Abbreviated Lays : Stories of Ancient Rome, from Aeneas to Pop Gregory I, in Double-Dactylic Rhyme

The double-dactyl, a poetic form never intended for "the serious or high-minded," was invented in 1951. One of the form's rules is that the verse must contain a double-dactyl name, such as "Higgledy-Piggledy." This collection substitutes the double-dactyl rhyme with a Latin expression or tag, providing a witty poetic tour through Roman history. Beginning with Aeneas and ending with the last emperors, each brief poem is faced with an original drawing and accompanied by a short piece of text that sets the historical scene. Includes a glossary of Latin tags.