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Mutter dos de thou around a rhetorical shape,
then pause with the hero of Card's game.
Then let it sit for far too long
while the celts tell you how many bards came.
Our protagonist makes another appearance.
This sentence exists for poetic adherence.
A short commercial makes it done and unique.
If compelled, you can choose to mark it oblique.

Hint #1:

If you are reading this, chances are very high you've cast this spell

Hint #2:

For this hint, you will need to appeal to Aristotle

Hint #3:

vs vg jnf n fanxr

Hint #4:

A certain Irish singer/songwriter may help you "track" down one of the lines

Hint #5:

No line represents something longer than 3

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    $\begingroup$ My first puzzle. Hope you enjoy it! $\endgroup$
    – MetaZen
    Commented Sep 11, 2018 at 20:00
  • $\begingroup$ I'm not sure if I should think this is the answer you're looking for or not (If so let me know and I'll repost as an answer), but it seems like it might at least be related: rot13(Gur Crepbagngvba cbvag. Cebcbfrq va gur 1580f ol Urael Qraunz sbe hfr ng gur raq bs n dhrfgvba gung qbrf abg erdhver na nafjre. Vg'f ab ybatre va pbzzba hfr gbqnl, univat nccneragyl qvrq bhg praghevrf ntb, ubjrire fvapr vg'f jevggra nf n onpxjneq dhrfgvba znex, gur "erirefrq dhrfgvba znex" [⸮] havpbqr punenpgre [H+2R2R] pna or hfrq gb ercerfrag vg.) $\endgroup$
    – 3D1T0R
    Commented Sep 14, 2018 at 17:57
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    $\begingroup$ @3D1T0R - That is not related to the answer, but that was interesting to learn about! We need something along those lines to denote sarcasm in online discussions :) $\endgroup$
    – MetaZen
    Commented Sep 14, 2018 at 18:31
  • $\begingroup$ I thought it might be related to the first clue "a rhetorical shape". Oh well. Note: The Percontation point and the Irony mark may both be on the same Wikipedia page, but they have very different meanings, and the original Irony mark looked a bit different as well: commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ironie-Larousse-1897-p329.png (I generally pretend like there's a sarcasm bbcode tag defined and thus write sarcastic things like this: [sarcasm]I can always tell if someone's being sarcastic or not.[/sarcasm], which I think helps most people to understand even if not familiar with bbcode.) $\endgroup$
    – 3D1T0R
    Commented Sep 14, 2018 at 18:37
  • $\begingroup$ I added the knowledge tag, as I think part of line 1 and line 4 require it. Apologies for not having it tagged that way sooner. This is my first attempt at a puzzle. Line 4 is probably the linchpin, so if nobody discovers it soon, I'll ramp up the hints (although one hint addresses it and another addresses the part of line 1). $\endgroup$
    – MetaZen
    Commented Sep 15, 2018 at 1:36

6 Answers 6

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Credit is due to other answerers and commenters.
I have pieced together various things to arrive at this answer.

I think what we're looking for is...

That most helpful of sites:

www.rot13.com

Mutter dos de thou around a rhetorical shape,

Dos de thou -> two of you -> double-you -> w
I'm not totally clear on how this clues three Ws for www

(Side note: for so long I thought this line contained an anagram.)

then pause with the hero of Card's game.

As indicated in other answers/comments, this refers to the book Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card. Here, specifically, we want a dot (or period) which commonly is the ender of a sentence.

Then let it sit for far too long

Many things rot if you leave them too long.

while the celts tell you how many bards came.

I haven't tracked down this reference. I'm guessing there were 13.

Our protagonist makes another appearance.

Ender again, for another dot.

This sentence exists for poetic adherence.

Fair enough. Nothing to see here.

A short commercial makes it done and unique.

Short commercial = com

If compelled, you can choose to mark it oblique.

Made clear by other answers that this refers to the forward slash character '/'. If you want to, you can end the URL with a forward slash.

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    $\begingroup$ Excellent work! If you want to fill in the blanks for the first and fourth lines, hints #2 and #4 should be helpful, respectively. Or I can reveal the references if nobody wants to look at it further. This one was fun, particularly because the answer was sprinkled all throughout the clues and answers :) $\endgroup$
    – MetaZen
    Commented Sep 18, 2018 at 20:48
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Is it perhaps a

period?

Mutter dos de thou around a rhetorical shape,

Periods are a rather simple shape, and used in rhetoric.

then pause with the hero of Card's game.

Ender's game. Period create a pause, and end sentences.

Then let it sit for far too long while the celts tell you how many bards came.

Possible refrence to ellipses, but I am unsure.

Our protagonist makes another appearance. This sentence exists for poetic adherence.

More periods, but I am unsure.

A short commercial makes it done and unique.

No clue on this

If compelled, you can choose to mark it oblique.

Forward slashes (a.k.a. obliques) were once an acceptable alternative to periods. There are also oblique sentences?

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    $\begingroup$ You've basically solved the second and last lines, but they are a smaller part of the overall answer. Nice work so far! $\endgroup$
    – MetaZen
    Commented Sep 13, 2018 at 23:39
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A stretch and a half, but...

Asking a question on Puzzling Stack Exchange

Mutter dos de thou around a rhetorical shape,

The logo is a un-real penrose object.

then pause with the hero of Card's game.

