Poetry by Enid

Discuss Blyton's magazines, short stories and poetry here.
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Kirrin
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Poetry by Enid

Post by Kirrin »

did anyone rerad the poetry in the st clares books?
the lonely mill lost in the wreathing mists of time....
plus thoughts on lifes cold sea...
great stuff!!
anyone got anymore?
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Anita Bensoussane
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Re: Poetry by Enid

Post by Anita Bensoussane »

I have quite a good selection of Enid Blyton's poetry in The Enid Blyton Poetry Book (Methuen) and in the beautifully-illustrated Enid Blyton's Treasury of Verse (Purnell), and I like many of her nature poems. However, her most banal verse comes in the Noddy books, I think. The following rhyme, from Noddy and his Car, makes me cringe:

"I've got a house
And a car of my own,
I've got a friend
So I'm never alone,
I feel so happy
I'm singing a song,
And if I'm not careful
I'll sing all night long!"

If I had to read this aloud to a young child, I'd find it difficult to keep a note of sarcasm out of my voice!

In Here Comes Noddy Again, we have:

"When you're feeling very gay,
And you shout hip-hip-hurray,
Hey-derry-ho-derry,
What a happy day!"

Blyton adds: "You can sing the song, too, if you want to. Noddy and Big-Ears will be delighted!"

Hmm - I'll pass on that, thanks! :lol:

Anita
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Rob Houghton
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Poems in Blyton novels

Post by Rob Houghton »

Talking of poems reminded me of a poem mentioned in 'six Cousins at Mistletoe Farm', which starts:

'And the milkmaid singeth blithe,
And the mower whets his scythe,
And every shepherd tells his tale
Under the hawthorn in the dale...'

I've always felt that this verse was very familiar to me, but can't seem to find who wrote it, or a full copy of it anywhere. i wondered if anyone else might know?

My favorite poems actually written by Enid are one of the first and last she wrote. The first one, 'The Poet' - 'A child - whose eyes at times see God' is such an atmospheric poem, full of deep yearning and a great feeling for the thoughts of childhood- 'Wove from the rolling worlds' as Enid puts it.

The last known poem she ever wrote is also one of her best - 'On Purbeck Hills' - which again is full of a wonderful sense of sadness, when one thinks that Enid wrote it during the last years of her life.
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Anita Bensoussane
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Poems

Post by Anita Bensoussane »

The lines quoted in Six Cousins at Mistletoe Farm - "And the milkmaid singeth blithe..." - come from Milton's "L'Allegro." In my review of Six Cousins at Mistletoe Farm ("Works" section of the website), I've identified all but one of the poems quoted in the book - does anyone recognise these lines?:

"The stately Lady-Hollyhock
Has graced my garden-bed for years,
Sedately stiffened in a frock
All frills and ruffles to her ears."

Robert, the two poems you mention are indeed two of Blyton's best. They don't appear in the two poetry books I mentioned earlier (The Enid Blyton Poetry Book and Enid Blyton's Treasury of Verse), but I do have them in Barbara Stoney's Biography of Enid (Appendix 1). Beautiful and stirring poems, both of them. The last lines of "The Poet" could apply to Enid herself - a woman who never quite grew up, and who used the power of words and imagination to transport us into enchanted worlds:

"Dear heart
And soul of a child,
Sing on!"

Anita
Tony Summerfield
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The Poet

Post by Tony Summerfield »

I am sure that you will remember that I put a picture of Enid's original rough draft of The Poet on page 84 of The Enid Blyton Dossier. It was done in pencil on the back endpapers of one of Enid's own books (not a Blyton title!) given to her as a present in 1916. Certainly one of her earliest poems, originally published in 1919 - but possibly written even earlier.

Best wishes
Tony
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Rob Houghton
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Post by Rob Houghton »

Thanks for that Anita - it just shows I haven't read the reviews in the 'works' section yet!

Best Wishes,

Rob
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HeatherS
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Poetry

Post by HeatherS »

The best poetry in my opinion (not the best technically, but certainly the most amusing) is that in the Five Find-Outers books. Especially the hilarious verse "spouted" frequently by Fatty. "How I love thee, Uncle Dear, Although thine eyes like frogs appear" immediately comes to mind. Actually, Keith recently put all of it on the web (so I can read it and chuckle away at my desk while I'm at work!). If anybody's interested the web address is http://www.enidblyton.net/enid-blyton-f ... tml#portry
When I read the books as a child, I laughed out loud at Fatty and Ern's "Portry". I may be the only one (and a very sad individual), but I still have the same response now!

