i lik the bred

'i lik the bred' – an example of rhyming verse on the internet. How an internet poet inspired a meme; analysis of this meme (language and verse structure); and some notable examples.

1. An example of rhyming verse on the internet ~ 5 March 2017
Nadia Niaz and Ameel Khan

2. How an internet poet inspired a meme

3. Chamale~ 25 Oct 2016
My stepdad used to be a baker in an authentic recreation of an 18th
century New French fortress. Because they sell bread to the public, the
health inspector came by, and she was ripping into my stepdad for
violations like the stonework walls, the doorlessentranceways, or the
lack of a mosquito zapper. He pointed out that they were following the
highest standards except for things that would destroy the
authenticity of this 18th-century bakery. The health inspector relented
and agreed to give him a pass after verifying the food storage area was
secure. They went to the shed, which was a doorlessbuilding attached
to the bakery. As the health inspector went in, there happened to be an
escaped cow licking all of the loaves. My stepdad could only say,
“Honestly, this never happens.” They passed the health inspection.
tl;dr: Health inspector witnesses escaped farm animal licking all the
bread in a bakery, passes health inspection anyway
https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/598qrb/health_inspectors_of_reddit_whats_the_worst/d96si4d/?context=3
Health Inspectors of Reddit, what's the worst violation you've ever seen?
Poem_for_your_sprog~ 25 Oct 2016
my name is Cow,
and wen its nite,
or wen the moon
is shiyningbrite,
and all the men
hafgonto bed -
istay up late.
ilikthe bred.

4. Poem_for_your_sprog~ 13 Nov 2016
my name is Dog,
and wen its tea,
ihope they giv
sum foodeto me -
ihope they shair
beforits gon-
they never do.
idontget non.
:(
https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/5cnu7b/if_dogs_had_a_911_hotline_what_dogemergencies/d9y72vd/
If dogs had a 911 hotline, what dog-'emergencies' would they call it for?
Poem_for_your_sprog~ 13 Nov 2016
my name is Cow,
and this is tru-
my cayninefrend,
its up to yu.
so just be brayve
and smart insted-
and be like me.
ilikthe bred.

5. natsdorf~ 15 Jan 2017
Cow catching snowflakes. [full video]
http://sashayed.tumblr.com/post/155925205420/thenatsdorf-cow-catching-snowflakes-full
sashayed~ 15 Jan 2017
my name is Cow,
and wen its cold
and gone is grass
in which iroled,
ido not mope
tilnew grass grow -
iraiysemy hed.
ilikthe snow.

6. sinick~ 16 Jan 2017
my name is Fan
ido the thing
wen sumthingmayks
my hart to syng
so now imust
get in my chop
wifgoogland
wiffotoshop
https://gclane.tumblr.com/post/156131354349/sinick-my-name-is-fan-i-do-the-thing-wen
gclane~ 20 Jan 2017
my name is Fan
and wen is nite
I’m not abed
so warm so tyte
instead of being
in my dreem-
I stay up late
ilikthe meem

7. outskirts-of-nowhere~ 17 Jan 2017
my name is dog
and wen isee
a littelsnek
rite next tume,
althohe sez
“on me donttred”
iwalk rite up
and likhis hed
http://unicornmagic.tumblr.com/post/156058980214/damnslippyplanet-outskirts-of-nowhere-my-name
unicornmagic~ 18 Jan 2017
iam a snek
both nice & gud
and byte my Frend
inevrwould
a tender hart
ibare insted
of fangs for him
who liktmy hed♡

8. Meme language and verse structure

9. runecestershire~ 17 Jan 2017
So “my name is Cow… ilikthe bred” seems to be the Hot New
Meme, and I like it.
Here’s an odd thing about it, though; a lot of the cutseyanimal talk
I see on the internet (especially birb-speak) sometimes reminds me
of Middle English, but “likthe bred” takes it even further and
sounds downright Chaucerian, and it isn’t just the rhyme and
cadence. Some of the “likthe bred” pastiches I see around don’t
really work because they’re in just plain doggo-franspeak (haven’t
decided if Doggo-franand Birbare the same thing or not), but the
ones that really hit all the same notes as the original have
something going on with the mangled vowels and spelling that’s
not the same as the mangling in Doggo and/or Birb.
Maybe some time I’ll gather up some examples and look closely at
the vowels and spelling and try and sort out precisely what’s up.
http://runecestershire.tumblr.com/post/155984929611/so-my-name-is-cow-i-lik-the-bred-seems-to-be

