Light poetry

While light poetry is sometimes condemned as doggerel or thought of as poetry composed casually, humor often makes a serious point in a subtle or subversive way. Many of the most renowned "serious" poets, such as Horace, Swift, Pope, and Auden, also excelled at light verse.

History

19th Century

Lord Byron's poem Beppo is an early and notable instance of light poetry in the 19th century, though other writers like Winthrop Mackworth Praed, Frederick Locker-Lampson, C. S. Calverley, and Austin Dobson were also influential in the Regency and Victorian eras of the genre. The limerick is perhaps the most recognizable form of comic or light poetry, with Edward Lear's The Book of Nonsense being a popular and influential example.