Crafting a Humorous Folk Poetry Essay

WRITING A HUMOROUS FOLK POEM, concise version 1

WRITING A HUMOROUS FOLK POEM, concise version 2

A. BASIC KNOWLEDGE

I. Folk Poem 1

1. Ridiculed Subjects
- The folk poem is a self-deprecating laughter of the common people about themselves.
- This laughter reflects an optimistic spirit. In poverty, people are not discouraged or complaining but remain optimistic and love life. It shows a desire to rise above reality, a strong belief in life. Laughter demonstrates the love for life and the zest for living.

2. Form of Folk Poetry
- The folk poem is written in the form of 'lục bát,' rich in rhythm, suitable for singing.
- The folk poem is divided into two parts: the words of the young man and the words of the young woman.
- The theme of the folk poem revolves around the act of proposing, specifically leading to marriage.

3. Art of Laughter
- The sophistication, exaggeration: leading elephants, leading buffaloes, leading cows, ...
- The contrast: + leading elephants - afraid of the national ban.
+ leading buffaloes - afraid of cold blood.
+ leading cows - afraid of muscle strain.
+ leading pigs and chickens - sweet potatoes
- Diminishing expressions: + from elephants - buffaloes - cows - mice (young man)
+ from large tubers - small tubers - mesmerizing tubers - rhyme tubers, tubers ha (girl)
+ from inviting the village - relatives - children - piglets, chickens.

4. Space in Folk Poetry
– From elephants to mice, sweet potatoes, from the nation, villagers to pigs, chickens... This diminishing expression has covered a vast space.
- The narrower the diminishing expression, the more the reader laughs and deeply perceives the poverty of the young couple and their optimistic joy in poverty.

5. Content of the girl's marriage challenge: 'My house challenges to marry with a house of sweet potatoes
'
- The marriage challenge shows that the girl understands the hardship of the young man.
- Demonstrates simplicity, contentment, and love for life.
- The girl doesn't need luxurious gifts but values the sincerity of the young man.
- Not feeling ashamed of poverty, both the young man and the girl are very optimistic. Therefore, the poem's words are humorous and adorable.

II. Folk Poems 2, 3, 4

1. Ridiculed Subjects in the Folk Poems
- Ridiculed subjects: young men, husbands, wives.
- The subjects of mockery are not self-deprecating, as in poem 1, but independent entities in the poems.

2. Purpose of Laughter
- Ridiculing the bad habits of humans:
+ The weak young man to the point of not being able to carry two sesame seeds.
+ The husband without the will to progress only lingers around the kitchen.

3. Characteristics of Laughter in Poems 2, 3
- Exaggeration technique: two sesame seeds are so heavy that the young man has to exert all his strength to carry them.
- Contrast technique (opposition):
+ Bending the back to support the pillow, carrying - two sesame seeds
+ Going backward and forward - sitting by the stove, touching the cat's tail.

4. Humorous Portrait of the Wife in Folk Poem 4
- Appearance: eighteen-nose hole carrying hair.
- Habit: loud snoring...
- Bad trait: fond of gifts.
- Messy lifestyle (trash on the head).
- In real life, rarely does any woman possess all these bad habits. Therefore, it's enough to bring laughter.

5. Artistic Techniques Creating Laughter in Folk Poem 4
- Exaggeration technique: eighteen-nose hole carrying hair.
- Contrast technique: despite many bad habits, the husband still loves.
+ Many nose holes with hair - a gift from the heavens.
+ Loud snoring... - snoring for home entertainment.
+ Fond of gifts - saves on meals.
+ Trash and straw together - fragrant flowers scattered on the head.
- Repetition technique: beloved husband... beloved husband... .

6. Artistic Techniques Commonly Used in Humorous Folk Poetry
- Details, images,... with high typicality.
- Exaggeration, contrast, opposition...
- Repetition, escalation, diminishing, exaggeration.

B. ANSWERING QUESTIONS, EXERCISES

1. Share your thoughts on the girl's marriage challenge
- It's a self-deprecating laughter of the working class, reflecting an optimistic spirit without feeling self-conscious about their current deprived life.

2. Collect humorous folk poems criticizing laziness, carelessness in gift-giving, fortune tellers,...
1. Walking with a swagger on the street
Asking my wife, 'Is my forehead wrinkled?'
2. Husband goes to China, returns to the lake
My husband sits by the stove, roasting corn, burning his pants.
3. Being a good man to be a real man
Eating rice with the wife, complaining and scraping the pot.

