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Nonsense Books #1
The Book of Nonsense and Nonsense Songs
This is the Book of Nonsense by Edward Lear.
174 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1846
212 people are currently reading
2111 people want to read
About the author
Edward Lear
748 books204 followersEdward Lear was an English artist, illustrator, musician, author and poet, who is known mostly for his literary nonsense in poetry and prose and especially his limericks, a form he popularised.
His principal areas of work as an artist were threefold: as a draughtsman employed to make illustrations of birds and animals; making coloured drawings during his journeys, which he reworked later, sometimes as plates for his travel books; and as a (minor) illustrator of Alfred Tennyson's poems.
As an author, he is known principally for his popular nonsense collections of poems, songs, short stories, botanical drawings, recipes and alphabets. He also composed and published twelve musical settings of Tennyson's poetry.
His principal areas of work as an artist were threefold: as a draughtsman employed to make illustrations of birds and animals; making coloured drawings during his journeys, which he reworked later, sometimes as plates for his travel books; and as a (minor) illustrator of Alfred Tennyson's poems.
As an author, he is known principally for his popular nonsense collections of poems, songs, short stories, botanical drawings, recipes and alphabets. He also composed and published twelve musical settings of Tennyson's poetry.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 239 reviews
March 14, 2025
A TUTOR WHO TOOTED THE FLUTE
TRIED TO TUTOR TWO TOOTERS TO TOOT.
SAID THE TWO TO THE TUTOR:
“IS IT HARDER TO TOOT OR
TO TUTOR TWO TOOTERS TO TOOT?”
Misery loves drollery!
So seems to have said the Victorian gent Edward Lear, who was plagued by major illnesses all of his life...
Grand mal epilepsy, asthma, near-blindness, and severe depression were his poor lot in life (though it didn't stop him from pursuing a respectable career in drafting and illustration).
And, incredibly, he was the Father of the Limerick (but who knows if he penned that childhood limerick we all love, Two TOOTERS?)..
But definitely not the risqué type. For Edward lived in a polite era, and wrote ne’er a naughty word.
His limericks are sheer nonsense - all as fluffy as freshly-made meringue - in contrast to the hardened, baked crust that sealed off his days with gloom.
If he had seen the crude limericks of twenty first-century schoolkids he would have rued the day he made this artform a polite household word. No, folks - his limericks are not based on groping double entendres.
They’re brought on by a profound appreciation of life’s tragedies, and these are his harmless escape from them!
We’ve said that Lear had more than his share of things to complain about.
Well, that suffering turned his view of life around... in a miraculous “sea-change/ into something rich and strange” as the Bard’s oft-quoted song sings.
For he had discovered the Absurd.
People afflicted with the Absurd express it in widely varying ways...
Camus embraced the Life Force completely and defiantly, as long as he had it.
Sartre turned to dark philosophy and grim petulance.
Mallarme went them one better in reaction, and became the unlikely Resident Sylph of the higher Abstract Realms of great poetry.
But Lear, like me, saw the wisdom of the ancient, tried and true sage wisdom: “what can ya do about it? Ya gotta LAUGH!” Haha.
And laugh he did.
Sure, like Pessoa, he knew disquiet. For that’s endemic to the Absurd.
But did he cry? Sure, buckets!
Did he complain? Plenty, but no one’s ever listening.
But he knew when the Law barks at you, as it’s been known to do, ‘Better Keep in Line!’ he’d better play in tune - on the Lighter Side!
Now THAT’s socially acceptable.
And a boon to the similarly afflicted!
But he even did the Law one better on that score, for, after all, like Ionesco and Pirandello he saw the Law as Absurdly Hilarious, and he relaxed his audience - by being old-fashioned and corny.
Now here’s a harmless and talented guy, they all said...
Because these rhymes are all such trite nonsense, I've given them 3 stars. I expected BELLY laughs, and only managed strained polite smiles for the most part, such as Edward would have received from his prim lady friends.
But you can put that down to my paltry pension budget and my grimmer senior’s outlook. And often, in finding a deal I’m quickly disappointed.
This book is a budget buy of a bygone year, but if you’re parsimonious like I am, you try to give each mistake another chance, and take it down from the shelf again.
And Lear is Lear, and this book takes me right back to that day in our middle school library when I opened these limericks as something to memorize and entertain my chums with.
I had bought a supermarket mini-paperback of rhymes in the summer of ‘62 and never for a moment expected it to be ribald and sassy... yikes!
So that fall, back in school, I whiled away one library period with my memorizing Lear. What a kid I was.
In the spring I even memorized Macauley’s rhyme about Horatio at the Bridge. You don’t see THAT in schoolbooks in these with-it days!
And Lear, at least in Grade 8, was fun too. It was a more widely-inclusive selection of rhymes than this one...
But given the sheer weight of care and darkness this man must have lived under, it's a wonder he could have any fun at all!
And WE are of course the clear winners in receiving the gift of that drollery from him.
Especially the KIDS at heart among us!
TRIED TO TUTOR TWO TOOTERS TO TOOT.
SAID THE TWO TO THE TUTOR:
“IS IT HARDER TO TOOT OR
TO TUTOR TWO TOOTERS TO TOOT?”
