D - The Disappearance

The Disappearance is a clerihew, an invented poetry form.  The clerihew was invented by a sixteen year old English student, Edmund Clerihew Bentley (1875-1956), who, when bored in science class wrote this poem, naming the form after himself.

Sir Humphry Davy

Was not fond of gravy.

He lived in the odium

Of having discovered sodium. 

When it was published in 1905 the second line was changed to "Abominated gravy."  Mr. Bentley went on to become a novelist. 

  • The clerihew is a four-line biographical poem
  •  It has the rhyme scheme of AABB
  •  The first line is a full name
  •  Lines 2-4 sum up the person named in line 1, usually in a humorous or satirical manner 
 

Agatha Christie

A woman of myst’ry

Disappeared for eleven days

Publicity, or heartsick malaise?

 

©2022 Lisa Smith Nelson. All Rights Reserved

 



Comments

  1. Clerihew sounds fun. I remember attempting one a few years ago. Very similar to a limerick.

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    Replies
    1. In a way I suppose they are, both usually have a bit of humor.

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  2. There are always those poetry forms that everyone uses I love finding ones that another has adapted to fit their writing.
    I'm not doing poetry this year (what was I thinking?)
    Discovery a bit of fiction, fantasy and current events

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    Replies
    1. What were you thinking? That a bit of fiction, fantasy, and current events might be less stress?

      Delete
  3. You might have! One recent Tanka Tuesday had the prompt to write our own form of syllabic poetry. I think I did okay, but couldn't think of a decent name. It's here somewhere.

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  4. Clerihew sounds so cool! Even the name is fun to pronunciate. I might try it later, too.
    https://steampunkcowunicorn.wordpress.com/2022/04/05/d-is-for-dandelion/

    ReplyDelete

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