Friday, July 18, 2008

Clerihews

What is a Clerihew? Invented by the British writer Edmund Clerihew Bentley (1875-1956), it's a 4-line poem that pokes fun at someone famous. This month's Reader's Digest explains the rules for Clerihews and invites readers to submit their own for possible publication.

I thought I'd give everyone a chance to practice here on my blog. The rules according to Readers Digest are:

The rhyme structure is aabb.
The celebrity is named in the first line.
There are no rules for meter.

Wikipedia takes this a little further stating that the first line should consist solely (or almost solely) of the subject's name. The four lines should be of irregular length (for comic effect) with the third and fourth being the longest. Finally, they shouldn't be satirical or abusive. A few examples are given that are worth checking out.

Here is the example from the Reader's Digest:

Actor Harrison Ford
Was feeling extraordinarily bored.
So he grabbed his hat and picked up his bones
And starred in yet another Indiana Jones.

This was my first effort:

Julius Caesar
Never became an old geezer.
The Ides of March, 44 BC, was the fateful day
When being stabbed he said, "Et tu, Brute?"


Give it a try and post them in the comments!

5 comments:

Pam said...

Albert Gore
is a world-class bore.
He travels his Internet, Peace Prize in hand,
hawking the wind power he claims that he canned.

Bev said...

Love this page. I may have to try this site for fun. And I adore what Pam had to say about Gore-bore. :)

Hugs,
Bev

Algernon said...

Oh, FUN! I'll try to find some time to play around with this assignment.

Unknown said...

President Ronald Reagan
Oh please I'm a beggen
for your reincarnation.
Come back and save our nation.

quid said...

I must say that I'm quite taken with the Clerihew, Ms Kelly. Thank you for unearthing it. I do think there may be times in my "private poems" when I use the first line for an acquaintance, not necessarily a "star". But here goes my first attempt with a star who has been weighing heavily on my mind lately....

Aging athlete, Brett Favre
Will, I'm certain, not starve
He's a tad optimistic on his chances
To have several more quarterback dances


If I had to finish this poem without Clerihew, I would probably muse on my current feelings for him..."Shuddup already!", or my oath, should my beloved Tampa Bay Buccaneers acquire him, to become a Jacksonville Jaguars fan until he leaves.

Sigh. You can tell summer camp started again. Now I'll bore you all.

quid