Misery loves drollery!
So seems to have said the Victorian gent Edward Lear, who was plagued by major illnesses all of his life...
Grand mal epilepsy, asthma, near-blindness, and severe depression were his poor lot in life (though it didn't stop him from pursuing a respectable career in drafting and illustration).
And, incredibly, he was the Father of the Limerick (but who knows if he penned that childhood limerick we all love, Two TOOTERS?)..
But definitely not the risqué type. For Edward lived in a polite era, and wrote ne’er a naughty word.
His limericks are sheer nonsense - all as fluffy as freshly-made meringue - in contrast to the hardened, baked crust that sealed off his days with gloom.
If he had seen the crude limericks of twenty first-century schoolkids he would have rued the day he made this artform a polite household word. No, folks - his limericks are not based on groping double entendres.
They’re brought on by a profound appreciation of life’s tragedies, and these are his harmless escape from them!
We’ve said that Lear had more than his share of things to complain about.
Well, that suffering turned his view of life around... in a miraculous “sea-change/ into something rich and strange” as the Bard’s oft-quoted song sings.
For he had discovered the Absurd.
People afflicted with the Absurd express it in widely varying ways...
Camus embraced the Life Force completely and defiantly, as long as he had it.
Sartre turned to dark philosophy and grim petulance.
Mallarme went them one better in reaction, and became the unlikely Resident Sylph of the higher Abstract Realms of great poetry.
But Lear, like me, saw the wisdom of the ancient, tried and true sage wisdom: “what can ya do about it? Ya gotta LAUGH!” Haha.
And laugh he did.
Sure, like Pessoa, he knew disquiet. For that’s endemic to the Absurd.
But did he cry? Sure, buckets!
Did he complain? Plenty, but no one’s ever listening.
But he knew when the Law barks at you, as it’s been known to do, ‘Better Keep in Line!’ he’d better play in tune - on the Lighter Side!
Now THAT’s socially acceptable.
And a boon to the similarly afflicted!
But he even did the Law one better on that score, for, after all, like Ionesco and Pirandello he saw the Law as Absurdly Hilarious, and he relaxed his audience - by being old-fashioned and corny.
Now here’s a harmless and talented guy, they all said...
Because these rhymes are all such trite nonsense, I've given them 3 stars. I expected BELLY laughs, and only managed strained polite smiles for the most part, such as Edward would have received from his prim lady friends.
But you can put that down to my paltry pension budget and my grimmer senior’s outlook. And often, in finding a deal I’m quickly disappointed.
This book is a budget buy of a bygone year, but if you’re parsimonious like I am, you try to give each mistake another chance, and take it down from the shelf again.
And Lear is Lear, and this book takes me right back to that day in our middle school library when I opened these limericks as something to memorize and entertain my chums with.
I had bought a supermarket mini-paperback of rhymes in the summer of ‘62 and never for a moment expected it to be ribald and sassy... yikes!
So that fall, back in school, I whiled away one library period with my memorizing Lear. What a kid I was.
In the spring I even memorized Macauley’s rhyme about Horatio at the Bridge. You don’t see THAT in schoolbooks in these with-it days!
And Lear, at least in Grade 8, was fun too. It was a more widely-inclusive selection of rhymes than this one...
But given the sheer weight of care and darkness this man must have lived under, it's a wonder he could have any fun at all!
And WE are of course the clear winners in receiving the gift of that drollery from him.
Especially the KIDS at heart among us!
September 15, 2010
I grew up reading A Book of Nonsense, which left me with a permanent weakness for limericks. (It's possible that there were other side-effects too). Here's my favourite Lear:
There was an old man of ThermopylaeI'm afraid I kept thinking of this all the way through 300, which did rather take the edge off it. Though to be honest, the art of the limerick has advanced significantly since Lear's pioneering efforts - a major breakthrough was realising that the first and last lines didn't have to end with the same word. Some more favourites:
Who never did anything properly
But they said, if you choose
To boil eggs in your shoes
You will never remain in Thermopylae!
There was a young fellow named Tate(Non-Brits may have trouble with the next example)
Who dined with his girl, at 8.08
But I'd hate to relate
What that fellow named Tate
And his tête-à-tête ate at 8.08.
She frowned and called him Mr.
Because he boldly Kr.
And so in spite
That very night
That Mr. Kr. Sr.
There was a young curate from SalisburyLast and, in a certain sense, least, I only discovered the following sequence of minimalist limericks very recently. I'm surprised it isn't more famous! First:
Whose manners were quite halisbury-scalisbury
Once morning in Hampshire
He took off his pampshire
Though his vicar had told him to walisbury
There was a young lady of CreweHaving read that, you'll hopefully appreciate the logical continuation:
Whose limericks stopped at line two
There was a young man of VerdunAnd then, of course there's the third one. It appears that limerick technology is still advancing...
December 30, 2016
IF you want to escape from the world of the mundane into the humorous look no further than picking up a copy of Edward Lear’s The Book of Nonsense and Nonsense Songs.