10. hobbitguy1420~ 17 Jan 2017
my name is Cow
imake yuthink
of likkingbred
and taykingdrink
istuddybuks
that ihave herd
so wen yurgon
irite the werd.
http://hobbitguy1420.tumblr.com/post/155995489352/hobbitguy1420-darkersolstice
hobbitguy1420 ~ 17 Jan 2017
now yumay think
wen reeding this
“yutypwith hoofs,
wydontyumiss?”
iask yunow
be pashent, plees
itype with tung
ilikthe kees

11. trisshawkeye~ 17 Jan 2017
Re: the OP -I don’t think Doggo-franand Birb-speak are the same at all, but it’s tricky to articulate why
(probably because I’m not actually a linguist).
I think Doggo-franrevolves around intentionally switching out syllables in words (or adding them onto
mono-syllabic words) -although actually I’m not sure precisely what @runecestershireis referring to here
but the other thing that comes to mind is the ‘bork’ meme speak which revolves mostly around the
nonsense sentence structure 'you are doing me a [verb]’. Both cases seem to me to be a lot more specific in
usage than Birb-speak.
Birb-speak revolves more around intentionally bad spelling and grammar, often with an overblown sense of
urgency to imitate something being typed (and thus spoken) loudly, at high speed and with little accuracy
(although there are two slightly different memetic forms of Birb-speak -one originating from the
@probirdrightsTwitter and the other from the @importantbirdsTumblr and their styles, while similar, are
not identical).
But the OP is indeed correct that proper-sounding 'ilikthe bred’ poems have a very specific structure and
language to them which is distinct again from the other examples.
http://trisshawkeye.tumblr.com/post/156006017575/hobbitguy1420-hobbitguy1420-darkersolstice

12. krabbydon~ 24 Jan 2017
The anatomy of a cow poem, or ‘bredlik’
The poem is generally first person and begins with “My name is…”,
unless part of a series; series are structured as dialogues.
Cow poems are in strict iambic dimeter.
A cow poem has the scheme *A*A*B*B.
The cow stanza is a 6-line stanza followed by a 2-line ‘punchline’,
varying on “I [do the thing]//I lick the [thing]; much like Benadryl
Cabbagepatch, the closer the conformity, the better the effect.
Spelling is more-or-less phonetic, especially for vowels, with some
exceptions (classical cow poems make exceptions for “I”, notably)
and certainly no numbers; the effect is often described as 'pseudo
Chaucerian’. The grammar too is fairly standard.
Or to put it another way:
My naymis pome
And wen you noe
The roulsthat mayk
My strukchurfloe
And poeitsbend
Touhone therart
I maykyou smyl
I tuchthe hart
http://krabbydon.tumblr.com/post/156292508208/the-anatomy-of-a-cow-poem-or-bredlik

13. 1nsomnizac~ 28 Jan 2017
“ilikthe bred”
so it would seem
has now become
iambic meme
use two per line
in sets of four
pause on the third–
iamb some more.
http://1nsomnizac.tumblr.com/post/156392713613/i-lik-the-bred-so-it-would-seem-has-now-become

14. Original verse and reaction-verse

15. frogyell~ 20 Jan 2017
my names macbeth
and wen its nite
or wen the moon
is shiyningbrite
and to their sleep
the men do cling
istay up late
istab the king
http://frogyell.tumblr.com/post/156121745765/my-names-macbeth-and-wen-its-nite-or-wen-the

16. Plushmayhem~ 20 Dec 2016
The mystery deepens….
elodieunderglass
cos they salty
http://helico-ptera-ursarum.tumblr.com/post/156273410957/elodieunderglass-plushmayhem-the-mystery
unicornmagic~ 23 Jan 2017
My name is Moose
and wen it’s dark
and wen the sno
is in the park
and all the skye
is fulof stars -
I crayvethe salt.
I likthe cars.