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WRITING A HUMOROUS FOLK POEM, concise version 3

I. Guide to Writing

You can organize the four folk poems into two groups:
- Group of self-deprecating laughter: poem number 1.
- Group of satirical laughter, criticizing society: poems 2, 3, 4.

Question 1:
a. Marrying and wedding ceremonies are significant and meaningful events in everyone's life. They are usually well-prepared and meticulous. However, the marriage proposal and challenge here are quite unusual. In fact, they are two acts of self-deprecating about the poverty of the working class.
- The words of the young man: To marry you, the young man had grand plans. He wanted a splendid wedding, but due to objective reasons, his plans couldn't be realized.

• Want to lead elephants --> afraid of national ban
• Want to lead buffaloes --> afraid of cold blood
• Want to lead cows --> afraid of her family having muscle strain

It's not that the young man doesn't want to make an extravagant gift for the girl's family, but because he worries and cares about their health. In the end, he decides:

'As long as there's a four-legged creature
Lead a chubby mouse, invite the people, invite the village'

--> The reasoning of the young man is clever, humorous, and adorable.
- The girl's response is also... not quite right. Challenging to marry with 'a house of sweet potatoes' might seem easy, but it's like making things difficult. However, the crucial point is not here but in the fact that the girl understands the 'circumstances' of her family and the young man's family... they are similar. And in this case, a 'house of sweet potatoes' is more than enough for the wedding.
- Through the marriage challenge and the marriage proposal, we can see that the farmers here use their own poverty to jest. The laughter is directed at themselves, but it is also a way for them to forget the hardship, be optimistic about life, and desire to live more.

b. The folk poetry possesses a whimsical and adorable humor thanks to artistic elements:
- The exaggerated, elaborate style of expression: leading elephants, buffaloes, cows, sweet potatoes...
- Gradual reduction in expression:
elephants --> buffaloes --> cows --> mice
big tubers --> small tubers --> cracked tubers --> rhyme tubers, taro tubers.
- Contrasting, negating expressions:
lead elephants/ fear national ban
lead buffaloes/ fear cold blood
lead cows/ fear her family having muscle strain
lead pigs and chickens/ sweet potatoes
- Humorous details, rich imagination:
'As long as there's a four-legged creature
Lead a chubby mouse, invite the people, invite the village'

Câu 2:
Compared to the laughter in the first poem, the laughter in poems 2, 3, 4 is a mocking, satirical laughter, criticizing society. It targets the bad habits of a part of the people.
- Poem 2. Ridicules weak men, unworthy of being strong. The folk poetry uses the method of elaboration, exaggeration, along with the contrasting technique to create a humorous and mocking laughter. The humor lies in the fact that the folk poetry constructs the image of a young man trying his best (bending his back to support his knee) just to 'carry two sesame seeds.'
- Poem 3. Ridicules lazy men. No ambition. The folk poetry uses the method of comparison, highlighting the contrast between the 'husband of others' and the 'husband of mine,' making the compared man appear extremely laughable and pathetic. The image of the man 'sitting by the stove touching the cat's tail' is representative of lazy men, just sitting around at home, relying on their wives.
- Poem 4 ridicules arrogant, ungraceful women. The laughter of the folk poetry is once again mainly built on the art of exaggeration and the rich associations of the folk author. Behind the humorous, entertaining laughter, the folk author still wants to express a gentle sarcasm towards the type of women who are arrogant and ungraceful - a type of person not absent from society.

Câu 3:
The artistic techniques commonly used in humorous folk poetry:
Emphasis, exaggeration, contrasting opposition.
Depiction of characters with highly representative characteristics.
Use of everyday language but profound and profound.
Many unique, unexpected, interesting associations.

II. Practice
Câu 1:
The challenge to marry by the girl: 'My house challenges to marry with a house of sweet potatoes' is a clever, intelligent response. As analyzed above, the girl not only doesn't feel self-conscious but also accepts poverty, showing joy and interest in the marriage challenge (even if it's just a response between a man and a woman in folk songs)
This marriage challenge is the laughter of the working people. It emphasizes the beauty of the soul, the carefree, innocence, and optimistic love of life in them, even in poverty.

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