Lear was the inventor of the Limerick. The first time I read one was probably in 1964 or 1965 when I borrowed a friend’s English textbook which contained some of Mr Lear’s limericks. I immediately fell in love with them. Several decades later I started writing my own and thoroughly enjoyed doing so.
image:
image:
The book is a compilation of two of Mr Lear’s books: The Book of Nonsense followed by Nonsense Songs. The first consists solely of limericks and the second of longer nonsense verses. Each limerick has a funny illustration right above it while each nonsense poem contains several sketches, not all of which are comical. The beautiful cover of the book has been taken from the limerick There was an Old Man of Corfu.
Lear travelled widely from Calabria to Corsica and from Italy to Illyna; from Egypt to Albania and from Greece to India. Sometimes you get the feeling that he is building amusing character sketches of people he actually met or at least saw during his travels. Or maybe they are just a figment of his imagination which he has no dearth of. Some limericks might make you laugh and some others might even make you roll on the floor like the following ones:
There was an Old Man with a beard
Who said, “It is just as I feared! -
Two Owls and a Hen,
Four Larks and a Wren,
Have all built their nests in my beard!”
image:
There was an Old Person of Rheims
Who was troubled with horrible dreams;
So to keep him awake,
They fed him on cake,
Which amused that old person of Rheims.
There was an old Person of Sparta,
Who had twenty-five sons and one “darter”;
He fed them on snails,
And weighed them in scales,
That wonderful person of Sparta.
We all know that ‘darter’ alludes to daughter. However, Mr Lear is not only coining darter to make it rhyme with Sparta but is also doing so to make the limerick more lighthearted. Or maybe he visited a certain place where the people pronounced daughter as darter. In the same way in another limerick he alludes to serpent as “sarpint.” The innovative word certainly tickles your bones.
Here is another one which I found to be extremely jocular:
There was an Old Lady of Chertsey,
Who made a remarkable curtsey;
She twirled round and round
Till she sank underground,
Which distressed all the people of Chertsey.
The British writer’s coinage of words and the stretching of his imagination will truly dazzle you. Spontaneous becomes sponge-taneous and “What is the matter” becomes “What matter?” In one of his limericks, he writes about a “cream-coloured ass” and you actually wish you could see one and maybe ride on it too.
image:
A sketch of Edward Lear during his youth.
During his life he suffered from depression and epilepsy, which is why you often get the feeling that his highly inventive verse had a melancholic undertone. The following are three examples of this:
There was an Old Man of the Cape
Who possessed a large Barbary Ape,
Till the ape one dark night
Set the house all alight,
Which burned that Old Man of the Cape.
There was a Young Lady of Clare,
Who was sadly pursued by a bear;
When she found she was tired,
She abruptly expired,
That unfortunate Lady of Clare.
There was an Old Person of Ems,
Who casually fell in the Thames;
And when he was found
They said he was drowned,
That unlucky Old Person of Ems.
You don’t laugh at a house set on fire or at the death of an Old Man who gets scorched. Neither do you make fun of a Young Lady who dies as a result of heart failure on being chased by a grizzly bear nor at the accidental death of an Old Person who dies as a consequence of drowning.
While writing about the attributes of Mr. Lear, John Ruskin said, “I really don’t know any author to whom I am half so grateful for my idle self as Edward Lear. I shall put him first of my hundred authors.”
image:
Mr. Lear abundantly uses adjectives, especially in the last line of each limerick, to emphasize the reaction on the protagonist of the poem. He keeps inventing nonsense words like runcible, ombliferous, etc. The first word appears, as an adjective, several times in his works, most famously as the “runcible spoon” used by the Owl and the Pussycat.
Nonsense Songs starts with The Owl and the Pussy-cat. It talks about the romance – I repeat romance– between an Owl and a Pussycat, entirely in verse. It is followed by poems like The Duck and the Kangaroo, The Daddy Long-Legs and The Fly and The Jumblies. Each has a story to tell and is thoroughly amusing in its own right.
The London-born writer uses alliteration and imagery throughout the book which makes it even more enjoyable.
A limerick is one of the few forms of poetry that entertains both children and adults. If you have not read any of Mr Lear’s books, then you should start off with this one right away.
Lear was the inventor of the Limerick. The first time I read one was probably in 1964 or 1965 when I borrowed a friend’s English textbook which contained some of Mr Lear’s limericks. I immediately fell in love with them. Several decades later I started writing my own and thoroughly enjoyed doing so.
image:
image:
The book is a compilation of two of Mr Lear’s books: The Book of Nonsense followed by Nonsense Songs. The first consists solely of limericks and the second of longer nonsense verses. Each limerick has a funny illustration right above it while each nonsense poem contains several sketches, not all of which are comical. The beautiful cover of the book has been taken from the limerick There was an Old Man of Corfu.
Lear travelled widely from Calabria to Corsica and from Italy to Illyna; from Egypt to Albania and from Greece to India. Sometimes you get the feeling that he is building amusing character sketches of people he actually met or at least saw during his travels. Or maybe they are just a figment of his imagination which he has no dearth of. Some limericks might make you laugh and some others might even make you roll on the floor like the following ones:
There was an Old Man with a beard
Who said, “It is just as I feared! -
Two Owls and a Hen,
Four Larks and a Wren,
Have all built their nests in my beard!”
image:
There was an Old Person of Rheims
Who was troubled with horrible dreams;
So to keep him awake,
They fed him on cake,
Which amused that old person of Rheims.
