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Circus & Carnival Prompt: Circus Animals

By Heather Eure 14 Comments

circus_&_animals
The year 1871 was the bellweather moment for the American circus when P.T. Barnum debuted his Museum, Menagerie & Circus. They featured exotic animals from all over the world, and visitors were first guided through the menagerie before entering the big top to find their seats. This was part of an educational outreach to draw crowds. People flocked to see the animals and shows but Barnum quickly discovered they were running out of room and needed to turn people away. To solve this problem he added a second and then third ring which allowed more visitors at any given performance.

It was an extravagance of performance and spectacle which drew upon Barnum’s philosophy, “Why send out a minnow when a whale will do?”

Today, the circus is still a popular scene, though it became necessary to re-evaluate its relationship to exotic animals. The circus has since changed many aspects of the show in order to blend with the mores of today. There’s a renewed emphasis on the artistic presentation of an act rather than spectacle. The Big Apple Circus works exclusively with domesticated animals and Cirque du Soleil doesn’t feature animals at all. However, there is a market that still loves the traditional three-ring animal circus and The Greatest Show on Earth.

Try It

Write a poem about the different types of circus animals, the animal parade of the traveling circus, or an original circus menagerie. Consider writing from the perspective of a child. The wonder of lights, color, and thrilling circus animals.

Featured Poem

In last week’s poetry prompt, Rick shared a witty poem inspired by The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock by T.S. Eliot:

The Love Song of Alfred’s Fried Quickdogs

Se ho creduto che ho detto
una persona non dovrebbe tornare a questo
corridoio, La fiamma padella non necessita più di me.
Ma perché burro fritto colpisce profondamente, non posso
resistere al ritorno qui, è vero, senza timore di coronarie proclamo

Let us go then, you and I,
Where the Ferris wheel circles into the sky,
Like a funnel cake upright in my fingers;
Let us go where vendors deep-fry treats,
Of butter and fat meats
And restless crowds spend hours as if some spells
Were cast on them in the House of Haunts,
A curse that followed them insisting
on the penitents of Lent
And the silliness of nutritional type question,
Oh do not ask, “Will it make me sick?”
It’s like a corndog fried in Bisquick..

At the restrooms people come and go,
Holding their stomachs and moaning ohhhhh.

—by Rick Maxson

Photo by glasseyes view, Creative Commons via Flickr.

Browse more Circus & Carnival poems
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  • Author
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Heather Eure
Heather Eure
Heather Eure has served as the Poetry Editor for the late Burnside Collective and Special Projects Editor for us at Tweetspeak Poetry. Her poems have appeared at Every Day Poems. Her wit has appeared just about everywhere she's ever showed up, and if you're lucky you were there to hear it.
Heather Eure
Latest posts by Heather Eure (see all)
  • Poetry Prompt: Misunderstood Lion - March 19, 2018
  • Animate: Lions & Lambs Poetry Prompt - March 12, 2018
  • Poetry Prompt: Behind the Velvet Rope - February 26, 2018

Filed Under: Animal Poems, Blog, Circus & Carnival, poetry prompt, poetry teaching resources, Themed Writing Projects, writing prompts

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Comments

  1. Glynn says

    August 17, 2015 at 9:05 am

    And the acrobats come and go
    singing of Michaelangelo

    Reply
    • Heather Eure says

      August 17, 2015 at 11:26 am

      haha *snort!* (high fives Glynn)

      Reply
    • Bethany R. says

      August 22, 2015 at 9:17 pm

      Oh, fun!

      Reply
  2. Maureen says

    August 17, 2015 at 10:30 am

    Their hair like streamers,
    so few were left dreamers
    while upside down. Such
    clowns! No more booted,
    they hooted and rooted
    just once before touching,
    then clutching cleared ground.

    Reply
    • Heather Eure says

      August 17, 2015 at 12:03 pm

      Love this, Maureen.

      Reply
    • Rick Maxson says

      August 18, 2015 at 9:53 am

      There was always a fence,
      but with the red and gold tent
      gone, the wire waffles the wide shorn field
      into something foreign and forbidden
      to a child—the gate closed,
      the grayscale body of a sycamore
      all that remains of a dream.

      Reply
      • Bethany R. says

        August 22, 2015 at 9:17 pm

        This is lovely, Rick.

        Reply
    • Bethany R. says

      August 22, 2015 at 9:18 pm

      I can see it: “hair like streamers”

      Reply
  3. Rick Maxson says

    August 17, 2015 at 11:02 am

    Thank you for featuring this. Poor Mr. Eliot is now turning over in his grave a second time.

    Glynn and Maureen you may have started an add-on….

    Reply
    • Maureen says

      August 17, 2015 at 1:23 pm

      Yes, we did, Rick. I hope others will add to it.

      Reply
  4. Sandra Heska King says

    August 18, 2015 at 10:18 am

    Rick, I LOVE your tribute to TSE and JAP! Too funny.

    Reply
  5. Robbie Pruitt says

    August 22, 2015 at 11:08 pm

    Circus Ark

    Boxcars clank along
    Miles of track
    As long as the stretch
    Between cities and towns

    On the sides, faded clowns
    The smell of manure wafts
    As car after car bellows
    Sounds of wild fellows

    The trumpet of elephants
    The roar of lions and tigers
    The howl and bark of dogs
    And the neigh of horses

    The stretch of train
    Filled like Noah’s Ark
    Evoking our expectation
    As they began to disembark

    © August 22, 2015, Robbie Pruitt

    Reply
  6. Candy says

    August 23, 2015 at 8:26 am

    Trainer

    Gray and wrinkled my
    best friend waits patiently
    each morning for my arrival
    We spend the day doing routine
    chores and rote tasks, sharing
    lunch and secrets – all leading
    to our shining hour when we don
    our sparkling tiaras and step
    into the spotlights
    Gently my friend lowers her
    majestic trunk and I step on
    rising into the air to sit astride her back – wondering all the while who
    has been trained

    Reply
  7. Candy says

    August 25, 2015 at 11:56 am

    Noble pachyderm
    Adorned with sparkling jewels
    Doing circus tricks

    Reply

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