Rhyme as a form of storytelling has persisted throughout history. From epic poems to nursery rhymes to music of all kinds, our society has always found something appealing in the symmetry and rhythm of words. In recent years, we have seen rhyme primarily used in music. But what about comedy?
Who is the jester?
Luke Preute (@lukepre) is the new jester of TikTok, amusing viewers with his wacky turns of phrase. It all started when he posted a video of himself “trying to rhyme for as long as I can,” and it went viral, gaining over 10 million views.
People were both bewildered and charmed by Luke’s imaginative rhymes, which he recited in tandem with erratic body movements. Viewers joked that Luke’s shifty movements were part of the spell he was casting to summon the rhymes. (“Are the movements necessary for this to work or…” one commenter questioned.) His beige hooded sweater, along with the constant motion, quickly became staples of the rhyming series.
Over the course of the series, a few people compared Luke to a jester, which, believe it or not, is actually not that much of a stretch. Dating back to medieval times, jesters were professional entertainers who amused the royal court with witty jokes and songs. They were expert storytellers and often spoke of familiar, relevant topics that kept the audience engaged. They were also uniquely positioned to critique and poke fun at those in power without facing backlash.
In true jester spirit, Luke often brings at least one pop culture reference into his rhyming videos. For instance, he dropped the line, “Have you ever been seen at the Wicked movie? / Did it make you feel happy, did it make you feel groovy?” around the time the second Wicked movie was released. He’s also pulled in references to Clairo, Snooki, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Yanny vs. Laurel, and Katseye.
Luke’s rhymes are sometimes completely silly and nonsensical. They almost always start with “have you ever,” but the predictability stops there. Take, for example, “Have you ever been punched by a Pizza Hut worker? / Have you ever been labeled a no-good twerker?” Then out of nowhere, he’ll pull out a rhyme that’s surprisingly profound, like, “Have you ever been present at the moment of a birth? / Have you ever contemplated a soul’s true worth?” That kind of range adds to the thrill of his videos. You truly never know what to expect.
Rhyming techniques
What makes Luke’s rhymes so interesting, even addictive, to listen to?
Despite the unpredictability of his rhymes, content-wise, the structure is actually fairly consistent. The videos are always made up of a series of couplets (a couplet is a pair of two consecutive lines of verse with a rhyming word at the end). Both lines in each couplet tend to start with “Have you ever.”
Whether intentional or not, each half of the couplet also tends to have about the same number of syllables, which creates a sense of flow, like true poetry. The rhythm is steady and satisfying to listen to. Sometimes he mixes it up, with lines like, “Have you seen a clock / at the bottom of a rock / telling jokes, knock knock / were you wearing a frock?” or at one point, barking maniacally in the middle of a line. But even the barks are on-beat, forming the right amount of syllables.
Luke clearly has a knack for rhyming. His skill is remarkable enough that viewers have compared him to famous poets like Dr. Seuss, Edgar Allen Poe, and Shakespeare (as wildly different as these figures are).
Theatrical roots
The jester of TikTok does more than just rhyme. A few people requested musical numbers, such as “Mother Knows Best” from Tangled, and Luke’s entertaining rendition showcased his impressive range of skills. He enriched the song with all sorts of vocal embellishment, hinting at a strong potential for voice acting and prompting viewers to plead for his Broadway debut.
The way Luke chants with his hood over his head definitely gives the performance a theatrical flair. It’s reminiscent of the dramatics that come from turning off the lights and holding a flashlight under your face to tell a spooky story.
Luke’s hand gestures, choice of garments, and occasionally guttural, throaty voice all conjure up images of the classic fictional villain. How many villains have you seen in film or animation, cackling from behind a hood pulled so low over their face that their eyes are hidden, revealing only their evil smile? He even plays into this aspect in another one of his videos, separate from the series, where he practices his evil laugh.
These are all talents well suited for a jester, but they’re also prime for the stage. Exaggerated movements, expressions, and voices are all features seen in theater, where performers need to make a lasting impression on audience members, even those watching from the farthest seats.
Despite the zany flair to his TikTok performances, it’s evident that Luke has a great voice. Some viewers questioned whether he was a “theater kid,” which he seemed to avoid answering. After a period of silence on the subject, he posted an onstage performance clip showing his true skills, without the silly mannerisms for once. He proved to be an incredibly talented singer.
Joining the fun
Rhyming is difficult. The fact that Luke is able to come up with such interesting and creative rhymes is part of what makes it entertaining to watch (along with his eccentric delivery). That’s only made more evident by the difficulties other people had when trying to jump on the trend.
As of now, Luke has posted eighteen parts to the rhyming series, with the most popular being part 2, which is currently sitting at 16.8 million views. The engagement was enthusiastic, and other people soon began responding with their own rhyming videos. Following in Luke’s footsteps, the copycat jesters take videos of themselves wearing hoods (or blankets) over their heads to cover their faces, moving around constantly, and chanting rhymes.
The response has been lively, to say the least.
Many of the copycat videos expanded on the original format to include two people, with one person starting the couplet and the other completing it.
Some copycats proved themselves masters of spontaneous rhyme, while others struggled to string a few lines together. Try it yourself, and you might just find your mind going blank as you scour your brain for even the simplest of rhyming words. It’s not as easy as Luke makes it seem!
The power of rhyme
Rhyming has its roots in ancient human traditions, when stories were told orally, and rhyming made them easier to remember. Middle English narratives were often told in rhyming verse, as seen in Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales. Lyrical poetry has persisted all the way from then to now. And rhyme reflects the power of our expansive language.
It may be a joke when Ron Weasley attempts the spell, “Sunshine, daisies, butter mellow, turn this stupid, fat rat yellow,” but this kind of rhyme has long been associated with the casting of enchantments. It conjures images of witches hunched over cauldrons, chanting mysterious rhyming spells, like the classic “double, double, toil and trouble.” The most iconic magic word of all time, abracadabra, doesn’t just happen to rhyme by coincidence. Rhymes were associated with sorcery, something mythical and powerful.
Beyond the mystical and magical, rhyming was used throughout history for all forms of linguistic entertainment, both serious and comedic. And when you think about it, rhyming has a lot of potential for comedy. Nursery rhymes often carry humorous connotations, in part due to their frequently nonsensical subject matter. They date back to the 16th century, and this kind of rhyme became an example of rhyme as something silly and juvenile.
Yet rhyming is a medium with many faces. We can think of old-timey plays, magic spells, children’s stories, and the coolest rap songs of today, which all share rhyme as a common factor. From Shakespeare to Dr. Seuss to Kendrick Lamar, rhyme can be a powerful tool of expression. And in Luke’s case, it’s a powerful tool for comedy.
A win for humanity
In an age of short attention spans and increasing dependence on AI, the enthusiasm for this silly rhyming trend is nice to see. It’s a heartening reminder of our capacity as humans to amuse ourselves with our own creativity. We’ve been rhyming for centuries, and we’re not likely to stop anytime soon.
As a bonus, Luke just announced (in a very jester-y way) that he created a Cameo account, which you can find here. So now, if you’d like a personalized message from the wacky rhyming master, you know where to go. You can pretend you’re the king in medieval times, curing your royal boredom. Who needs TV when you have the wit of a talented jester at your service?