?

Then let it sit for far too long

Some questions sit unanswered for days.

while the celts tell you how many bards came.

?

Our protagonist makes another appearance.

A question-answer-er?

This sentence exists for poetic adherence.

(this puzzle has nice rhyming) :)

A short commercial makes it done and unique.

Adds give websites money?

If compelled, you can choose to mark it oblique.

You check-mark a correct answer.

If you are reading this, chances are very high you've cast this spell

I have asked a question here.

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    $\begingroup$ I personally thought the hero of Card’s game was r13(Raqre)...but I love your interpretation!! :D $\endgroup$
    – El-Guest
    Commented Sep 13, 2018 at 21:08
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    $\begingroup$ I like some of the connections, however, this isn't what I had in mind. In a way, your guess at the answer is headed in the right direction. $\endgroup$
    – MetaZen
    Commented Sep 13, 2018 at 21:30
  • $\begingroup$ @El-Guest - you are on the right track, in more ways than you know. $\endgroup$
    – MetaZen
    Commented Sep 13, 2018 at 21:30
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my (not so well supported) guess is

Beseech - ties to the title as a spell for summoning help

Mutter dos de thou around a rhetorical shape,

a Box maybe? it rather sounds like do-se-do in a Square Dance.

then pause with the hero of Card's game.

This would be Ender (from Ender's game by Orson Scott Card)

Then let it sit for far too long

Where it Spoiled

while the celts tell you how many bards came.

Enough?

Our protagonist makes another appearance.

Ender again

This sentence exists for poetic adherence.

ignore this sentence?

A short commercial makes it done and unique.

Short commercial is C (first letter. done and unique)

If compelled, you can choose to mark it oblique.

Hidden.

Then

taking the first letters spell Beseech.

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  • $\begingroup$ I really like this answer, but it isn't what I had in mind. You got the hero part correct, though it's the most obscure clue to getting to the full answer. $\endgroup$
    – MetaZen
    Commented Sep 13, 2018 at 21:34
  • $\begingroup$ I also should mention that you are on the right track with the third line as far as meaning. $\endgroup$
    – MetaZen
    Commented Sep 13, 2018 at 23:49
1
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Is it a...

Question Mark? The poem is talking about rhetorical shapes/questions and enders (you often end a sentence with a "?" if you want to "summon" help from other people)

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  • $\begingroup$ That is not the answer, but rot13(lbhe whzc sebz gur ureb pyhr gb chapghngvba) is right on point. $\endgroup$
    – MetaZen
    Commented Sep 13, 2018 at 23:23
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I'm adding another answer because IMO it's different enough to merit a seperate answer. But I know think it has to do with:

poetry.

And based on your responce to my last question, I'm going to make another stab at it with a

Forward slash. Which is either a line break, or a period/comma.

Mutter dos de thou around a rhetorical shape,

Reference to a couplet (dos) of poetry. Slashes are also a rather simple shape.

then pause with the hero of Card's game.

Ender is the hero of Orson Scott Card's book Ender's Game. A line break ends a line and so could hypothetically be refered to as an ender. A forward slash was also once used to denote either a period or a comma which end sentences and clauses respectively.

Then let it sit for far too long

I think this is a reference to a caesura which are often denoted //

while the celts tell you how many bards came.

Possibly a refence to Shakespeare?

Our protagonist makes another appearance.

Completely unsure

This sentence exists for poetic adherence.

Poetry!!!

A short commercial makes it done and unique.

Again, I'm unsure.

If compelled, you can choose to mark it oblique.

Oblique is another name for a forward slash, and this makes me doubt my answer the most and think that perhaps it is not a forward slash, but rather a line break in general.

I have no idea if this is closer or further from the true answer, but even if it's not perhaps someone else will get closer from my answer.

What I know so far based on @puzzle-guesser's replies to my answers:

The answer may be about punctuation but not definitely. It is something that ends somthing (an ender), be it a comma or a clause or something else entirely. The last line for sure refers to a forward slash.

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  • $\begingroup$ The answer does not have to do with poetry, other than my attempt to make a poem out of the riddle. Your answer on this one is definitely what the last line is referring to. And your previous answer is definitely what the second and fifth lines are referring to. I think that will go a long way toward discovering the full answer. $\endgroup$
    – MetaZen
    Commented Sep 15, 2018 at 1:25
  • $\begingroup$ @puzzle-guesser I feel tempted to write an answer for every single punctuation mark. $\endgroup$
    – tox123
    Commented Sep 15, 2018 at 3:25
  • $\begingroup$ The three lines you’ve solved are punctuation, but the overall answer is not. $\endgroup$
    – MetaZen
    Commented Sep 15, 2018 at 6:07
  • $\begingroup$ Just to be clear, rot13(gur "raqre" cneg bayl ersref gb gur cnegf bs gur nafjre ba yvarf 2 naq 5. Gur birenyy nafjre qbrfa'g raq nalguvat, nygubhtu V ubcr vg raqf va ynhtugre bapr vg'f qvfpbirerq.) $\endgroup$
    – MetaZen
    Commented Sep 15, 2018 at 16:55
  • $\begingroup$ @puzzle-guesser you were right, I laughed. The answer was litterally in front of me. $\endgroup$
    – tox123
    Commented Sep 20, 2018 at 3:29

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