17. princeloki~ 16 Jan 2017
so id like to tell you something, like, in the context of cryptid
sightings
specifically, id like to tell you some things about cattle
•they dontlook like they move fast, but, in fact, they do. they
move very fast, and theyrecapable of doing so quietly
•if a cow is black and has white spots, or if it is white and has
black spots, both the white and black bits come together in the
approximate shape of a cow
•but in the dark, you cant see the black parts, and the white
parts do NOT, form the approximate shape of a cow
what imsaying is that ihave at certain times been walking in the
fields on a night with low visibility and ihave, at certain times,
seen an indistinct white shape zoom past me, and iam at least
95% sure it was a cow. and that if you see a white shape zoom
past you in a field at night, it is also probably at least 95% of a cow
http://baronmariuspontmercy.co.vu/post/156263340497/pkmndaisuki-princeloki-so-id-like-to-tell-you
baronmariuspontmercy~ 23 Jan 2017
my name is cow
and wen its nite
and yuin fere
a cryptid site
be not afraide-
in mothmanssted
its only me
in serchof bred

18. baconfish~ 29 Jan 2017
Meanwhile, in Scotland.
http://hippity-hoppity-brigade.tumblr.com/post/156674230320/fruitcrocs-jonnywanser-baconfish
hippity-hoppity-brigade~ 1 Feb 2017
our name is Cow
and wen its daye,
or wen our Man
has lookdawaye,
and in the fence a hole wee gnaw,
wee gallop out.
wee flee the law.

19. http://gotellthesea.tumblr.com/post/156675034597/dendritic-trees-knightofleo-this-is
knightofleo~ 1 Feb 2017
This is Superman.
Superman is a tiny tinylittle rooster
who unfortunately was a little bit
stunted in the growth area when he
was a little chick.
He eventually caught up but by then
the flock had basically bullied him
so much for being tiny he’d been
entirely ostracized and turned into
a complete loner so now he has to
live all by himself over with the
cows, but he doesn’t care one bit
because now he’s the leader of four
big brown four legged chickens and
honestly who can say that.
Also he’s super-cuddly.
gotellthesea~ 1 Feb 2017
my name is Cow
ihafto bend
so ican see
my tiny frend
he cares for me
and all the herd
icare for him
ilikthe burd

20. trek-tracks~ 3 Feb 2017
My name is Bones
And wen its day
I jab you with
A hypospraey
Accept yurfate
With joy I lurk
I vaccinate
I stabbthe Kirk
http://trek-tracks.tumblr.com/post/156774993978/my-name-is-bones-and-wen-its-day-i-jab-you-with-a

21. anaisnein~ 5 Feb 2017
O look! look how
this bakerie
fulcleneyet
unleteredbe
I mote obey
as sign hath said
so lawful good
I likthe bred
https://unknought.tumblr.com/post/156870267710/anaisnein-o-look-look-how-this-bakerie-ful
unknought~ 6 Feb 2017
my name is Cow,
and ivebeheld
it maters not
how words are speld
thoone toungsgrate
for getting bred
a payreof toungs
is bettereyet
so wen the doors
are open wide
and yuyernfor
the bred inside
pleas keep one toung
inside your hed
and use two toungs
to pikthe bred

22. Witaminb~ 15 Jun 2012
cowpunk.
http://lord-kitschener.tumblr.com/post/157395483348/witaminb-cowpunk-my-neyme-is-cowe-and-wenn
lord-kitschener~ 18 Feb 2017
My neymeis cowe,
And wennit’s daye,
The farmer-mannis far-awaye,
And buseywith sommeothyrjunc,
So I meetemy fryend
I greetethe punk

23. Go down the rabbit hole of internet memes

24. More about the ‘ilikthe bred’ meme
•ilikthe bred–Know Your Meme
•‘my name is Cow’ vs birband Doggo speech–meme speech discussion
•Poem_for_your_sprog–Reddit user
Related memes
•Doggo–Know Your Meme
•Stop It Son, You Are Doing Me A Frighten–Know Your Meme
•Snek–Know Your Meme
•Birds (birb)–Know Your Meme

25. @nadianiaz
@ameel