"Poor Poll" is a poem written by

Robert Bridges Robert Seymour Bridges (23 October 1844 – 21 April 1930) was a British poet who was Poet Laureate from 1913 to 1930. A doctor by training, he achieved literary fame only late in life. His poems reflect a deep Christian faith, and he is ...

in 1921, published in June 1923, and later collected in his book ''New Verse'' (1925). The poem is the first example of Bridges'

neo-Miltonic syllabics Neo-Miltonic Syllabics is a meter devised by Robert Bridges. It was first employed by the poet in a group of poems composed between 1921 and 1925, and collected in his book ''New Verse'' (1925 Events January * January 1 – The Syrian ...

. Bridges composed "Poor Poll" at the same time that

T. S. Eliot Thomas Stearns Eliot (26 September 18884 January 1965) was a poet, essayist and playwright.Bush, Ronald. "T. S. Eliot's Life and Career", in John A Garraty and Mark C. Carnes (eds), ''American National Biography''. New York: Oxford University ...

was writing ''

The Waste Land ''The Waste Land'' is a poem by T. S. Eliot, widely regarded as one of the most important English-language poems of the 20th century and a central work of modernist poetry. Published in 1922, the 434-line poem first appeared in the United ...

''. Donald E. Stanford. ''In the Classic Mode: The Achievement of Robert Bridges,'' Associated University Presses, 1978. . Page 118. Both Eliot and Bridges were searching for a new relationship with poetic rhythm that would also allow them to incorporate the interests of

modernism Modernism was an early 20th-century movement in literature, visual arts, and music that emphasized experimentation, abstraction, and Subjectivity and objectivity (philosophy), subjective experience. Philosophy, politics, architecture, and soc ...

, including phrases in foreign languages. Bridges wrote in a later essay, "It was partly this wish for liberty to use various tongues that made me address my first experiment to a parrot, but partly also my wish to discover how a low setting of scene and diction would stand; because one of the main limitations of English verse is that its accentual ({{linktext, dot and go one) bumping is apt to make ordinary words ridiculous." Although some scholars have suggested William Harmon. "An Entertaining Coincidence At Least"
''T.S. Eliot Society Newsletter'', Fall 2005
page 3. "I first encountered Robert Bridges' "Poor Poll" fifty-odd years ago in ''Modern Poetry: American and British'' (1951), edited by Friar and Brinnin. The editors note that 'Throughout his poem Bridges seems to be mocking the polylingual style of ''The Waste Land''.'" that in the poem (dated "June 3, 1921"), Bridges consciously parodied Eliot's ''Waste Land'' (first published in October 1922), scholars generally are now in agreement that the works were composed contemporaneously. Nevertheless, both poems are macaronic and include classical allusions and phrases in foreign languages (including

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

, and

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...

). Also like Eliot's work, Bridges' was published with a set of footnotes supplied by the poet. Bridges' footnotes are headed "Metrical Elucidations" and offer advice on the poem's

scansion Scansion ( , rhymes with ''mansion''; verb: ''to scan''), or a system of scansion, is the method or practice of determining and (usually) graphically representing the Metre (poetry), metrical pattern of a line of Poetry, verse. In classical poetr ...

as well as explanation for some of the allusions. Here are a few lines from Bridges' poem: :Why ask? You cannot know. 'Twas by no choice of yours :that you mischanged for monkeys' man's society, :'twas that British sailor drove you from Paradise — :Εἴθ᾿ ὤφελ᾿ Ἀργους μὴ διαπτάσθαι σκάφος! :I'd hold embargoes on such a ghastly traffic. ::I am writing verses to you & grieve that you sh^d be :''absolument incapable de les comprendre'', :''Tu, Polle, nescis ista nec potes scire:'' —Bridges' footnote: "A

scazon Choliambic verse (), also known as limping iambs or scazons or halting iambic,. is a form of meter in poetry. It is found in both Greek and Latin poetry in the classical period. Choliambic verse is sometimes called ''scazon'', or "lame iambic", ...

from

Martial Marcus Valerius Martialis (known in English as Martial ; March, between 38 and 41 AD – between 102 and 104 AD) was a Roman and Celtiberian poet born in Bilbilis, Hispania (modern Spain) best known for his twelve books of '' Epigrams'', pu ...

. The proper name is changed."

References

1921 poems British poems