Fortunatus' Song
Author(s): Alfred Austin
Genre(s): Multi-version (weekly And Fortnightly Poetry)
Narrators: Algy Pug, Bruce Kachuk, Bill Mosley, CoMo290, David Lawrence, Newgatenovelist, Greg Giordano, Jude, Lee Ann Howlett, Larry Wilson, Patrick Wallace, Phil Schempf, RajVO, Scotty Smith, Skip Corris, Tomas Peter, Tovarisch
Number of Chapters: 17
Length: 16 minutes
Language: English
Not all of the English poets laureate have been the greatest masters of verse. Alfred Austin, who assumed this post after Alfred Lord Tennyson, was one of the less distinguished - if more prolific - late Victorian poets. In modern times, his verse has become celebrated not for its smooth earnestness, but rather for the occasional howlers it contains. A notable example is this song from his pastoral epic Fortunatus the Pessimist, the final couplet of which is a popular favourite in anthologies of bad verse. - Summary by Algy Pug