'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 doorless entranceways, 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 doorless building 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 shiyning brite,
and all the men
haf gon to bed -
i stay up late.
i lik the bred.

4. Poem_for_your_sprog ~ 13 Nov 2016
my name is Dog,
and wen its tea,
i hope they giv
sum foode to me -
i hope they shair
befor its gon -
they never do.
i dont get 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 caynine frend,
its up to yu.
so just be brayve
and smart insted -
and be like me.
i lik the 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 i roled,
i do not mope
til new grass grow -
i raiyse my hed.
i lik the snow.

6. sinick ~ 16 Jan 2017
my name is Fan
i do the thing
wen sumthing mayks
my hart to syng
so now i must
get in my chop
wif googl and
wif fotoshop
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
i lik the meem

7. outskirts-of-nowhere ~ 17 Jan 2017
my name is dog
and wen i see
a littel snek
rite next tu me,
altho he sez
“on me dont tred”
i walk rite up
and lik his hed
http://unicornmagic.tumblr.com/post/156058980214/damnslippyplanet-outskirts-of-nowhere-my-name
unicornmagic ~ 18 Jan 2017
i am a snek
both nice & gud
and byte my Frend
i nevr would
a tender hart
i bare insted
of fangs for him
who likt my hed ♡

8. Meme language and verse structure

9. runecestershire ~ 17 Jan 2017
So “my name is Cow… i lik the bred” seems to be the Hot New
Meme, and I like it.
Here’s an odd thing about it, though; a lot of the cutsey animal talk
I see on the internet (especially birb-speak) sometimes reminds me
of Middle English, but “lik the bred” takes it even further and
sounds downright Chaucerian, and it isn’t just the rhyme and
cadence. Some of the “lik the bred” pastiches I see around don’t
really work because they’re in just plain doggo-fran speak (haven’t
decided if Doggo-fran and Birb are 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
i make yu think
of likking bred
and tayking drink
i studdy buks
that i have herd
so wen yur gon
i rite the werd.
http://hobbitguy1420.tumblr.com/post/155995489352/hobbitguy1420-darkersolstice
hobbitguy1420 ~ 17 Jan 2017
now yu may think
wen reeding this
“yu typ with hoofs,
wy dont yu miss?”
i ask yu now
be pashent, plees
i type with tung
i lik the kees

11. trisshawkeye ~ 17 Jan 2017
Re: the OP - I don’t think Doggo-fran and 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-fran revolves around intentionally switching out syllables in words (or adding them onto
mono-syllabic words) - although actually I’m not sure precisely what @runecestershire is 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
@probirdrights Twitter and the other from the @importantbirds Tumblr and their styles, while similar, are
not identical).
But the OP is indeed correct that proper-sounding 'i lik the 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 naym is pome
And wen you noe
The rouls that mayk
My strukchur floe
And poeits bend
Tou hone ther art
I mayk you smyl
I tuch the hart
http://krabbydon.tumblr.com/post/156292508208/the-anatomy-of-a-cow-poem-or-bredlik

13. 1nsomnizac ~ 28 Jan 2017
“i lik the 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 shiyning brite
and to their sleep
the men do cling
i stay up late
i stab 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 ful of stars -
I crayve the salt.
I lik the 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 dont look like they move fast, but, in fact, they do. they
move very fast, and theyre capable 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 im saying is that i have at certain times been walking in the
fields on a night with low visibility and i have, at certain times,
seen an indistinct white shape zoom past me, and i am 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 yu in fere
a cryptid site
be not afraide -
in mothmans sted
its only me
in serch of 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 lookd awaye,
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 tiny little 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
i haf to bend
so i can see
my tiny frend
he cares for me
and all the herd
i care for him
i lik the burd

20. trek-tracks ~ 3 Feb 2017
My name is Bones
And wen its day
I jab you with
A hypospraey
Accept yur fate
With joy I lurk
I vaccinate
I stabb the 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
ful clene yet
unletered be
I mote obey
as sign hath said
so lawful good
I lik the bred
https://unknought.tumblr.com/post/156870267710/anaisnein-o-look-look-how-this-bakerie-ful
unknought ~ 6 Feb 2017
my name is Cow,
and ive beheld
it maters not
how words are speld
tho one toungs grate
for getting bred
a payre of toungs
is bettere yet
so wen the doors
are open wide
and yu yern for
the bred inside
pleas keep one toung
inside your hed
and use two toungs
to pik the 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 neyme is cowe,
And wenn it’s daye,
The farmer-mann is far-awaye,
And busey with somme othyr junc,
So I meete my fryend
I greete the punk

23. Go down the rabbit hole of internet memes

24. More about the ‘i lik the bred’ meme
• i lik the bred – Know Your Meme
• ‘my name is Cow’ vs birb and 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