Nonsense verse
Nonsense verse is a form of poetry, normally composed for humorous effect, which is paradoxical, silly, witty, whimsical or just plain strange. However not all humorous verse is nonsense. For instance a poem like
- Algy saw the bear.
- The bear saw Algy.
- The bear was bulgy.
- The bulge was Algy.
- The elephant is a bonnie bird.
- It flits from bough to bough.
- It makes its nest in a rhubarb tree
- And whistles like a cow.
There is a long tradition of nonsense verse in English, Many limericks for instance. Among the poets noted for nonsense verse are Edward Lear, Lewis Carroll, Ogden Nash and Spike Milligan.
