History Main / AwkwardPoetryReading

* Zig-zagged in ''WesternAnimation/DespicableMe2''. The youngest of the three sisters, Agnes, who apparently doesn't remember their mom, has to recite a poem for her school's Mother's Day program and is dreading it. While practicing with Gru, she speaks in a monotone with a completely blank look on her face. He asks her to try it again with more feeling. She agrees, but it comes out *exactly* the same. At the end of the film though, she happily recites a slightly modified version at Gru and Lucy's wedding, with a look of love in her eyes.

Maybe the person wrote the poem themselves and it's bad due to [[PainfulRhyme trying to rhyme things that don't actually rhyme]] (perhaps because of the LeastRhymableWord), [[RhymingWithItself trying to rhyme a word with itself]], not scanning, being about a very weird subject (perhaps because the poet is a {{Cloudcuckoolander}}), the poet being [[TheDitz stupid]], [[NeverLearnedToRead illiterate]], GiftedlyBad, or [[ButtMonkey unlucky]] (whether [[TheChewToy played comedically]] or not), pronouncing words wrong, or having [[StrangeSyntaxSpeaker unusual syntax]] (e.g. "Like this, this sentence is written.")

*** One has the AccCentUponTheWrongSylLaBle ("I like to dance, I like to sing. I like smiling and laughing.")

* In Nugget's mission of ''VideoGame/{{Kindergarten}}'', he tasks the protagonist with giving Lily a love poem he wrote for her. Unfortunately, Lily can't read, so she asks Ms. Applegate to read it for her. Ms. Applegate obliges... by reading the poem out loud to the rest of the class. Nugget and Lily are both understandably humiliated, especially since the poem includes lines like "Nugget likes the Lily's hair / Nugget likes to smell her chair".

* ''Series/ABitOfFryAndLaurie'': In one of the sketches Hugh Laurie reads a poem:
-->'''Hugh:''' Underneath the bellied skies, Where dust and rain find space to fall, To fall and lie and change again, Without a care or mind at all For art and life and things above; In that, there, look just there, No right left up down past or future, We have but ourselves to fear.
-->'''Stephen:''' Hugh, you chose that poem. For God's sake why?

* ''Series/ABitOfFryAndLaurie'': In one of the sketches Hugh Laurie is reading a poem:
-->'''Hugh:''' Underneath the bellied skies, Where dust and rain find space to fall, To fall and lie and change again, Without a care or mind at all For art and life and things above;
In that, there, look just there, No right left up down past or future, We have but ourselves to fear.

* The poem "Elephony" makes comedic "mistakes", like making {{Spoonerism}}s ("An elephant who tried to use the telephant. No, no, I mean an elephone, who tried to use the telephone") or changing a word to make it rhyme (e.g. writing, "telephee" instead of "telephone" to rhyme it with "free").

* [[ZigZaggingTrope Zig-zagged]] in the ''WesternAnimation/{{Sixteen}}'' "Deadbeat Poets Society"

* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'': In "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS2E7BartVsThanksgiving Bart vs. Thanksgiving]]", Lisa channels her anger at Bart into a poem, "Literature/{{Howl}} of the Unappreciated". She tries to read it to her family, but gets five words in before they [[CoincidentalBroadcast notice Bart on a TV broadcast]] and push her aside indifferently.

* In ''VideoGame/NightInTheWoods'', Selmers spends a lot of her time writing up poetry, which she can recite to Mae. The poems are very basic, following a simplistic rhyming structure and are mostly about nothing. [[spoiler:Subverted later in the game when Mae has the option to listen to Selmers recite a poem at a meeting of the poetry society. It turns out Selmers is a ''very'' talented poet and she just saves her best material for the meetings.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/TheLoudHouse'': In the titular pilot short (retroactively named "Bathroom Break!!"), Lucy reads Lincoln (who [[PottyEmergency has to use the bathroom quite badly]]) a poem she made that compares love to water. Naturally, this does not help Lincoln's urgency one bit.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheLoudHouse'': In the titular pilot short (retroactively named "Bathroom Break"), Lucy reads Lincoln (who [[PottyEmergency has to use the bathroom quite badly]]) a poem she made that compares love to water. Naturally, this does not help Lincoln's urgency one bit.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheLoudHouse'': In the pilot episode "Bathroom Break", Lucy reads Lincoln (who [[PottyEmergency has to use the bathroom quite badly]]) a poem she made that compares love to water. Naturally, this does not help Lincoln's urgency one bit.

