The noun “fiddle” is cleverly used here. It represents a triple entendre, referring to poetry in several metaphorical senses. Poetry is “all this fiddle” in the musical sense, a fiddle being a violin. Like music, poetry is entertainment, and thus can be seen as unimportant. “Fiddle” also refers to the act of fiddling, of fussing about with something—an act with which all poets are familiar. Last, a “fiddle” refers to small sum, the word being slang for a sixteenth of a British pound. Once again, the point is that poetry is not worth much.
