Funny Poems in English: This article’s list is full of Long funny poems that are surprising, outrageous, and hard to forget. Although many of these poems are written with a younger audience in mind, they are not just for kids.
From Robert Louis Stevenson to Shel Silverstein, the poets take a humorous and creative approach to craft narratives, settings, characters and are not afraid to use nonsense language to make their verse all the more fun. Readers should assume to find humorous poems about fantastical daydreams, anthropomorphized animals, and much more.
Students can also check the English Summary to revise with them during exam preparation.
My Shadow, Written by Louis Stevenson
This poem is meant for children; it is written from the point of view of a young child who finds pleasure in the company of his own shadow. He is astonished to see how his shadow follows him everywhere. His innocent mind contemplates that the shadow is afraid of being lonely, and this is why he sticks to him all the time.
He is stunned to see that the shadow can get smaller and taller and sometimes invisible. The readers are attracted to this poem because of how the poet has captured a child’s imagination.
“I have a little shadow that goes in and out with me,
And what can be the use of him is more than I can see.
He is very, very like me from the heels up to the head;
And I see him jump before me when I jump into my bed
(…)”
Now We Are Six, Written by A. A. Milne
This poem is told from the view of a young child who takes the reader through the previous years of their life. The poem starts with a series of short lines that defines a speaker’s life, years one to five. Each year things advance a little for them. They become more and more the individual they are right now. Yet, it is not until they reach six years of age that they are content.
After reaching the age of six, they are happy to stay in that age forever. The child speaker feels as if they are as happy and clever as they could ever be and see no reason to age anymore.
“When I was one,
I had just begun.
When I was two,
I was nearly new.
(…)”
Edward Lear’s The Table And The Chair
‘The Table and the Chair’ is a five stanza poem from one of the master poets of nonsense poetry, Edward Lear. The poet personifies a table and a chair. These two objects speak to each other and make fun of each other’s characteristics and their different ability or inability to walk.
Everyone notices them as they make it into town with a “cheerful bumpy sound.” Ultimately, they get lost and are taken home. The various examples of half-rhyme and internal rhyme and the perfect end rhymes in these poems make it a pleasure to read. We have added few lines of how the Chair talks to the Table:
“Said the Chair unto the Table,
‘Now you know we are not able!
‘How foolishly you talk,
‘When you know we cannot walk!’
(…)”
Skin Stealer Written by Shel Silver stein
Shel Silverstein’s Skin Stealer was included in his 1981 collection Light in the Attic. This poem tells the story of a creature called a” coo-coo” that climbs into the narrator’s unzipped skin.
It was bare until it put on the “head/ That once belonged to me.” The speaker sees himself doing things that he would usually never do and asks that those involved do not take any offense.
“This evening I unzipped my skin
And carefully unscrewed my head
Exactly as I always do
When I prepare myself for bed.
(…)”
The ABC Written by Spike Milligan
Spike Milligan utilizes the ABCs in a creative, new, and undeniably funny way in this poem. He highlighted the shape of the letters and personified them. They talk to and criticize each other and argue over the littlest things.
“Said A to B, “I don’t like C;
His manners are a lack.
For all, I ever see of C
Is a semi-circular back!
(…)”
The People Upstairs, Written by Ogden Nash
Ogden Nash’s ‘The People Upstairs’ is a great example of his entertaining and quirky, funny writing style. This poem is a short nonsense poem that describes one narrator’s experience with his neighbors who lives upstairs.
The loud neighbors are doing tasks that he cannot imagine anyone would actually do. He paints a perception of them for the readers. His guesses are funny, outlandish, and sure to make you laugh out loud, such as they must be jumping on pogo sticks, making us of a bowling alley, and practicing ballet. But at the same time, the descriptions are very apt of what miscellaneous noise from other floors might sound like.
“The people upstairs all practice ballet
Their living room is a bowling alley
Their bedroom is full of conducted tours.
(…)”
Dirty Face, Written by Shel Silverstein
Silverstein’s Dirty Face has numerous funny descriptions from a child speaker about why their face is so dirty. The speaker’s parents ask them directly about what’s going on. They go through a varied range of adventures, fantasies, and probable and improbable answers to the query—these range from discovering the silver mines in the dark caves to eating blackberries right from the bush.
The poem ends with the child speaker reminding the parent that it does not matter what they have actually been doing; they’ve had more quality time than the parents have. Some of the lines that start off the child’s response to their guardian’s concern about them are given here.
“I got it from crawling along in the dirt
And biting two buttons off Jeremy’s shirt.
I got it from chewing the roots of a rose
And digging for clams in the yard with my nose.
