The two poems we read for class today were very interesting in of the fact that they both dealt with humor in two completely contrasting ways. "Columbus," by Ogden Nash, has this very prominent silliness to it with its choice of rhyming words (for example - "Italian" and "rapscallion," and "citronella" and "Isabella"), and a very innocent feel with the repetition of each line (besides the first) starting in and/so/but/because, kind of like one long run-on sentence.
In stark contrast, W.H. Auden's poem "Musee des Beaux Arts" contains more dry/cynical humor ("dogs go on with their doggy lives") and is written in a more adult way with the use of semicolons, colons, and a variety of connecting words. His description of the "Icarus" painting also brings about humor, but in sad sad way by bringing to light the sheer lack of concern the people in the painting pay to Icarus as he is drowning. It brings up the morbid truth about how little people care about other's troubles that is so hard to believe that one has no other choice but to to laugh at just how insane it is that it's actually true.
These two poems are nice polar opposites as to how to approach humor. It can either be playful and funny, or dry and outrageously blunt. I'd highly suggest the other Ogden Nash poems from the book as well. They're short, but worth a good laugh.
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