* While Strong Sad of WebAnimation/HomestarRunner fame is the resident poet, he's [[StylisticSuck quite bad at performing prose.]]
** In ''The Luau'' his supposed Polynesian Prose is just him mumbling faux Hawaiian straight from a book.
** After calling out Strong Bad's own subpar "lyrical rampage" in the Strong Bad Email of the same name, strong Sad attempts to show off his iambic pentameter, only for it to consist mostly of trochees instead of iambs (emphasis on the wrong syllable.)

** After calling out Strong Bad's own subpar "lyrical rampage" in the Strong Bad Email of the same name, strong Sad attempts to show off his imabic pentameter, only for it to consist mostly of trochees instead of iambs (emphasis on the wrong syllable.)

* ''Series/FraggleRock'': Toward the beginning of the episode "Boober Rock", Mokey tries to read Boober her latest poem, but he's too preoccupied with the noise of Fraggle Rock to want to listen. Later, after he's visited Gobo and heard from him about the "dull and quiet" Caves of Boredom, Mokey finds him and tries again to read him her poem.

'''Mokey:''' But... but, Boober... ''[A {{Beat}}.]'' You only heard half of it.

[[folder:Films - Animation]]

[[folder:Films - Live-Action]]

* ''Film/{{Orlando}}'' kicks off with the eponymous young nobleman performing "The Bower Of Bliss" before the visiting Queen Elizabeth I. It's a little stilted at first and made a tad strange by Orlando's rather evocative gestures, but it doesn't ''really'' become awkward until he reaches the bit about how the virgin rose "fades and falls away"... whereupon a distinctly miffed Elizabeth points out that the poem isn't exactly appropriate when addressed by a callow youth to a ''very'' old woman. It's so awkward, Orlando's father has to step in and apologise on his behalf. Elizabeth is able to use the faux pas as an excuse to take the young man as a favourite, eventually leading to her granting Orlando a very generous gift of land - [[OnOneCondition on the condition]] that [[ImmortalityInducer he does not fade or grow old]].

-->'''The Hitchhiker's Guide:''': ''Vogon poetry is of course the third worst in the universe. The second worst is that of the Azgoths of Kria. During a recitation by their poetmaster Grunthos the Flatulent of his poem "Ode to a Small Lump of Green Putty I Found in My Armpit One Midsummer Morning", four of his audience died of internal haemorrhaging and the President of the Mid-Galactic Arts Nobbling Council only survived by gnawing one of his own legs off. Grunthos was reported to have been "disappointed" by the poem's reception, and was about to embark on a reading of his 12-book epic entitled "Zen and the Art of Going to the Lavatory", when his own major intestine, in a desperate attempt to save lifekind, leapt straight up through his neck and throttled his brain. The very worst poetry of all, and its creator, Paula Nancy Millstone Jennings of Greenbridge, Essex, England, perished in the destruction of the planet Earth. Vogon poetry is mild by comparison.''

* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'': In the late 19th century, William Pratt was a meek, nebbish intellectual whose terrible poetry was roundly mocked by everybody who heard it. One recurring rhyme we hear is "My heart expands/'tis grown a bulge in it/inspired by your beauty/effulgent". A heckler at his poetry reading laughs that [[WouldRatherSuffer he'd rather have a railroad spike shoved through his head than listen to it again]]. Shortly thereafter, William is reborn as a vampire. Since it was established earlier in the series that his modus operandi involved torturing people with railroad spikes -- hence his nickname, "Spike" -- it's safe to say that heckler got what he asked for. Later subverted in the series finale of ''Series/{{Angel}}''; [[spoiler: after he turns good and spends a day preparing to die in the finale battle to prevent the apocalypse, he recites the same poem to a crowd of rough-looking bikers in a seedy bar...and they '''''love it'''''.]]

* In ''VideoGame/NightInTheWoods'', Selmers spends a lot of her time writing up poetry, which she can recite to Mae. The poems are very basic, following a simplistic rhyming structure and are mostly about nothing. [[spoiler: Subverted later in the game when Mae has the option to listen to Selmers recite a poem at a meeting of the poetry society. It turns out Selmers is a ''very'' talented poet and she just saves her best material for the meetings.]]