There was an old Person of Sparta,
Who had twenty-five sons and one “darter”;
He fed them on snails,
And weighed them in scales,
That wonderful person of Sparta.
We all know that ‘darter’ alludes to daughter. However, Mr Lear is not only coining darter to make it rhyme with Sparta but is also doing so to make the limerick more lighthearted. Or maybe he visited a certain place where the people pronounced daughter as darter. In the same way in another limerick he alludes to serpent as “sarpint.” The innovative word certainly tickles your bones.
Here is another one which I found to be extremely jocular:
There was an Old Lady of Chertsey,
Who made a remarkable curtsey;
She twirled round and round
Till she sank underground,
Which distressed all the people of Chertsey.
The British writer’s coinage of words and the stretching of his imagination will truly dazzle you. Spontaneous becomes sponge-taneous and “What is the matter” becomes “What matter?” In one of his limericks, he writes about a “cream-coloured ass” and you actually wish you could see one and maybe ride on it too.
image:
A sketch of Edward Lear during his youth.
During his life he suffered from depression and epilepsy, which is why you often get the feeling that his highly inventive verse had a melancholic undertone. The following are three examples of this:
There was an Old Man of the Cape
Who possessed a large Barbary Ape,
Till the ape one dark night
Set the house all alight,
Which burned that Old Man of the Cape.
There was a Young Lady of Clare,
Who was sadly pursued by a bear;
When she found she was tired,
She abruptly expired,
That unfortunate Lady of Clare.
There was an Old Person of Ems,
Who casually fell in the Thames;
And when he was found
They said he was drowned,
That unlucky Old Person of Ems.
You don’t laugh at a house set on fire or at the death of an Old Man who gets scorched. Neither do you make fun of a Young Lady who dies as a result of heart failure on being chased by a grizzly bear nor at the accidental death of an Old Person who dies as a consequence of drowning.
While writing about the attributes of Mr. Lear, John Ruskin said, “I really don’t know any author to whom I am half so grateful for my idle self as Edward Lear. I shall put him first of my hundred authors.”
image:
Mr. Lear abundantly uses adjectives, especially in the last line of each limerick, to emphasize the reaction on the protagonist of the poem. He keeps inventing nonsense words like runcible, ombliferous, etc. The first word appears, as an adjective, several times in his works, most famously as the “runcible spoon” used by the Owl and the Pussycat.
Nonsense Songs starts with The Owl and the Pussy-cat. It talks about the romance – I repeat romance– between an Owl and a Pussycat, entirely in verse. It is followed by poems like The Duck and the Kangaroo, The Daddy Long-Legs and The Fly and The Jumblies. Each has a story to tell and is thoroughly amusing in its own right.
The London-born writer uses alliteration and imagery throughout the book which makes it even more enjoyable.
A limerick is one of the few forms of poetry that entertains both children and adults. If you have not read any of Mr Lear’s books, then you should start off with this one right away.
October 5, 2018
Reading this as a child, I absolutely loved this. A decade or so later, I think the author must have been on drugs.
I'm blaming this book for the start of the corruption of my sanity.
I'm blaming this book for the start of the corruption of my sanity.
May 16, 2020
Oh, that Eddie. You know he drove his people crazy with all of his limericks. . . .
I have to read his stuff every few years to remind myself that one really can overdo. My first memorized poem was the Owl and the Pussycat.
5 stars (and one runcible spoon. . .which is now known as a spork).
I have to read his stuff every few years to remind myself that one really can overdo. My first memorized poem was the Owl and the Pussycat.
5 stars (and one runcible spoon. . .which is now known as a spork).
August 11, 2017
Nonsense Botany :D
February 11, 2021
Such silliness! I remember this as having been printed in its entirety in a Better Homes & Gardens (I think) children's anthology now infamous for also having contained "Little Black Sambo."
I saw one on ebay a couple of years ago for over $100.
The Edward Lear book was probably my second exposure to British humor, the first being Gilbert & Sullivan operettas, which my mother played and sang along to on our hifi starting when I was a wee sprout.
I saw one on ebay a couple of years ago for over $100.
The Edward Lear book was probably my second exposure to British humor, the first being Gilbert & Sullivan operettas, which my mother played and sang along to on our hifi starting when I was a wee sprout.
April 17, 2014
Took away 2 stars because contrary to the title of the book, some verses actually made sense!
August 6, 2023
É muito bom, mas o tema de old/young person acaba por se tornar repetitivo, quando acabou dei graças a Zeus.
April 3, 2011
I marvel that so many venerate this book of (mostly) limericks for children. Lear deserves credit for inventing the form, but only 2 or 3 are satisfying. Most repeat most of the first line in the last, making the rhyme unsatisfying, most make no logical sense, most are pointless, and none are cute, clever, or even interesting. Lear's own line drawings are inept, and do not charm me. Lear has a cult following who, like Ruskin, venerate his work. I wonder why.
