The Nation's Favourite Comic Poems

No one knows exactly what makes a poem funny. It might be puns, or wordplay, or unexpected rhymes that elevate plain old verse to genuinely comic stature. Then again, plenty of downright hilarious poems don't employ any of these tricks. We all know how it feels, though, to be under the spell of a truly comic poem, and in The Nation's Favourite Comic Poems, we get the chance to feel it again and again.

Editor Griff Rhys Jones does an excellent job of bridging centuries, including classics side- by-side with lesser known gems. Here you'll find some of your all-time favourites by Lewis Carroll, Ogden Nash, Edward Lear and Shakespeare, as well as Louis MacNeice's little- known but ingeniously lyrical "Bagpipe Music".

Did you know Keats wrote at least one comic poem? Are you familiar with the "Ning Nang Nong", or the "Akond of Swat"? Do you know of "The Courtship of the Yonghy-Bonghy- Bo", or how the fish answered when asked, "O scaly, slippery, wet, swift, staring wights, / What is't you do? What life lead? eh, dull goggles? / How do you vary your vile days and nights? / How pass your Sundays? Are ya still but joggles / In ceaseless wash?" If you've ever tiptoed downstairs in the middle of the night for a taste of chocolate only to devour the entire cake, if you've ever had the urge to write:

TO SOMEONE WHO INSISTED I LOOK UP SOMEONE

I rang them up while touring Timbuctoo,
Those bosom chums to whom you're known as 'Who?'

View other editions of The Nation's Favourite Comic Poems.

Good Selection of Comic Poetry - Rated
There is a good selection of comic poetry on offer here and is a good addition to `The Nation's Favourite Poems'. Some of the best comic poets are in there including Spike Milligan, Lewis Carroll and even Pam Ayres (remember her excellent little limericks on BBC1?). You've also got the likes of comedienne Victoria Wood right through to John Donne, who is better known for his metaphysical poetry, as well as some lesser known poets and Anons. Good anthology and good value.

Tee Hee Hee - Rated
I sat in my local bookstore for a good half hour the other day just giggling at this book and recieving odd looks from other shoppers. This is great. OK, some of the entries are a little obscure, but I challenge anyone to read Roald Dahl's little red riding hood without smiling. Especially when it gets to "the small girl smiled, one eyelid flickered..." Pure Genius. This book is brilliant.

Tee Hee Hee - Rated
This is fantastic. OK, some entries are a little obscure, but I challenge anyone to sit and read Roald Dahl's Little Red Riding Hood and The Wolf without smiling. Especially at "The small girl smiles, one eyelid flickers...." Pure Genius. This is a brilliant book just to flick open when you have nothing better to do and have a good chuckle.

Patchy with some giggles - Rated
While there are occasional glimmers, the book was rather a disappointment. Old favourites like the 'November Pig' are there but many of the poems beg the question of why they are included at all, especially some of the song lyrics. A reasonable selection of off-beam verse, certainly, but not the gem I had hoped for.