CASABIANCA was written by Felicia Hemans in 1826 and first published in the August edition of the New Monthly Magazine that year. It is supposed to relate the events of a real incident during the Battle of the Nile in 1798 aboard the French ship Orient when Giocante, the young son of the commander Louis de Casabianca, refused…
THE GREEN EYE OF THE LITTLE YELLOW GOD is a poem written in 1911 by the English actor and poet J(ohn) Milton Hayes (1884-1940). It was a great favourite of the actor Bransby Williams, perhaps the most famous ‘monologist’ of the time, during the early years of the 20th century. Obviously inspired by the ballads of Rudyard Kipling,…
Every MONTH I shall be posting a different verse parody alongside the original poem, song lyric or nursery rhyme. There will also be the occasional limerick – which means there will occasionally be some words and content that some may find offensive. Be warned! I’m kicking off with one of the best loved poems in the…