Skip to main content

Celebrating Hilaire Belloc With A Little Caution




Today I want to celebrate the poetry of Hilaire Belloc, another poet I recall from my school days. Our teachers often read his poems to us to remind us to behave ourselves otherwise horrid things might befall us. Apart from intriguing poems, with such a distinctive name, Hilaire Belloc was hard to forget.

Born near Paris, France, on July 27, 1870, Hilaire Belloc was raised in England, but remained a French citizen until 1902. 

He is best known for his poetry anthology, ‘Cautionary Tales for Children (1907) 
It was a collection of satirical tales of caution based on the popular tales of the 19th century. Belloc wrote his cautionary poems in rhyming couplets. They were gruesome and funny at the very same time. Many of the children appeared to have a strong wicked streak about them. 

Belloc is also known for his illustrated 1896 children’s book, ‘The Bad Child's Book of Beasts.’ It was a collection of poems that gave humourous advice to children. The book sold over 4000 copies, which was an enormous figure during those times.

Here is an example of Belloc's poetry from the book ‘Cautionary Tales for Children.’ It was simply titled, 'George.'

GEORGE

Who played with a dangerous toy, and suffered a catastrophe of considerable dimensions.

When George's Grandmamma was told
That George had been as good as gold,
She promised in the afternoon
To buy him an Immense Balloon.
And so she did; but when it came,
It got into the candle flame,
And being of a dangerous sort
Exploded with a loud report!
The lights went out! The windows broke!
The room was filled with reeking smoke.
And in the darkness shrieks and yells
Were mingled with electric bells,
And falling masonry and groans,
And crunching, as of broken bones,
And dreadful shrieks, when, worst of all,
The house itself began to fall!
It tottered, shuddering to and fro,
Then crashed into the street below—
Which happened to be Savile Row.
When help arrived, among the dead
Were Cousin Mary, Little Fred,
The Footmen (both of them),
. . .  the Groom,
The man that cleaned the Billiard-Room,
The Chaplain, and
. . . the Still-Room Maid.
And I am dreadfully afraid
That Monsieur Champignon, the Chef,
Will now be permanently deaf—
And both his aides are much the same;
While George, who was in part to blame,
Received, you will regret to hear,
A nasty lump behind the ear.

MORAL:
The moral is that little boys
Should not be given dangerous toys.

Hilaire Belloc


In honour of Hilaire Belloc and his cautionary poems, I was prompted to try writing a poem with a cautionary message in it.  I have recently lifted it from my writer's notebook, and it has undergone a little reshaping. Hope you like it.


The Sad Tale of Norman Neets

Norman Neets would eat sugary sweets
Chocolate,
Lollies,
Ice-cream.

He refused to eat beans
Tomatoes
Or greens
And pumpkin made Norm
Throw a fit

With a diet so weird
It was just as we feared
And Norman
Underwent changes

His face turned pale
He sprouted a tale
His arms and his legs
Both turned scaly

His hair became ropey
He appeared somewhat dopey
And at night
Norman howled at the moon

So children, let Norm be a lesson
Please, eat up all your greens
If you refuse,
You're igniting a fuse
With outcomes quite unforeseen.









Comments

  1. How interesting that you should share this selection, as it goes along with the one I shared today -- an animal etiquette poem -- also from old school days. Love your Norman Neets. As for to balloon blow up... I worked at a school that blew up because a helium balloon crossed the power lines and an arc went through the school office window, hit a gas line and blew the office sky high on a Sunday afternoon. I am serious. It is the truth.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Wow, Alice. I love those last two lines. Alan, lots of delicious fancy here. Perhaps even some lives saved... :-)

      Delete
    2. Wow Alice, life and art collide. Thanks for this fascinating- and true addendum.

      Delete
  2. Fun post, Alan! I'd heard Belloc's name mentioned but never really had the chance to read much of his poetry. Enjoyed both his poem and yours (which made me think of Roald Dahl).

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Jama. You put me in rarified air with the mention of Dahl. you have also reminded me that Dahl's revolting rhymes had some cautionary messages too.

      Delete
  3. I love both the old and the new cautionary tales in poetry. I found myself chuckling all through the mayhem.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm pleased the shared words brought on a chuckle Kay. Mayhem indeed.

      Delete
  4. I remember Belloc's poetry from my childhood, too! Though I'll admit that the first Belloc that comes to mind for me is the baddie from the Indiana Jones movie. ;-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I had not made that connection Jane. Such a distinctive name though.

      Delete
  5. Oh my! How fun! Will need to explore some more Belloc. Many thanks for the introduction. -- Christie @ https://wonderingandwondering.wordpress.com/blog/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It always feels good to facilitate such introductions. May you find joy in exploring more of Belloc's work.

      Delete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Life Cycle -A football poem by Bruce Dawe

This poem by Australian poet Bruce Dawe epitomises the unique connection sporting tragics have to their preferred football teams, -an almost tribal allegiance. Each season supporters stare down the twin imposters- victory and defeat. They remain both loyal and hopeful of eventual triumph. This poem refers specifically to Australian Rules Football, but it's themes are universal. I share this poem on the eve of the 2017 Grand Final to decide the Premiership for this football season. My team, the Richmond Tigers have reached the play off to decide the ultimate victor. They have not contested the Grand Final match for 35 years. My hopes fly with them. This poem links two of my great loves -football and poetry... Life Cycle When children are born in Victoria they are wrapped in club-colours, laid in beribboned cots, having already begun a lifetime’s barracking. Carn, they cry, Carn … feebly at first while parents playfully tussle with them for possession of a rusk: Ah, he

Poetry Friday: The Safety Pin Poem

Poets not only write poetry, they also read poetry. In order to be able to write poetry, one must read it. Lots of poetry in fact...  I want to share a short little poem by Valerie Worth. I bought Valerie's book, 'All The Small Poems And Fourteen More,' while living and working in New York, some time back. It remains a personal favourite.  I love the way the poet shines a special light on everyday objects, transforming them into something unique and worthy of attention. Her close observations elevate her poems into the special category.  Each poem in the collection celebrates earthly wonders. From eggs to garbage, from potatoes to pockets, each object is given special attention in the form of short poems employing keen observations.  Valerie Worth demonstrates through her poems she totally understands the saying-'ideas exist in things.'  The poem I have chosen to share with you (one of my personal favourites) is titled, 'Safety Pin'. S af

Opposite Poems

O pp o s ite P oem s In his book, ' How To Write Poetry,'  Paul Janeczko presents the idea of opposite poems. Paul suggests they could also be referred to as antonym poems. This is wordplay and it's fun to try. Here are some examples Paul provides to help us see very clearly how these short little poems work. I think the opposite of chair Is sitting down with nothing there What is the opposite of kind? A goat that butts you from behind Paul Janeczko You will  notice the poems are written in rhyming couplets. They can be extended so long as you remember to write in couplets. Paul shows us how this is done. What is the opposite of new? Stale gum that's hard to chew A hot-dog roll as hard as rock Or a soiled and smelly forgotten sock You might notice that some of Paul's opposite Poems begin with a question. The remainder of the poem answer the question posed. Opposite poems are a challenge, but it is a challenge worth trying. Not e