June 28, 2021
There was a young man named Ed Lear,
Whose verses could bring on a tear,
And they were ever so funny
Plus he wrote them for money,
But you'll laugh at them all, never fear!
Whose verses could bring on a tear,
And they were ever so funny
Plus he wrote them for money,
But you'll laugh at them all, never fear!
January 27, 2021
Before I begin my review, I wish to try my hand at the art of the limerick. Trust me, people, it's not that easy to write a limerick. And I have that to say to those who rated these limericks and beautifully rhymed and phrased nonsense songs anything less than four stars.
So, here I go:
"I have a jar of bloody good Marmite
At a first glance it looks alright
To some, it tastes like hell
To me, it is more than well
That jar of bloody good Marmite."
Well, it's not too bad, in retrospect.
There are a few reviews here on Goodreads that have clearly steered way beyond the mark of understanding what limericks, nonsense songs, or for that matter, nonsense is all about. They were trying to find some meaning or absurd logic in the limericks, as if there could ever be any meaning about the men and women, both quirky and grotesque, and all the equally strange, sad and silly things that happen to them in these wacky little episodes of five lines each. The truth is that there is no logic, there is no meaning to be found in nonsense. Nonsense is to be enjoyed as it is - and that is what makes it hilarious and also a perfect escape from too much over-thinking as well.
Beyond limericks and nonsense lyrics, Edward Lear had something of an enviable reputation as a storyteller, artist, chronicler and travel writer. And that is why so many of these limericks have a truly eclectic style to them, as they introduce us to a cast of enjoyably nutty, jaunty and misshapen characters from across the world - from Corfu to Crete, from England to Prague, from Madras to Nepal, from Jamaica to Sweden, from Apulia to Peru and so many more exotic names and place strewn all over these hundred or so pages. And as much as we marvel at the sheer breadth of Lear's globe-trotting imagination and his spontaneous wit, we should also remember that these are not to be taken seriously at all. They are essentially fine, brilliant specimens of....nonsense and that is how they should be enjoyed.
It is the second book wrapped up with these limericks, however, that reveal a deeper, even more wistful side to the writer even as they don't skimp on the hilarity and unhinged imagination. "Nonsense Songs" is made up of a dozen of witty, warm, beautifully picturesque, irreverently picaresque and even lightly melancholic songs that deserve to be recited out aloud like any great verse in the history of poem. As with the limericks, it is impossible to pick out a favourite from these songs. But if I have to cite a favourite, it has to be "The Dong With A Luminous Nose" - a nonsense song which unexpectedly makes "sense" without trying to do so and is laced with a sense of deep romantic yearning that can almost break your heart.
This was a quick, quirky and worthy read from cover to cover and I think I will be returning to it again and again, whenever the mood would become melancholy and whenever the world around me would stop making sense. I think we can all agree on that last part and that reminds me to sign off this review with another attempt at a limerick.
"The world is full of fear
And only disaster is what I hear
What can I do?
I have the answer, too
Better read some Edward Lear..."
So, here I go:
"I have a jar of bloody good Marmite
At a first glance it looks alright
To some, it tastes like hell
To me, it is more than well
That jar of bloody good Marmite."
Well, it's not too bad, in retrospect.
There are a few reviews here on Goodreads that have clearly steered way beyond the mark of understanding what limericks, nonsense songs, or for that matter, nonsense is all about. They were trying to find some meaning or absurd logic in the limericks, as if there could ever be any meaning about the men and women, both quirky and grotesque, and all the equally strange, sad and silly things that happen to them in these wacky little episodes of five lines each. The truth is that there is no logic, there is no meaning to be found in nonsense. Nonsense is to be enjoyed as it is - and that is what makes it hilarious and also a perfect escape from too much over-thinking as well.
Beyond limericks and nonsense lyrics, Edward Lear had something of an enviable reputation as a storyteller, artist, chronicler and travel writer. And that is why so many of these limericks have a truly eclectic style to them, as they introduce us to a cast of enjoyably nutty, jaunty and misshapen characters from across the world - from Corfu to Crete, from England to Prague, from Madras to Nepal, from Jamaica to Sweden, from Apulia to Peru and so many more exotic names and place strewn all over these hundred or so pages. And as much as we marvel at the sheer breadth of Lear's globe-trotting imagination and his spontaneous wit, we should also remember that these are not to be taken seriously at all. They are essentially fine, brilliant specimens of....nonsense and that is how they should be enjoyed.
It is the second book wrapped up with these limericks, however, that reveal a deeper, even more wistful side to the writer even as they don't skimp on the hilarity and unhinged imagination. "Nonsense Songs" is made up of a dozen of witty, warm, beautifully picturesque, irreverently picaresque and even lightly melancholic songs that deserve to be recited out aloud like any great verse in the history of poem. As with the limericks, it is impossible to pick out a favourite from these songs. But if I have to cite a favourite, it has to be "The Dong With A Luminous Nose" - a nonsense song which unexpectedly makes "sense" without trying to do so and is laced with a sense of deep romantic yearning that can almost break your heart.
This was a quick, quirky and worthy read from cover to cover and I think I will be returning to it again and again, whenever the mood would become melancholy and whenever the world around me would stop making sense. I think we can all agree on that last part and that reminds me to sign off this review with another attempt at a limerick.
