Nonsense Poems
Nonsense Poems is a contemporary collection of nonsense verse and whimsical poetry by UK poet Max Scratchmann. From the surreal to the silly, Max's poems follow in the footsteps of Lewis Carroll, Edward Lear and Ogden Nash, the pioneers of nonsense verse. At the same time, the collection breaks new ground, tackling the absurdities of modern life and introducing new sub-genres, such as romantic and erotic nonsense verse.
What is nonsense verse?
It's easier to recognise nonsense verse than it is to define it. There is, however, some consensus that the defining characteristics of nonsense verse include:
- Absurd or incongruous juxtapositions
- The use of meaningless made-up words
- Muddled, inverted, misused or abused grammar
- Strange characters, often with peculiar names
- Fantastical situations or impossible locations
- A conventional metre and rhyming scheme
- A humorous, comic or whimsical tone
The problem is that as soon as you try to define or dissect nonsense verse, it turns to dust. Nonsense poems are to be read and enjoyed, rather than pawed and pondered over.
Finding your way around
The poems have been classified, wherever classification was possible, by subject. This initial sheep and goats exercise gave collections of poems about love, sex, disease and death. The remaining poems were then divided into pure nonsense verse, for the clean, wholesome, family-friendly poems and rude rhymes, which contains the darker, dirtier poems.
More poems, less nonsense
The Nonsense Poems website is an offshoot of Peculiar Poetry, a collection of conventional funny poems to which Max contributes. The navigation of the two sites is integrated, meaning that you can skip easily between the two collections, or get hopelessly lost. To get to the Peculiar Poetry collection choose the funny poems button in the main navigation and to return to the Nonsense Verse collection, choose nonsense poems. Try and mix the two, as an undiluted diet of nonsense poems can have unforeseen, and often unpleasant, consequences.
