rhymes
Original: rhymes on Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal
Transcript
Panel 1: A man in 17th-century clothing with a wig (Milton-esque) holds an open book.
Narration: When Paradise Lost was first published in 1667, it was popular, but there were many complaints from readers that it "rhymes not."
Man (reading the book): 'tis crap
Panel 2: Narration over an image of the book Paradise Lost with a marker labeled "PARADISE LOST."
Narration: So, by the 1674 edition, there was a weirdly combative note at the beginning of the book, not just insulting the complainers, but the idea of rhyme in verse generally.
Quoted note: "...the invention of a barbarous age, to set off wretched matter and lame meter..."
Panel 3: A bearded man with long flowing hair sits at a table.
Narration: When I first read this, I thought it was merely a literary fun fact.
Thought (man): self-assured mental chuckling
Panel 4: Two people at a dinner table; one in a vest holds a hand near their mouth, the bearded long-haired man across from them.
Narration: However, it turns out to be useful in almost any context where you're asked to give an opinion.
Person in vest: And how was your soup, sir?
Bearded man: It rhymes not!
Narration: When Paradise Lost was first published in 1667, it was popular, but there were many complaints from readers that it "rhymes not."
Man (reading the book): 'tis crap
Panel 2: Narration over an image of the book Paradise Lost with a marker labeled "PARADISE LOST."
Narration: So, by the 1674 edition, there was a weirdly combative note at the beginning of the book, not just insulting the complainers, but the idea of rhyme in verse generally.
Quoted note: "...the invention of a barbarous age, to set off wretched matter and lame meter..."
Panel 3: A bearded man with long flowing hair sits at a table.
Narration: When I first read this, I thought it was merely a literary fun fact.
Thought (man): self-assured mental chuckling
Panel 4: Two people at a dinner table; one in a vest holds a hand near their mouth, the bearded long-haired man across from them.
Narration: However, it turns out to be useful in almost any context where you're asked to give an opinion.
Person in vest: And how was your soup, sir?
Bearded man: It rhymes not!
Alt text
A four-panel SMBC comic about a famously combative note in early editions of Milton's Paradise Lost. Panel 1: a wigged 17th-century man holds an open book; narration explains that when Paradise Lost was published in 1667 it was popular, but many readers complained that it "rhymes not," and the man reads aloud "'tis crap." Panel 2: an image of the book Paradise Lost; narration says that by the 1674 edition a weirdly combative note appeared at the start, insulting both the complainers and the idea of rhyme itself, quoting "...the invention of a barbarous age, to set off wretched matter and lame meter..." Panel 3: a bearded, long-haired man; narration says the author first thought this was merely a literary fun fact, with a "self-assured mental chuckling." Panel 4: the same man at a dinner table; a server in a vest asks "And how was your soup, sir?" and he replies "It rhymes not!", showing the insult works as an all-purpose dismissive opinion. Votey: a hand-drawn frowning, grumpy face above scrawled text reading "AND ITS METER SUCKS!"
Transcribed by Claude Opus 4.8.