Laugh Lines – Comedy Genre Poetry Forms – PART 2 – Witty Words

Whether you’ve got them, in denial about them, or way too young to care about them, I’m not talking about those crinkly crow’s feet that grow around your eyes, or the grooves around your mouth. While laughter may be the cause of those lines, we really will be talking about various poetry forms that start snickers: those that fall into the comedy genre.

The forms I will talk about in this second installment are sometimes used like fist, sometimes like a slap, but no matter the force with which you wield your comedic poetry – try to whip with your wit and not your anger; be creative, be clever, not cruel.

Clerihew

The Cleriwho? Er, WHAT?!

If you’re asking that question right now, just think David Letterman or Jerry Seinfeld in rhyming couplets.

Generally speaking, when creating a Clerihew you want to go for wit, sarcasm, irony and just plain silliness.

When Bentley first created the form they featured a name in the first line and ended it with the witty punch-line/gag but you can ridicule anything, so get don’t bogged down by that.

BRIEF HISTORY

The Clerihew is named for the English detective-story author Edmund Clerihew Bentley, its creator. This form can be traced back to 1905 when Bentley published a collection of them titled, “Biography For Beginners.” It’s been said that he began to write them as a way to relax from the rigors of class work as a teenager.

MUST HAVES

*Must be in the Comedy Genre.

*Two lines that rhyme, and then two more with a different rhyme – a total of four lines.

The rhyme scheme is:

A

A

B

B

Here is an example of one of the first known Clerihew’s:

Sir Humphrey Davy

Abominated gravy.

He lived in the odium

Of having discovered sodium.

Edmund Clerihew Bentley (1875-1956)

(Source: http://www.schoenml.org/112fp/clerihew.htm)

COULD HAVES or What’s The Poet’s Choice In All This?

*Rhyme – or rather how you rhyme, slant (ants, trance), full (ants, pants) – you pick.

*Use of meter, and what type of meter (Williams 70).

*Length: all clerihews I’ve seen or have written are four lines long, but if poetic license incites you to create clerihew chains, who am I to disagree.

~*~

Satire

Satire isn’t only used in poetry; it is often used in essays, plays, short stories, and more. “However, satire is not a frontal attack. It does not take the moral high-ground of a self-righteous assault; it makes its point through humor and wit, like Mad magazine or The Onion” (Padgett 163).

BRIEF HISTORY

Satire is believed to be originally Latin, although some would argue for Greek origins. Either way, it has been around for a long time. Satire comes in many forms, and poetry is only one of those structures.

MUST HAVES

*Must satirize (mock) something.

COULD HAVES or What’s The Poet’s Choice In All This?

*Genre, while I’ve listed this under comedy in this article, it doesn’t have to be. However, by its mocking nature it usually is comedy.

*Rhyme or not, and what type of rhyme if used.

*Use of meter, and what type of meter, if used.

*Length of lines and length of poem (NOTE: Satire is not restricted to poetry).

*Who, where, or what you satirize.

OF NOTE

My favorite satire isn’t poetry *gasp*; it is “A Modest Proposal” by Jonathan Swift. It is a super sampling of satire. If you haven’t had a chance to read it, you are missing out. Read it here: http://art-bin.com/art/omodest.html.

~*~

Parody

Writing a parody can be a fantastic learning tool. It can help you discover your own unique voice by mimicking the style of other writers. However, parody – a relative of satire – isn’t only mimicry. Ron Padgett defines it, in The Teachers and Writers Handbook of Poetic Forms, as “exaggerated imitation, usually humorous, of a work, or style of art” (Padgett 129).

BRIEF HISTORY

Parody is as old as Greek drama, which places it at more than 2500 years old.

MUST HAVES

*Must mimic or exaggerate someone, some idea, or some thing.

COULD HAVES or What’s The Poet’s Choice In All This?

*Rhyme or not, and what type of rhyme if used, although, if parodying a poet’s sonnet (or other poetry form), stick to that rhyme scheme.

*Use of meter, and what type of meter, if used, although, if parodying a poet’s sonnet (or other poetry form), stick to that meter.

*Length of lines and length of poem (NOTE: parody is not restricted to poetry).

*Who, where, or what you parody.

*Again, it doesn’t need to be in the comedy genre, but with the mocking nature it usually leans this way.

~*~

ARTICLE SOURCE NOTES:

Padgett, Ron. The Teachers & Writers Handbook of Poetic Forms. 2nd. NY: T & W Books, 2000.

Williams, Miller. Patterns of Poetry: An Encyclopedia of Forms. Baton Rouge, LA: Louisiana State University Press, 1986.