Poetry of the Races, Part I
Much has been made of the religions, fables, legends, songs, and stories of the various races of Tamriel, though the noble art of poetry is often overlooked as being boring and monolithic. It is the opinion of this author, however, that the poetic tendencies of the races are just as valuable in the characterization of their cultures as any legend or song. By learning about the poetries of the races, we can deduce certain elements of their cultures. What follows is a series of examinations of popular poetic forms amongst the races, including popular examples.
The poetry of the Altmer is renowned for its beauty, and is one of the most popular forms of poetry in many intellectual circles. Altmer poetry tends to focus on the natural beauty of the Summurset Isles, the artistic achievements of its people, and the intrinsic beauty of the Altmer people. One of the most interesting aspects of Altmer poetry is an almost obsessive fixation with rigidly defined meter; any poem is which breaks established meter is considered to simply be strangely-written prose. Another defining feature of Almer poetry is the use of alliteration and assonance. A popular sonnet is The Mer or Alinor, seen below.
The silver ringing of crystalline bells,
The mist of morning mountains:
The scholars have scripture to tell,
Amongst Alinor’s frigid fountains.Aetherial Auriel did draw his bow
and fire across the world,
Vicious violence can peace bestow:
The white wings of God will be unfurled.
The many mer of Alinor
reach out for Divinity.
The fearless now will evermore
Exist within sublimity.
All good things upon our Nirn
Are Summer-set, are elven-born.
Standing in stark opposition to the rigidity and relative gentleness of Altmer poetry is that of the Orcs. The Pariah Folk have a very unusual take on poetry, eschewing form and meter nearly altogether. Rather, Orcish poetry is focused on the sound of language. Favoring plosive phonemes and sharp sounds, Oricish poetry takes on a percussive quality when read aloud (and is often shouted in social gatherings to loud drumbeats). Below is a poem known as Victory March of the Orcs, which is extremely popular in Nova Orisinium.
Iron crag rock bang,
march march march march.
Gate slam clatters-spears!
Stomp the skull shatter-tooth,
Mal! A! Cath! barks victory!
Fight! Hurrah, boys!
Orcs!
Orcs!
Orcs!
Many on Tamriel ignorantly believe that the Redguard culture is lacking in artistic tradition. While it is true that swordplay is considered by many Redguards to be the highest art, there is a rich poetic tradition as well. Due to its origination on Yokuda, the poetic traditions of Hammerfell are much different than other poetic styles found within Tamriel. There are several popular poetic styles in the Redguard tradition. Most well known are the Knife-Ballads, a form of historic record and boasting. Knife-Ballads are poems written to individual blades, telling in great detail how each knick, dent, scratch, and imperfection was won; this functions as a way for warriors to brag about their conquests and victories. However, as each stanza only covers a single each of blade, these poems are quite lengthy and beyond the scope of this document. Despite the heroic length of Knife-Ballads, shorter forms are also popular. Meditation Mantras are short poems which are meant to be cyclical-- they can be repeated endlessly to aid in meditation and serenity rituals:
The roar of thunder across the plain,
a strike—
a battle of the gods.
Warrior I, meditating in sands, interrupted by
Another popular form are the Victory poems, which chronicle the last few moments of famous duels in incredible detail. The details may seem superfluous to the outsider’s eye, but the extreme technical and anatomical detail are enthralling to the martial minds of the Redguards. A famous example of this form is The Right and Honorable Victory of Quick-Handed Soscean Dortodd Against the Wicked Traitor Ataf Bo’Limark Outside of Verkath City:
Hauberk shattered by pommel-blow:
Below, the clavicle shatters, the bone breaking into one thousand thousand component pieces.
Several pieces perforate the papery wall of the thoraco-acromial artery.
Open now to attack, the momentary gasp of pain is capitalized on;
A hidden misericorde springs out, diving vertically!
It soars easily through the already-rent flesh,
Effortlessly it separates the muscles, a steel hand parting sanguine curtains.
Artery is severed, the body-cavity fills with blood.
The battle is won.
Ataf Bo’Limark is fallen,
Soscean Dortodd stands tall with victory.
It is well-known that the Bosmer have problems with form, and this is reflected in their poetry. Bosmeri poetry tends to value detail over overt storytelling. Some have theorized that this has to with the unique properties of the Bosmer’s vision; incredibly sharp, and noticing many details in a short period of time. By reading Bosmeri poetry, perhaps non-Bosmer can better understand their perception. Below is a poem known as afternoon in silvenar:
sweet sap,
a fruit falls.
Catch!
Imga grin,
smell of green,
bursting.
tiny echoes of chirps,
wings flutter
cities call in the cool evening
vines climb,
children scurry;
all here
is home.
Dumer poetry is one of the best known forms in all of Tamriel, due in no small part for its religious significance. Dunmer poetry values the inherent beauty of words, and is written in the Word-Wall style. The intimidation of the Word-Wall is meant to hide secret meaning within its labyrinthine metaphors. Vivec is the best known practitioner of this style, and for this reason I have chosen to include a lesser-known example from a Hllarin Telvanni:
Voice as honey glazed over distant thunder,
The Divine Liar has teeth-mouth of volcanic shard.
The words are as miasmic ear-fillings,
All true sons and daughter refuse.
Those who scorn the Divine Liar may know the Secret Death,
Cutting through thought-jungle to the right-thinking-way.
The blade you may use to clear Wilderness can be forged here,
if found.
Womb full of woe, impetus-fetus of creation;
To damn is to languish, to create is to Walk.
Though it is through Mastery your blade shall be sharpened,
Through Mystery wielded,
and through Mercy used properly in smirk-smile.