The Jellyfish

The Jellyfish - meaning Summary

Playful Pun on Identity

Ogden Nash's two-line poem is a compact joke built on wordplay. It personifies a jellyfish and pivots on the homophone between "jellyfish" and the made-up adjective "sellyfish," creating a playful denial of being for sale. The lines turn a simple comic image into a brisk statement about identity and value, using economy of language and a teasing tone to deliver an immediate laugh.