Favourite Poet

If you were one of the many who have disliked poetry and writing from young, the last thing you would want to be would be a writer or poet. Well, that is exactly what Jack Prelutsky did.

The reason I chose this poet is because he writes funny and humorous poems (you can see in my previous post) which I enjoy reading and devotes his time to help children. I will elaborate further in the following paragraphs.

Let me give you a brief biography of his life. Jack was born in Brooklyn in 1940. As mentioned earlier, Jack hated poetry through most of his childhood, which I think is quite common in kids these days. However, he rediscovered it later in his life (not so common). This is what he said “I realized poetry was a means of communication, that it could be as exciting or as boring as that person or that experience."

He has written thirty collections of children’s poetry from the 1970s up to now. He now spends most of the time presenting poems to children in schools and libraries. His contribution to children should not be underestimated. He does not stop at writing poems for them. He also teaches them how to write some themselves. You can see some of his work on his website (http://www.jackprelutsky.com/). It is very informative. For example, if you want to know how to write a funny poem click here.

Below are 3 of his poems:

Happy birthday, Mother dearest,
we made breakfast just for you,
a watermelon omelette,
and a dish of popcorn too,
a cup of milk and sugar,
and a slice of blackened toast,
happy birthday, Mother dearest,
you’re the one we love the most.

As soon as Fred gets out of bed,
his underwear goes on his head.
His mother laughs, "Don't put it there,
a head's no place for underwear!"
But near his ears, above his brains,
is where Fred's underwear remains.

At night when Fred goes back to bed,
he deftly plucks it off his head.
His mother switches off the light
and softly croons, "Good night! Good night!"
And then, for reasons no one knows,
Fred's underwear goes on his toes.

My mother says I’m sickening,
my mother says I’m crude,
she says this when she sees me,
playing Ping-Pong with my food,
she doesn’t seem to like it
when I slurp my bowl of stew,
and now she’s got a list of things
she says I mustn’t do-

DO NOT CATAPULT THE CARROTS!
DO NOT JUGGLE GOBS OF FAT!
DO NOT DROP THE MASHED POTATOES
ON THE GERBIL OR THE CAT!
NEVER PUNCH THE PUMPKIN PUDDING!
NEVER TUNNEL THROUGH THE BREAD!
PUT NO PEAS INTO YOUR POCKET!
PLACE NO NOODLES ON YOUR HEAD!
DO NOT SQUEEZE THE STEAMED ZUCCHINI!
DO NOT MAKE THE MELON OOZE!
NEVER STUFF VANILLA YOGURT
IN YOUR LITTLE SISTER’S SHOES!
DRAW NO FACES IN THE KETCHUP!
MAKE NO LITTLE GRAVY POOLS!

I wish my mother wouldn’t make
so many useless rules.

From all this we can see how these poems can be easily understood by children and the lyrics are very catchy. The situations are what children can identify with. These poems can easily make children love poetry (but maybe not write.)

In conclusion, I feel that Jack is a great poet. His way of writing truly interacts with his audience—kids.

Citations

www.jackprelutsky.com/

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Prelutsky

www.poets.org/jprel/

famouspoetsandpoems.com/poets/jack_prelutsky

Figurative Language

Be Glad Your Nose is on Your Face by Jack Prelutsky

Be glad your nose is on your face,
not pasted on some other place,
for if it were where it is not,
you might dislike your nose a lot.

Imagine if your precious nose
were sandwiched in between your toes,
that clearly would not be a treat,
for you'd be forced to smell your feet.

Your nose would be a source of dread
were it attached atop your head,
it soon would drive you to despair,
forever tickled by your hair.

Within your ear, your nose would be
an absolute catastrophe,
for when you were obliged to sneeze,
your brain would rattle from the breeze.

Your nose, instead, through thick and thin,
remains between your eyes and chin,
not pasted on some other place--
be glad your nose is on your face!

1)How is figurative language used in this poem? Give the specific word(s), explain what type of figurative language it is and why the poet chose to use this figurative language?

Figurative Language is used at times the poem in its various types (hyperbole, personification, simile, symbols except metaphor). I shall elaborate below.

Hyperbole--Used to invoke an emotion or image. In this poem, the writer exaggerates the fact that if your nose is within your ear, your brain will rattle from the breeze, this may not be true but is used to create an image in the reader of a person shaking with a nose of his/her head.

Personification--An example of personification is when the writer uses the phrase tickled by your hair. Tickling is a human action but it is hair that is doing it, this is known as personification.

Simile--An example of a simile is when the author uses the words "for if it were where it not". The author is using it to elaborate on the previous line about the nose being pasted somewhere else.

Symbols--This poem may be an allegory of a human life. We usually fail to be thankful about a lot of things and always think that the grass is greener on the other side of the fence.

2)Tell us why you like this poem in no less than 100 words.

I enjoy this poem as the author of this poem makes this poem meaningful and it also rhymes well. It reminds to be thankful that our body parts, not just the nose, are placed well on our body so that we would not have the difficulties as mentioned in this poem.

Another reason I like this poem is that the author uses modern English language to write the poem, unlike many other poems which uses the “thou”s and “thee”s. Not many authors are able to compose like the author of this poem Jack Prelutsky. The way he uses language makes his poems exciting and interesting. That is why I like this poem.