Aspects of comedy - Text overview - The Poetry Anthology (Comedy) - Teacher planning starting point

Oct 20, 2026

Resource explains how The Poetry Anthology (Comedy) can be approached through multiple comedic aspects, providing an introductory overview for teacher thinking and lesson planning. It emphasizes that all poems must be studied because together they offer a multidimensional understanding of the genre and support students in selecting relevant texts for questions. It highlights comedy beyond humour, including satire, conceits, critique of gender and relationships, animal and mythical mockery, and theatrical first-person voices, with poem-focused examples.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryExam

FormatPDF

Pages8

Reading Time20 min

AccessFree to download

Aspects of comedy

The Poetry Anthology (Comedy) as a series of snapshots

Teaching all poems and selecting relevant aspects

Comedy as more than humour

Example: “The Flea” - John Donne

Example: Satirical elegy on the death of a late famous general - Jonathan Swift

Aspects of comedy: Text overview-The Poetry Anthology (Comedy) This resource is an explanation of some of the ways this text can be considered in relation to the genre of comedy. This document is intended to provide a starting point for teachers in their thinking and planning in that it gives an introductory overview of how the text can be considered through the lens of comedy. We haven’t covered every element of this genre. It is hoped this will provide a useful starting point and a springboard for thinking about the text in more detail. The Poetry Anthology (Comedy)– a series of snapshots of the genre The Poetry Anthology (Comedy) has been put together to exemplify ‘aspects’ of the genre. There is no attempt to claim that each individual poem is itself an example of a complete ‘comedy’. However, as a collection, this anthology provides students with a range of aspects which together will give an understanding of the wider genre. In teaching this text, schools and colleges must realise that all the poems need to be taught because together they offer a multidimensional vision of comedy. Students could be asked to write about one named poem, or refer to one or two others in their response, and must therefore study all poems. The question will target an ‘aspect’and therefore, students will need to select wisely to ensure they are making the best use of the text. The key is to select relevant poems in terms of the question that is being asked. Schools and colleges might choose to study some of the poems as an introduction to Aspects of comedy and this could also be good preparation for the poetry requirement for the NEA, though schools and colleges are reminded that students cannot use any of the set poetry texts for the examined units in the NEA. Comedy is a multifaceted and complex genre that is about so much more than simply creating humour. That is not to say that comic elements are not to be found in this anthology. Indeed, students will no doubt find much that is humorous in a number of the poems, but they will also need to see the importance of other comedic aspects, the expectations and subversions of ideas about: gender, romance, marriage, sex and bawdiness, human behaviour and human culture. Students will also see poets attacking human foibles and weaknesses through satire and comic portraiture; they will see the clever display of conceits and intellectual arguing; the use of animals, insects and mythical creatures to mock human behaviour and human relationships; interesting comedic resolutions; and the joy writers show in the voices they choose, the organisation of their ideas and their use of language. The comedy in all of the poems has clear links with comedic drama and stand-up comedy, created largely through first person speakers. The Flea– John Donne The title of this poem suggests that some fun is to be had here. In the poem, which is in fact a love poem, Donne uses the most unlikely of conceits – the human flea – to persuade his mistress to engage in premarital sex. The use of this insect as a vehicle in his argument to further sexual relations between a young male speaker and his mistress is comical in its absurdity, and even though human fleas were part of the fabric of normal 17th century life, and unlikely to provoke the squeamishness that modern western audiences might feel about them, Donne knew there was something audacious about focusing on a flea to celebrate love. There is further comedy in the narrative of the poem which is intensely theatrical and packed with dramatic incident. The flea, a central character in the drama, has just bitten both the speaker and his lover and what follows is an amusing altercation over whether the pair will consummate their relationship. The speaker wants to, his lover apparently does not. The narrator who is a young intellectual, like Donne himself, cleverly uses the flea in the construction of his argument. In the opening stanza he exhorts his listener

FAQs

What is the purpose of this comedy-focused poetry resource?

It provides teachers with a starting point for thinking and planning by introducing how the anthology can be considered through the lens of comedy, without covering every element of the genre.

Why must students study all poems in The Poetry Anthology (Comedy)?

The anthology is used to offer a range of comedic aspects, and students are expected to select wisely for an ‘aspect’ question, so the best use of the text requires studying all poems.

How does the resource describe comedy in these poems?

Comedy is presented as multifaceted and complex, extending beyond humour to include satire, challenges to expectations about gender and relationships, mockery through animals or mythical creatures, and theatrical effects often created by first-person speakers.

Oct 20, 2026

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