Tim Hopkins

Epitaph for an Auctioneer Tim Hopkins

There have always been fashions in poetry, and the current fashion is for free verse. Even the most cursory look at the latest poetry magazines will reveal the unyielding trend for non-formal, unrhymed verse. The leading poetry magazine, Poetry Review (the organ of the Poetry Society) features no rhymed verse. Even Milton pointed out how rhyme could act as a limitation in the writing of poetry - and there are no rhymes in Paradise Lost. However, there is a formal structure in that Milton writes in blank verse, not free verse: that is unrhymed iambic pentameters. This technique in a more flexible form has been used by T. S. Eliot. One unwanted side-effect of the free verse fashion is the falling out of favour of light, humorous and satirical verse. It can still be seen in literary competitions in The New Statesman, The Oldie and The Spectator, but it is not encouraged by book publishers. This is a pity, for a worthy tradition fostered by such eminent writers as Pope, Carroll, W. S. Gilbert and many others is somewhat endangered. Hence my set of epigrams goes against the fashion, though I hope not against the grain. It is difficult if not impossible to write comic, effective, light verse without rhyme and structure. Unashamedly, I have eschewed free verse, choosing to write in what might seem an outmoded style to some. But if the method is traditional, it is to be hoped that points made on social, psychological and political issues, will be pertinent enough to justify the approach.