'''Boober:''' "Quiet world apart." I should have thought of this years ago! ''[Hurries off.]'' \\

* ''Series/TheMuppetShow'': The first season had two episodes where Rowlf tried to read poems he'd written, but something would always happen to disrupt the reading.

* ''Website/NotAlwaysLearning'': In [[https://notalwaysright.com/241815-2/241815/ this story]], the OP reads a poem to their English class, and it's about a boy [[{{Autocannibalism}} eating himself]]. The OP and the teacher are practically dying of laughter while the students look weirded out.
* ''Website/NotAlwaysRelated'': In [[https://notalwaysright.com/poetry-getting-a-frosty-reception/53981/ Poetry Getting a Frosty Reception]], the OP briefly reads a line from "The Road Not Taken" by Creator/RobertFrost. Their grandmother is confused because she's never heard of this guy, and she says she can't keep up with modern celebrities (not knowing that he's been dead for over fifty years).

*** In "Sacrifice Of Angels", O'Brien and Bashir start reciting Creator/AlfredLordTennyson's ''Charge Of the Light Brigade'', a dark poem about war, while in the middle of an actual battle with the Dominion. Nog nervously tells them that it's the wrong time.

*** In one episode, O'Brien and Bashir start reciting a dark poem about war, while in the middle of an actual battle with the Dominion. Nog nervously tells them that it's the wrong time.

* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'': In "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS4E18MaudPie Maud Pie]]", the eponymous rock-loving mare writes a poem that goes "Rock, you are a rock. Grey. You are grey, [[ShapedLikeItself like a rock]]. [[DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment Which you are]]."

* ''Series/SesameStreet'': In one sketch, Ernie tries to write a poem, but all he ends up doing is [[AlphabetSong reciting the alphabet]] in a very dramatic way.

* ''Film/TheGrandBudapestHotel'': M. Gustave has a habit of spouting poetry at odd moments, which eventually rubs off on Zero. The poems (and his delievery) aren't necessarily ''bad,'' but he sure picks some awkward moments to recite them, like when his entire hotel staff is waiting to eat, or [[DissonantSerenity when he's clinging to the side of an icy cliff while an assassin tries to kill him]].

* ''Series/TheGeorgeLopezShow'': One episode involved Carmen getting into slam poetry with a friend. Carmen's first attempt at writing poetry is a shallow love poem about how much she loves her boyfriend. Her friend encourages her to write angrier poetry based off of her personal struggles. When George, her father, is dismissive of her new hobby, Carmen uses this as inspiration for her poetry. However, he comes around and shows up at the poetry club to listen to her read her poem. The episode ends with him watching Carmen as she begins reciting the angry poem she wrote about him.

* ''VideoGame/PersonaQShadowOfTheLabyrinth'': [[{{Tsundere}} Marie]]'s main trait is that she writes poems (which she [[LessEmbarrassingTerm insists aren't poems]], but her "pathos" screaming out) that she doesn't want anyone reading. Her poems are always melodramatic and angsty, using flowery descriptions and metaphors to portray herself as lost and misunderstood. If anyone happens to read her poems without her knowing, she gets incredibly flustered and starts [[BigStupidDoodooHead calling them immature insults]]. This become story-relevant in the Group Date Cafe, where one of Marie's poems finds its way into the hands of the protagonists. Whoever "loses" the group date has to read it out loud as a punishment, and no matter who it is, everyone is baffled and uncomfortable by the end of it.

* ''Website/NotAlwaysLearning'': In [[https://notalwaysright.com/241815-2/241815/ this story]], the OP reads a poem to their English class, and it's about a boy [[{{Autocannibalism}} eating himself]]. The OP and the teacher are practically dying of laughter while the students look weirded-out.

* ''WesternAnimation/SpongebobSquarepants'': In "[[Recap/SpongeBobSquarePantsS5E9TheKrustySpongeSingASongOfPatrick Sing a Song of Patrick]]," Patrick reveals he has a [[WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes fear of public performance]] because of a traumatic experience he had reciting a poem in class. However, he recited it in the middle of gym class, and took being pelted with dodgeballs as a sign of rejection from his classmates.

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