Chasper Po's relaxed, life-affirming attitude, his openness and tolerance, his unmistakable humour and his attitude of ironic detachment were all emphasised by his contemporaries. These traits are also reflected in Po's poetry and determined his self-image as a person and as a poet. This essay focuses on the different genres of comic poetry to be found in Po's work, such as humoresque, parody and satire. The question as to whether Po should be considered a satirical poet has been a matter of

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... troversy for his biographers. In my opinion, however, Po lacks any didactic, world-improving impetus. Satire in the narrow sense runs contrary to his character. But this does not mean that Po is uncritical. He relentlessly harangues people who have no sense of humour and little sense of art, and who subscribe to a materialistic/pragmatic/utilitarian spirit. Po also maintains his ironic distance towards things that are serious to him, which irritated some of his readers, many of whom in turn refused to take him entirely seriously. He was accused of ridiculing even serious things, such as his commitment to the preservation of the Romansh language. In the poem Ed eir a mai (And also to me), the misunderstood poet defends himself against the implicit accusation of unseriousness, frivolity and cynicism. This essay wants to prove that such accusations were based on a misunderstanding of him.