doggerel
/'dɔgərəl/
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
- Noun:
- Comic verse of irregular measure: "Doggerel" refers to poorly written, trivial, or irregular poetry, often with a humorous or nonsensical intent. It is characterized by its lack of artistic merit, clumsy rhythm, and forced rhymes.
Usage
- Noun: Used to describe poetry that is considered crude, trivial, or artistically inferior. It often implies a humorous or satirical purpose, despite its technical flaws.
- The poet was embarrassed by the doggerel he wrote as a child.
- Political satire is sometimes expressed through clever doggerel.
Examples
- Noun:
- He amused his friends by reciting a piece of silly doggerel about the weather.
- The greeting card was filled with sentimental doggerel.
- Critics dismissed the poem as mere doggerel, unworthy of serious study.
Advanced Usage
- Used attributively: "Doggerel" can function as an adjective in some contexts, though "doggerel verse" is more common.
- The magazine published a doggerel competition for amateur writers.
- In literary criticism: The term is used to contrast with serious poetry, highlighting a work's technical deficiencies or trivial subject matter.
- The epic's few weak passages descend into unintentional doggerel.
Variants and Related Words
- Doggerelist (n, rare): A writer of doggerel.
- Doggerel verse: A more explicit phrase for poetry of this kind.
Synonyms
- Doggerel verse: The most direct synonym.
- Doggrel (n): An archaic or variant spelling.
- Jingle: Suggests a catchy, simple, and often trivial verse.
- Ditty: A short, simple song, which can sometimes be of poor quality.
- Dog-Latin: Analogous term for poorly constructed Latin.
Antonyms
- Poetry: In its general sense as serious, artistic verse.
- Verse: When implying skill and metrical regularity.
- Lyric: Suggests personal, expressive, and artistic poetry.
Idioms and Phrases
- To lapse into doggerel: To unintentionally start writing or speaking in a crude, rhyming style.
- The speaker, trying to be witty, lapsed into doggerel.
- Nothing but doggerel: A dismissive phrase indicating something has no literary value.
- His latest effort is nothing but doggerel.
Noun
- a comic verse of irregular measure
- he had heard some silly doggerel that kept running through his mind