Subscribe: by Email | in Reader

Down With Fanatics! -- Roger Woddis

My thanks to Marcus Bales, for suggesting (and
introducing me to) today's poem:
(Poem #1049) Down With Fanatics!
 If I had my way with violent men
 I'd simmer them in oil,
 I'd fill a pot with bitumen
 And bring them to the boil.
 I execrate the terrorist
 And those who harbour him,
 And if I weren't a moralist
 I'd tear them limb from limb.

 Fanatics are an evil breed
 Whom decent men should shun;
 I'd like to flog them till they bleed,
 Yes, every mother's son,
 I'd like to tie them to a board
 And let them taste the cat,
 While giving praise, oh thank the Lord,
 That I am not like that.

 For we should love the human kind,
 As Jesus taught us to,
 And those who don't should be struck blind
 And beaten black and blue;
 I'd like to roast them in a grill
 And listen to them shriek,
 Then break them on the wheel until
 They turned the other cheek.
-- Roger Woddis
A delightfully sly poem; I love the way Woddis skewers both fanatics and the
self-righteous hypocrites who would like to teach them a lesson. And he does
it with such wicked relish... mmm, lovely.

thomas.

[Minstrels Links]

We once ran a week of "hate rhymes":
Poem #876, I Wish My Tongue were a Quiver -- Louis McKay
Poem #877, I Do Not Love Thee, Dr Fell -- Tom Brown
Poem #878, Frustration -- Dorothy Parker

Other magnificent rants on the Minstrels include:
Poem #185, A Glass of Beer  -- David O'Bruadair
Poem #266, The Litany for Doneraile  -- Patrick O'Kelly
Poem #840, The Travellers' Curse after Misdirection -- Robert Graves

20 comments: ( or Leave a comment )

Dfswilliams said...

Nice to see a poem by the late Roger Woddis, late laureate of the British
left-wing weekly The New Statesman. It was once pointed out that his name was
an anagram of "God's Worried" and this was used as the title of a collection
of his verse

David Williams

Isaac Meyers said...

It would work much better, I think, without the last verse, which
surprisingly doesn't contain the line, "I, the poet, would like to take a
giant anvil and paint the word "HYPOCRITE" on it in glowing orange letters
and drop it on the heads of this poem's speakers-the hypocritical
blighters." (Of course, that would have been hard to rhyme.) The poem lacks
the subtlety of thought needed to make an important moral distinction:
Non-New-Statesman-reading types may fantasize about torturing "the terrorist
and those who harbour him" -- but terrorists actually do that kind of stuff.
We normally damn hypocrites for speaking good and doing evil, not for
speaking indignation and doing nothing. Unless Woddis seriously believed
that uncharitable opinions are just as bad as violence (and it's quite
possible he did), he is overreaching in his satire. He invites anyone who
doubts that equivalence to doubt the authority of his entire poem. That
makes the poem lose a lot of its moral force.

For a contrast, see Rev. Thwackum in Tom Jones, who claims to be merely
stern and righteous, but actually waits for Tom to misbehave just so that he
can whip him. That's hypocrisy about violence. I wish I could think of a
parallel example from poetry, but none comes to mind.

Regards,
Isaac Meyers

Aine Ni Mhairtin said...

If Isaac Meyers seriously believes that uncharitable opinions are not as bad
as violence, I would refer him to the opinions of another Reverend
Gentleman" i.e. the Rev. Ian Paisley which, although not directly
perpetrating violence, have been the instigation and perpetuation for
violence over a considerable period of years. Since Mr Meyers seems to have
slept through same period, just typing "Northern Ireland" into any search
engine e.g. Google, should elicit any number of examples of uncharitable
opinions - and their outcome.

For those familiar with the said "Rev. Paisley" just read the poem aloud in his voice!

Ideas de negocios said...

Thanks for taking the time to discuss this, but I am firmly convinced of this and love to learn more about the subject. If possible, acquire knowledge, would you update your blog with more information? It is very helpful to me

bocahganteng said...

yes i agree
Dari Penis Mengeluarkan Seperti Nanah Kental
Dari Penis Pria Mengeluarkan Seperti Nanah Kental
Penyebab Dari Penis Mengeluarkan Seperti Nanah Kental
Mengatasi Dari Penis Mengeluarkan Seperti Nanah Kental
Mengobati Dari Penis Mengeluarkan Seperti Nanah Kental
Dari Penis Mengeluarkan Cairan Nanah Kental
Obat Dari Penis Mengeluarkan Cairan Nanah Kental
Solusi Dari Penis Mengeluarkan Cairan Nanah Kental
Artikel Dari Penis Mengeluarkan Cairan Nanah Kental
Kenapa Dari Penis Mengeluarkan Cairan Nanah Kental?
Penyakit Dari Penis Mengeluarkan Nanah Kental
Penyakit Dari Penis Mengeluarkan Cairan Nanah Kental
Penyakit Dari Penis Mengeluarkan Seperti Nanah Kental
Menyembuhkan Penyakit Dari Penis Mengeluarkan Nanah Kental
Obat Alami Penyakit Dari Penis Mengeluarkan Nanah Kental
Dari Penis Sakit Mengeluarkan Nanah Kental
Dari Penis Sakit Mengeluarkan Lendir Nanah Kental
Makalah Dari Penis Sakit Mengeluarkan Nanah Kental
Mengobati Dari Penis Sakit Mengeluarkan Nanah Kental
Pengobatan Dari Penis Sakit Mengeluarkan Nanah Kental
Penyebab Dari Penis Mengeluarkan Nanah Kental
Penyebab Umum Dari Penis Mengeluarkan Nanah Kental
Penyebab Dari Penis Mengeluarkan Cairan Nanah Kental
Penyebab dan Obat Dari Penis Mengeluarkan Nanah Kental
Apa saja Penyebab Dari Penis Mengeluarkan Nanah Kental?
Obat Dari Penis Mengeluarkan Nanah Kental
Obat Dari Penis Mengeluarkan Nanah Kental atau Gonore
Obat Mujarab Dari Penis Mengeluarkan Nanah Kental
Beli Obat Dari Penis Mengeluarkan Nanah Kental
Merk Obat Dari Penis Mengeluarkan Nanah Kental
Jual Obat Herbal Tradisional Ambeien Luar
Jual Obat Herbal Tradisional Ambeien Luar Ambejoss
Jual Obat Herbal Tradisional Ambeien Luar Yang Parah
Jual Obat Herbal Tradisional Ambeien Luar Stadium 2
Jual Obat Herbal Tradisional Ambeien Wasir Luar
Resep Obat Herbal Tradisional Ambeien Luar
Resep Obat Herbal Tradisional Penyakit Ambeien Luar
Resep Obat Herbal Tradisional Atasi Ambeien Luar
Resep Obat Herbal Tradisional Sembuhkan Ambeien Luar
Resep Obat Herbal Tradisional Untuk Ambeien Luar

Post a Comment