Having a Joke

Comedy is, of course, a serious business. Ted Hughes once said that all poems are like animals with their own peculiar characters and habits, the one I'm working on now has decided to become a comic creature and this is displeasing its owner. It's on its hind legs in the corner, cocking-a-snook. The comedic poem is not an easy one, you could fall into the danger of foghorn rhyming couplets or just plain naffness. Then there's the type of reaction you want, do you what a listener to smile, say a wry smile because of your deftness of wit or do you want people to really laugh? (Laugh with, obviously...) Plus, who tries to be funny? The magazines are full of earnest things, well mostly. I don't care, let's try it out, it doesn't hurt.