(…)”
Eletelephony Written by Laura Elizabeth Richards
This poem is an upbeat, funny poem, even though a little lesser known than the other poems on this list. This poem describes an elephant through an outlandish series of events. The narrator starts the line, “Once there was an elephant.” The remaining of the poem is a funny play of words. The “ele” inside the word “elephant” is implanted into the words “telephone” and “trunk,” perplexing even the narrator at times. The last lines of the poem are given here:
“(…)
The more he tried to get it free,
The louder buzzed the telephee-
(I fear I’d better drop the song
Of elephop and telephong!)”
Cinderella, Written by Roald Dahl
‘Cinderella’ Written by Roald Dahl is an amusing retelling of the story that contains parts of the story found only in the actual Brothers’ Grimm version. This poetry is one of the longest poems present in this list, yet its quick pace makes it easier to read through. But some of the lines in the poems is not suitable for children, such as:
“She ran out in her underwear,
And lost one slipper on the stair.
The Prince was on it like a dart,
He pressed it to his pounding heart.
(…)”
If I Were King, Written by A. A. Milne
Milne’s If I Were King describes the humorous desires of a kid who is amusing himself by thinking about everything that a king is permitted to do that he is not. He undergoes several various countries and activities he would like to take part in or not take part in. these contain keeping wild animals such as elephants, not brushing his hair or wearing his hat, and thinking of “lovely things to do.” We have included the first two couplets in this article:
“I often wish I were a King,
And then I could do anything,
If only I were King of Spain,
I’d take my hat off in the rain.
(…)”
The Tiger Who Wore White Gloves, Written by Gwendolyn Brooks
Gwendolyn Brooks is not generally associated with funny poems, yet the poem ‘The Tiger Who Wore White Gloves’ certainly earns its title on this list of funny poems. This poem starts with the phrase, “There once was a tiger, terrible and tough.” The speaker decides that tigers, despite their stripes, are not “stylish enough.” The narrator looks for something “fine to wear” until he finds the white gloves. All the animals respond to this variation, laughing at him and shaming him until he takes off each glove.
“There once was a tiger, terrible and tough,
Who said, “I don’t think tigers are stylish enough.
They put on only orange and stripes of fierce black.
Fine and fancy fashion is what they mostly lack.
(…)”
On the Ning Nang Nong Written by Spike Milligan
Spike Milligan’s ‘On the Ning Nang Nong’ is one of the best instances of an amusing, astonishing and perplexing poem. The popular lines utilize nonsense language constantly to mimic sounds and create a whole world.
This poetry benefits greatly from being read out aloud because of its use of alliteration. The sounds of nonsense words are just half of the fun. Some of the funniest lines of the poem are given below:
“On the Ning Nang Nong
Where the Cows go Bong!
And the monkeys all say BOO!
There’s a Nong Nang Ning
Where the trees go Ping!
(…)”
A Word to Husbands Written by Ogden Nash
Ogden Nash’s ‘A word to Husbands’ describes relationships and what should be done to succeed in them. He talks about the themes of love, honesty, perseverance, and humility. The tone is light-hearted but direct, and the poem’s mood is genuine and uplifting, and humorous at the same time.
It is a simple four-line poem that talks about what a husband needs to do to keep his marriage strong and is addressed at men who want to continue their relationships with honesty and love. Here is the poem:
“To keep your marriage brimming
With love in the loving cup,
Whenever you’re wrong, admit it;
Whenever you’re right, shut up.”
Sneezles by A. A. Milne
This is one of the memorable and lovely poems of all the funny poems present in this list—Milne transport all the readers into Christopher Robin’s world. The poem starts with the narrator talking about Christopher’s illness and his parents put him to bed. He was suffering from what looked like a cold, but his parents overreacted and imagined that the illness was worse. They refer to numerous doctors who make the situation out to be more complex and nonsensical than it already was.
In the end, it is clear that Christopher is all good and is planning the next thing he’s going to do to amuse his parents. This refers to the fact that maybe he acted the whole time, which sure does entertain young audiences.
“Christopher Robin
Had wheezles
And sneezles,
They bundled him
Into
His bed.
(…)”
Messy Room, Written by Shel Silverstein
Silverstein’s “Messy Room” is one of the greatest poems on this list. The poet describes a very messy room in this poem and all the chaotic materials it has.
The speaker cries over the room’s state. There is underwear on a lamp and a wet raincoat on a cloth chair. The next lines talk about the misplaced papers and books, more clothes, and even skis under the TV.
“Whosever room this is should be ashamed!
His underwear is hanging on the lamp.
His raincoat is there in the overstuffed chair,
And the chair is becoming mucky and damp.
(…)”