The Book of Nonsense by Edward Lear

Source of book: I own this

 

My youngest enjoys poetry, particularly silly poetry, so it was natural to break out the Edward Lear to read along with our other books. 

 

The Book of Nonsense is a collection of silly limericks, accompanied by equally silly illustrations by the author. They generally fall into this pattern:

 

There was an [old/young] [man/woman/person] of [place]

Who [did or was something]

[Things happen]

[and happen]

That [silly/crazy/odd] [man/woman/person] of [place]

 

As usual for limericks, they are written primarily in anapests, with three feet in lines 1, 2, and 5; and two feet in lines 3 and 4. 

 

Lear’s poems are pure silliness - nonsense in every sense of the word. There is no deeper message, no profound depths. Just some laughs at the absurd. They are also not bawdy like the older poems of the form. (Google that at your own risk.) There are a few casually racist ones, unfortunately all too common for Victorian writing, but most are non-offensively silly. 

 

Edward Lear was an interesting character. As a child, he suffered from epilepsy and other ailments, which probably contributed to his struggles with depression. Oh, and he was gay, but the object of his love didn’t requite it. His was not the easiest life, one might say. But he did have a sense of humor, and left the world more laughter than it had without him. 

 

One of the things most notable about the experience of reading his poems to a kid is that Lear’s vocabulary is pretty advanced. I had to explain a number of words - which is increasingly rare since my kids read at an advanced level. I also had to explain where some of the places were - because some sound made up (although they are not.) 

 

I’ll quote a few to give the idea. 

 

There was an Old Man of Kilkenny,

Who never had more than a penny;

    He spent all that money

    In onions and honey,

That wayward Old Man of Kilkenny. 

 

And, these ones, with the illustrations:

The most famous from this collection is likely this one:

My kid enjoyed these so much that she wants to go on and read the second collection of silly limericks next. We will see - one of these days we should read another longer poem - maybe Idylls of the King or some Longfellow?