light verse
Humorous rhyming poetry
Light verse is poetry written primarily to amuse or entertain rather than to express deep emotion or profound ideas.
It typically features wordplay, wit, clever rhymes, and humorous observations about everyday life.
Common forms include limericks, clerihews, and parodies.
Ogden Nash was a master of light verse, known for his playful rhymes and comic timing.
The term distinguishes such work from serious or lyric poetry without implying lesser craft.
- wordplayVerbal wit techniques
- limerickComedic five-line poem
- nursery rhymeTraditional poem for young children
- humorAmusing quality
- coupletTwo successive verse lines
wit · comic timing · Lewis Carroll · pun · clever wordplay · Dorothy Parker · W.S. Gilbert · satire · humorous poetry · rhyme · whimsy · epigram · Ogden Nash · parody · quatrain · poem · playfulness · frivolous
- comedy stylesjokes, sarcasm, puns, irony, parody
- comedy termsjokes, puns, wit, sarcasm, irony
- comedy writingjoke, jokes, comedy, satire, parody
- humor booksjoke books, one-liners, wisecracks, limericks, roast jokes
- comic versedoggerel, limerick
- light verselimerick, doggerel, humorous poetry, nonsense poetry, comic narrative
light verseepic poetry
Extended narrative in verse
tragedy · war poetry · metaphysical poetry · protest poetry · confessional poetry
light versemodernist poetry
Experimental verse breaking tradition
The Waste Land · Paradise Lost · The Divine Comedy · experimental poetry