prove
me wrong.

Write a piece about a hunt and use one of the two flavors above:  the
hunt as innuendo for something else, or the hunt as comedic failure.
Please keep it as medieval as possible and remember that your mother may
be reading this list.

Ulf Gunnarsson