Clerihews
are whimsical four line poems in a form invented by Edmund Clerihew
Bentley, hence the name. They are defined by Wikipedia thusly:
A
clerihew has the following properties:
- It is biographical and usually
whimsical, showing the subject from an unusual point of view; it
pokes fun at mostly famous people
- It has four lines of irregular
length (for comic effect); the third and fourth lines are usually
longer than the first two
- The rhyme structure is AABB; the
subject matter and wording are often humorously contrived in order
to achieve a rhyme
- The first line consists solely (or almost solely) of the
subject's name.
Clerihews are not satirical or abusive, but they target famous
individuals and reposition them in an absurd, anachronistic
or commonplace setting, often giving them an over-simplified and
slightly garbled description (similar to the schoolboy style of 1066
and All That).
The unbalanced and unpolished poetic
meter and line length parody the limerick,
and the clerihew form also parodies the eulogy.
So, here is my small collection of Clerihews, for your perusal:
Barack
Obama
Barack Hussein Obama,
Is an accomplished charmer,
A skill he'll need to use
With the Arabs and the Jews.
Cleopatra
Cleopatra Ptolemy
Persistently followed me.
But I slipped out of her grasp
And she fell upon her Asp.
Eddie 'the Eagle' Edwards
Eddie 'the Eagle' (and clown)
Peers myopically down.
Propels himself into the air
And flies - on a wing and a prayer.
Alan Turing
Alan Mathison Turing -
He invented computing,
But neglected to invent
A cure for having been born bent.
Elton John
Elton John
Goes on and on.
When his hairline shifted
He had it lifted.
Captain Jack
Captain Jack Harkness
Is frightened of darkness
But Cardiff Gay Pride
He takes in his stride.
Johnny Depp and John Barrowman
Johnnys, Barrowman and Depp
Fell out, no longer march in step.
Depp snarled “Barrowman, you hack,
“Lay off my name, I'm
Captain Jack!”
Gandalf
Hooray for Gandalf the Grey,
He always saves the day.
Even if killed, he might
Return as Gandalf the White.
Prince Charles
Charlie, Prince of Wales
Tries so hard, but fails.
He only wants to please -
He gets on fine with trees.
Napoleon
Napoleon Buonaparte
Who tore a continent apart
Ended up on St Helena
With his Empress Josephina.
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