A Hint on Humor

Lesson Plan - Get It!

Audio:

The cartoon above mentions epics, or very long poems, and limericks, which are very short poems of 5 lines.

Limericks are an example of humorous poetry.

In this lesson, you'll learn about three kinds of humorous poems.

• limericks
• nonsense poems
• dactyl poems

Humorous poetry, also know as light poetry or light verse, has these characteristics.

• It is often shorter in length.
• It often include nonsense words and alliteration.
• It may be based on a certain rhyme scheme or rhythm.

Look at some of those terms.

Nonsense Words

Nonsense words are not real words but words that are made up.

Dr. Seuss was an expert at making up nonsense words. Consider these lines from the 1966 movie How the Grinch Stole Christmas!

• "He rode into Who-ville,
• he brought back their toys.
• He brought back their floof
• to the Who girls and boys.
• He brought back their snoof
• and their tringlers and fuzzels.
• He brought back their pantookas,
• their dafflers and wuzzels."

• What are floof, snoof, tringlers, fuzzels, dafflers, and wuzzels?
• Who knows? But they sound good, don't they?

Alliteration

Alliteration is when sounds are repeated at the beginning of words.

Below is an example. Notice how often the /s/ sound is used at the beginning of the words in this poem.

• Silly Sally sells stinky socks,
• Sneezing shoppers swiftly shock,
• Slippery sidewalk, she slips and slides,
• Sends socks soaring in different sides.
• Sorry, Sally, a silly sale,
• Sell something sweeter, so I can hail,
• Sour socks, not what I seek,
• So scram, Sally, let's take a break!

Rhyme Scheme

The rhyme scheme tells which lines of the poem rhyme.

• Do the first and third lines rhyme, or the first and second?

There are many different rhyme schemes.

The first line is given the letter A to describe the rhyme scheme. The next line, if it rhymes with it, is also called A. If it doesn't, it's called B, and the next line that rhymes with the B line is also called B.

The following are some of the most used rhyme schemes.

• ABAB
• ABCB
• AABBA
• AABB

The poems of Edward Lear, which you'll read below, use the AABBA scheme.

Rhythm

The rhythm of poetry is a repeated stress pattern on specific syllables.

A poet may use a lot of two-syllable words with the stress on the second syllable, such as expect, demand, and machine.

Or they may use a lot of three-syllable words with the accent on the first syllable, such as gratefully, memory, and attitude.

Limericks

As you watch the video below on how limericks are written, look for the answers to these questions.

• How many lines are in a limerick?
• Which lines are supposed to rhyme?

• What did you learn about limericks?
• Which rhyme scheme do they follow?

Many nursery rhymes are limericks. Take a look at Hickory Dickory Dock.

• "Hickory dickory dock.
• The mouse ran up the clock.
• The clock struck one,
• The mouse ran down,
• Hickory dickory dock."

Notice the stanza has 5 lines and follows the AABBA pattern.

• Would you like to try writing a limerick?

Nonsense Poems

Nonsense poems, as you've probably guessed, don't make much sense. They're very imaginative and fun.

Edward Lear is famous for his nonsense poems. Watch this animated version of Lear's "The Owl and the Pussy Cat."

• Can you imagine writing a nonsense poem?
• It may seem simple because you can make things up, but what might be difficult about it?

Dactyls

Watch as a poet and performer explains what a dactyl is in the video below.

Dactyls are words of three syllables where the first syllable is accented, and the other two are not.

Here are some examples.

• poetry
• elephant
• nursery
• radical

A dactyl poem is a special form of poetry with two lines of two dactyls each, followed by a shorter line. The dactyls don't have to be one word but have to follow the pattern of a stressed syllable and then two unstressed syllables.

Below is an example. As you read it, try to keep emphasizing the pattern by tapping a finger or foot with the rhythm.

• La-dee-da, La-dee-da
• Dactyls are trickery
• Poems with ridiculous
• Syllable rules
• Take so much effort, are
• Accomplished only by
• Wordily-nerdily
• Poem-loving fools

• Now that you've taken a look at some humorous poetry, which kind do you like best?

Jump over to the Got It? section, to read and analyze some more!