"The world is full of fear
And only disaster is what I hear
What can I do?
I have the answer, too
Better read some Edward Lear..."
October 15, 2019
When I was a child, I enjoyed Lear, but I read only a poem or two at a time. This book was "way too much of a good thing." If I ever read another "There was an old man from" or "There was an old person from" poem again, it will be too soon. He had several alphabets. Many used the same thing for the letters. For example, all used "Xerxes" for the letter "X." Why not a xylophone? In addition to poems and alphabets, Lear included some nonsensical biological drawings and a couple short stories. "The Owl and the Pussycat" is probably Lear's best-known work, and there's a reason for that. It's his best. Lear is best consumed in small doses, and this volume gives one entirely too much nonsense.
October 15, 2022
There once was a reader from Westbrook
Who sat down to read Edward Lear's book.
She read and she read
And when finished she said,
"There's a surfeit of limericks in this book."
Who sat down to read Edward Lear's book.
She read and she read
And when finished she said,
"There's a surfeit of limericks in this book."
March 1, 2018
The absurdity is especially delightful to experience alongside a child.
February 1, 2022
Edward Lear's limericks make me feel slightly mad... but in the most wonderful way possible!
May 19, 2014
There was a Young Lady whose nose,
Was so long that it reached to her toes;
So she hired an Old Lady,
Whose conduct was steady,
To carry that wonderful nose.
Πάντα ήθελα να διαβάσω ένα βιβλίο με limericks (σύντομα σατυρικά ποιήματα πέντε στροφών). Ο Edward Lear (1812-1888) ήταν Άγγλος ποιητής και σκιτσογράφος, και ο πρώτος που καθιέρωσε αυτή τη μορφή ποιημάτων, τα οποία ήταν τρομερά δημοφιλή στην εποχή του. Όπως λέει και ο τίτλος, τα ποιηματάκια αυτά δεν βγάζουν κανένα απολύτως νόημα, και σίγουρα θα μου φαίνονταν πολύ πιό αστεία αν άκουγα να τα απαγγέλλει ένα χειμωνιάτικο βράδυ δίπλα απ' το τζάκι κάποιος μεθυσμένος εγγλέζος αριστοκράτης, μετά από ένα καλό κυνήγι φασιανού κι ένα γερό φαγοπότι. Διαβάζοντας τα μέρα μεσημέρι, ξεμέθυστη και μέσα στο λιοπύρι, δυστυχώς έχασαν μεγάλο μέρος από τη γοητεία τους.
March 21, 2012
Fun collection of limericks originally published in 1846. I think the combination of nonsense verse with Lear's appropriately silly illustrations is what really makes this book fun.
I was able to read this online at http://www.nonsenselit.org/Lear/BoN/i...
I was able to read this online at http://www.nonsenselit.org/Lear/BoN/i...
February 3, 2020
Lovely poems and charming illustrations.
December 11, 2014
There was an Old Man of Moldavia,
Who had the most curious behavior;
For while he was able, he slept on a table,
That funny Old Man of Moldavia.
:)
page 12
Who had the most curious behavior;
For while he was able, he slept on a table,
That funny Old Man of Moldavia.
:)
page 12
January 6, 2019
Here are my blog comments about this book. I would love to hear answers to my questions at the end:
https://www.goodreads.com/author_blog...
https://www.goodreads.com/author_blog...
June 9, 2020
This is a collection of over one-hundred limericks by Edward Lear published in 1846. Limericks are a popular five-line poetic form with an A – A – B – B – A rhyme scheme, and in which the B-lines are shorter than the A-lines. Two types of material leap to mind when one thinks of limericks: humor and bawdiness. I mention this because neither of these subjects feature prominently in Lear’s limericks. While a number of the poems could be described as amusing, I can’t say I found any of them laugh-out-loud funny. I suspect that the number that are found amusing would be larger for a reader from the early 19th century due to insider knowledge that escapes the present-day reader (i.e. the activities and the perception of people from various locales have changed considerably over the years.)
As the book’s title suggests, what is on display in these limericks is nonsense. While that reads like an insult, Lear is considered to be one of the founders of the genre of literary nonsense. It’s not nonsense in the sense of Lewis Carroll’s “Jabberwocky” in which fictitious words are blended with real words to create a synthesis that is grammatically logical but relies on the reader’s imagination to create any meaning. Rather, the events and reactions on display in the poems range from absurd to impossible, but the meaning can be interpreted. As with the poems of a later nonsense poet of renown, Ogden Nash, some of the whimsy of these poems derives from contortionistic acts of mispronunciation needed to square the rhyme (though I may be overstating this as I don’t know how much Lear’s British accent from almost 200 years ago would differ from the way I read with my 2020 American accent.)
Needless, to say this is a really quick read. Most editions are between 30 and 60 pages long, with all the white-space one would expect of a book of five-line poems. If you are interested in Limericks or poetic forms in general, it’s worthwhile to see how Lear writes them. It’s a big help in developing an ear for the flow of the limerick. I found the book to be a pleasant read, though some of the limericks are cleverer than others. Some left me thinking that Lear could have done much more with the poems. Often the last line is a minor variation of the first line, and, thus, neither serves as a punchline nor as a source of new information. That sometimes felt like a missed opportunity. Still, it’s a nice collection of nonsense limericks.
