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comic biography

Genre
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

A humorous poetic account of a person’s life, mixing satire and biographical detail

Detailed Definition
Comic biography is a poetic subgenre that humorously recounts the life of a real or fictional character, blending biographical detail with satire, parody, or absurdity; it often employs exaggerated diction, ironic tone, and playful meter to critique cultural norms or celebrate eccentricity through a lighthearted lens.
Example
Example in poetry:
In Billy Collins’ “Litany,” playful self-deprecation (“You are not bread or wine”) forms comic biography through absurd metaphor; In Sharon Olds’ “The Race,” childhood memories of parental conflict are rendered with dark humor; In Denise Duhamel’s “Kinky,” Barbie and Ken explore sexuality in satirical comic biography; In Patricia Lockwood’s “Rape Joke,” traumatic memory is framed through ironic comic biography; In Ross Gay’s “Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude,” gardening mishaps and joy form tender comic biography.
Additional Notes
comic biography|A light-hearted or satirical poem, often narrative, that tells the life story or a significant episode in the life of a person; may employ devices like hyperbole and caricature.
Also Known As
comic life-story humorous biography satiric memoir Clerihew Clerihewic
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