Did anyone else enjoy it as much as I did? :lol:
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Anita Bensoussane
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Poetry

Post by Anita Bensoussane »

Yes, some of the poetry in the Find-Outers books is pretty clever. Besides "How I love thee, Uncle Dear," I also very much like the "pore old gardener" poem from The Mystery of the Vanished Prince:

"A pore old gardener said, 'Ah me!
My days is almost done,
I've got rheumatics in my knee,
And now it's hard to run.
I've got a measle in my foot,
And chilblains on my nose,
And bless me if I haven't got
Pneumonia in my toes...' "

And the "poor old house" one from The Mystery of the Strange Messages is one of the most "poetic," with the lines:

"No smoke comes from my chimneys,
No rose grows up my wall,
But only ivy shrouds me,
In green and shining shawl!"

And what about the rhymes in The Adventures of Binkle and Flip? As well as Binkle's mischievous poems about the animals of Oak Tree Town, Blyton begins and ends the book with a rhyme. I like the very last lines:

"But soon a day is sure to come when
Binkle
Will
Say,

'Flip, I've thought of something naughty!
Hip
Hip,
Hurray!'

And in his eyes will shine again that
Bright
Old
Twinkle -

And then I'll tell another tale of
Bold
Bad
Binkle!"

Anyone else got any favourites?

Anita
Steve Alpe
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Post by Steve Alpe »

I have a copy of a poem by Enid Blyton called "Have You-?" which appeared in Nash's Magazine in March 1917. The magazine recently sold on Ebay for £155!
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Post by Raci »

I just got a copy of Enid Blyton's Bedtime Annual 1980 and I love 1 of the poems in there:

I lie in a meadow
Under the sky
Summer clouds are passing,
Passing me by.

I lie in the long grass
Among the wild flowers
Sun shining down on me
Sharing the hours.

I lie in a meadow
On top of a hill
I love this secret place,
Secret summer place . . .
I think I always will.

This completely takes me back to a place I used to go on a child - Also a lovely quiet field full of flowers although it was part way up a hill not quite at the top.
I'd lie on my back, hands behind my head, listening to the birds, smelling the beautiful scents of the grass and flowers, watching the clouds in the sky. And of course I had a book with me :wink:

And yes I will always love that secret summer place! :D
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Rob Houghton
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re; poems in Enid Blyton's Bedtime annuals of 1970's

Post by Rob Houghton »

There are some good poems included in the Bedtime annuals of the 1970's and 1980's, but does anyone agree with me that some of them dont seem to have the usual 'Enid Blyton flavour' ? Most of them I recognise, but some seem to me to have been written by someone else. (I dont know this for a fact, its just a hunch.)

For example, in Enid Blyton's Bedtime annual 1979; (only an extract) -

My Cat

My cat's eyes are green, green
She stares into sunlight,
Warm creamy fur on the red tiles,
Sleep, half asleep, still as can be -
What are you dreaming, cat?
What can you see?'

(does that seem like Enid to you?)

and, in the same book:

'The Rain is my Friend'

The rain is my friend.
I love splashing about
I love floating boats,
I love playing pooh-sticks
All by myself...


And lastly, in the 1977 edition;

My Hiding Place

In my den
I can be
Very quiet...
I can crouch
In my den
Still and quiet, very small...
Hiding...
Quieter than a slipper,
Quieter than a glove.
In my den
I can be -
Quiet as peace and pillows;
A butterfly's wings; a kitten-purr... etc

None of these seem to be typical of Enid's poetry construction. I have never known her do a poem with so little rhyme, for one thing, or to use imagery in such a way. To me, these poems were written by someone else.

What do others think?
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Anita Bensoussane
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Poems in Bedtime Annuals

Post by Anita Bensoussane »

Yes, I agree. I read "My Hiding Place" just the other day and thought it didn't sound like an Enid Blyton poem. Perhaps Tony might know for certain.

Anita
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Rob Houghton
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Post by Rob Houghton »

Looking through part four of Tony's bibliography, I noticed that most of the poems for the 1970's 'annuals' are noted by Tony as being 'source untraced', which sort of backs up our theory.

What do you think, Tony?
Tony Summerfield
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Bedtime Poems

Post by Tony Summerfield »

I am agreeing with you both, Rob and Anita. Although my Bib Part 4 finished in 1974 I did try to trace the stories and poems in the Bedtime Annuals right the way through to the last one in 1983. I found almost all the stories - though some had changed titles, but I didn't manage to trace any of the later poems at all and I don't believe that any of them were written by Enid - just some editor filling in! You have probably noticed that the majority of Enid's poems were written in the early part of her career and in the 50s and 60s her poems were few and far between.

Best wishes
Tony
Raci
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Post by Raci »

Hi!
:? Did Enid write the poem above that I liked? :?

I'm not to sure now - does anyone have any ideas?
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