As the book’s title suggests, what is on display in these limericks is nonsense. While that reads like an insult, Lear is considered to be one of the founders of the genre of literary nonsense. It’s not nonsense in the sense of Lewis Carroll’s “Jabberwocky” in which fictitious words are blended with real words to create a synthesis that is grammatically logical but relies on the reader’s imagination to create any meaning. Rather, the events and reactions on display in the poems range from absurd to impossible, but the meaning can be interpreted. As with the poems of a later nonsense poet of renown, Ogden Nash, some of the whimsy of these poems derives from contortionistic acts of mispronunciation needed to square the rhyme (though I may be overstating this as I don’t know how much Lear’s British accent from almost 200 years ago would differ from the way I read with my 2020 American accent.)
Needless, to say this is a really quick read. Most editions are between 30 and 60 pages long, with all the white-space one would expect of a book of five-line poems. If you are interested in Limericks or poetic forms in general, it’s worthwhile to see how Lear writes them. It’s a big help in developing an ear for the flow of the limerick. I found the book to be a pleasant read, though some of the limericks are cleverer than others. Some left me thinking that Lear could have done much more with the poems. Often the last line is a minor variation of the first line, and, thus, neither serves as a punchline nor as a source of new information. That sometimes felt like a missed opportunity. Still, it’s a nice collection of nonsense limericks.
August 20, 2020
Resulta extraño que un hombre que escribió decenas de poesías absurdas, criado por su hermana veintidós años mayor que él, enamorado de los vino malos, del clima cálido, la India y Mesopotamia llegara a dar clases de pintura a la mismísima reina Victoria. Pero así fue; ese hombre fue Edward Lear.
Lo cierto es que hacia bastante tiempo que deseaba leer algo de Edward Lear. Descubrí al autor a finales del 2019, cuando entré en contacto con una de mis máximas influencias por aquel entonces, Edward Gorey. En alguna de las introducciones de los volúmenes de Valdemar de las obras de Edward Gorey apareció mentado Edward Lear. Y como persona que no me gusta dejar cabos sueltos, googleé el nombre de este ilustrador y estuve mirando sus trabajos pictóricos y literarios.
Siendo franca, a mí los cuadros de Edward Lear me parecen del montón y tienen bastantes semejanzas con las obras paisajísticas de Bob Ross. Más que obras de arte parecen obras de artesanía. Hay en todos ellos una monotonía que acaba hastiando. Ves un cuadro de Edward Lear y los has visto todos. En cambio, sus ilustraciones, poesías, cartas y relatos sí me parecen muy interesantes porque no son impersonales como sus cuadros. Hablan del ser humano que fue, con sus luces y sus sombras. Una pena que Edward Lear no se diera cuenta hasta bien entrada la adultez que para lo que él servía era para ilustrar payasadas y obras infantiles con un regusto oscuro, bastante adulto.
He disfrutado bastante el Fabuleario (A Book of Nonsense;1846), pero también lo he sentido bastante irregular. Los limericks, tipo de poesía de origen irlandés compuesta por cinco versos donde el primero rima con el segundo y el quinto, y el tercero con el cuarto y que el mismo Edward Lear “rescató” del olvido me han gustado, pero tampoco me han chiflado. Un detalle por parte de Anaya de poner estos poemillas también en su versión original para que podamos apreciar verdaderamente el sentido de éstos. Pero ni aun así me han parecido gran cosa. Aprecio la labor de ingenio de Lear, pero no voy a decir que son una obra de arte.
En cambio, los relatillos absurdos que incluye esta antología sí me fascinaron. Se trata de Historia de las siete familias del lago Pipple-Popple, Historia de cuatro niños que dieron la vuelta al mundo, La venganza de Pentedátilo, Viaje a la Luna y Fábula moral para tres pares de gafas si me parecieron obras notables, especialmente Historia de cuatro niños que dieron la vuelta al mundo, obra llena de imaginación y clara influencia en las primeras historias del mismísimo Edward Gorey. También recomendado Historia de las siete familias del lago Pipple-Popple por la crueldad del final. Y si también os interesa la novela gótica, La venganza de Pentedátilo es un relato para nada desestimable.
En cuanto a las cartas, lo cierto es que algunas son curiosas, pero también se me hicieron un poco aburridas. En ellas, Edward Lear habla de sus viajes esencialmente, pero no demasiado de sus sentimientos, por lo que para mí es un quiero y no puedo. Por una parte, me parecieron interesantes por la documentación que aportan de la época, pero tampoco es que tenga un gran interés es como se desarrollaba por aquel entonces una ceremonia-visita a un sultán. En fin.
En resumen, si lo que buscáis es una obra atípica donde el mismo autor os explique cómo preparar pastelillos cocuelos, poesías absurdas y retratos a tinta de su gato Foss, sin duda vuestro autor es Edward Lear.
Lo cierto es que hacia bastante tiempo que deseaba leer algo de Edward Lear. Descubrí al autor a finales del 2019, cuando entré en contacto con una de mis máximas influencias por aquel entonces, Edward Gorey. En alguna de las introducciones de los volúmenes de Valdemar de las obras de Edward Gorey apareció mentado Edward Lear. Y como persona que no me gusta dejar cabos sueltos, googleé el nombre de este ilustrador y estuve mirando sus trabajos pictóricos y literarios.
Siendo franca, a mí los cuadros de Edward Lear me parecen del montón y tienen bastantes semejanzas con las obras paisajísticas de Bob Ross. Más que obras de arte parecen obras de artesanía. Hay en todos ellos una monotonía que acaba hastiando. Ves un cuadro de Edward Lear y los has visto todos. En cambio, sus ilustraciones, poesías, cartas y relatos sí me parecen muy interesantes porque no son impersonales como sus cuadros. Hablan del ser humano que fue, con sus luces y sus sombras. Una pena que Edward Lear no se diera cuenta hasta bien entrada la adultez que para lo que él servía era para ilustrar payasadas y obras infantiles con un regusto oscuro, bastante adulto.
He disfrutado bastante el Fabuleario (A Book of Nonsense;1846), pero también lo he sentido bastante irregular. Los limericks, tipo de poesía de origen irlandés compuesta por cinco versos donde el primero rima con el segundo y el quinto, y el tercero con el cuarto y que el mismo Edward Lear “rescató” del olvido me han gustado, pero tampoco me han chiflado. Un detalle por parte de Anaya de poner estos poemillas también en su versión original para que podamos apreciar verdaderamente el sentido de éstos. Pero ni aun así me han parecido gran cosa. Aprecio la labor de ingenio de Lear, pero no voy a decir que son una obra de arte.
En cambio, los relatillos absurdos que incluye esta antología sí me fascinaron. Se trata de Historia de las siete familias del lago Pipple-Popple, Historia de cuatro niños que dieron la vuelta al mundo, La venganza de Pentedátilo, Viaje a la Luna y Fábula moral para tres pares de gafas si me parecieron obras notables, especialmente Historia de cuatro niños que dieron la vuelta al mundo, obra llena de imaginación y clara influencia en las primeras historias del mismísimo Edward Gorey. También recomendado Historia de las siete familias del lago Pipple-Popple por la crueldad del final. Y si también os interesa la novela gótica, La venganza de Pentedátilo es un relato para nada desestimable.
En cuanto a las cartas, lo cierto es que algunas son curiosas, pero también se me hicieron un poco aburridas. En ellas, Edward Lear habla de sus viajes esencialmente, pero no demasiado de sus sentimientos, por lo que para mí es un quiero y no puedo. Por una parte, me parecieron interesantes por la documentación que aportan de la época, pero tampoco es que tenga un gran interés es como se desarrollaba por aquel entonces una ceremonia-visita a un sultán. En fin.
En resumen, si lo que buscáis es una obra atípica donde el mismo autor os explique cómo preparar pastelillos cocuelos, poesías absurdas y retratos a tinta de su gato Foss, sin duda vuestro autor es Edward Lear.
May 8, 2022
The preeminent example of nonsense literature and limerick. Short mini-tales in verse that are fun, whimsical, humorous, and rhyme, but ultimately don’t have much logical sense, even if the structure of the individual sentences possess a sense, logic, and even a repetitive structural pattern. It is the ultimate example of style before substance, while being light-hearted and lacking the seriousness of other types of literature that emphasize style over meaning such as some of the French Symbolist poets.
August 9, 2020
A few funny limericks in this now dated book from the mid 19th century.
Edward Lear made the limerick his own and went on to write more books of "nonsense" after this one. I believe he wrote 212 limericks in total.
Edward Lear made the limerick his own and went on to write more books of "nonsense" after this one. I believe he wrote 212 limericks in total.
January 2, 2021
I just don't think limericks are for me.😔
April 14, 2019
Relaxing, funny and light reading :3 I guess I need to try and read limericks in English now :))
November 19, 2025
Have always loved Lear's silly little limericks. The illustrations complemented the poems really well. Such a delightful book! ^_^
Read
December 21, 2022the content matches the title
October 14, 2022
Having taught a course on Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland (in the spring I will be teaching Through the Looking Glass), my research often brought up Lear's name -- whether to compare to Carroll or contrast. So I thought I should pick up Lear's Book of Nonsense and see for myself.
In the collection were whimsical verses and a couple of short stories as well as a few "recipes" (the result of which no one would want to eat) and many many limericks (which, though he did not invent the genre -- it more likely having emerged the prior century -- he defintely popularized it). He also has a menagerie of fantastical animals to "teach" the alphabet.
Surely "The Owl and the Pussycat" is one of the magical poems from my childhood....probably, Lear's best and why it was the only piece of his that I had been familiar with.
His verse, like Carroll's work, has word play, invented words, and a tendency towards violence. I enjoyed reading his work, but I will not be left with any lasting memories of characters or places or images. Still, I can see a parent reading these poems to their kid and both enjoying the fun of the sounds of words and rhymes.
In the collection were whimsical verses and a couple of short stories as well as a few "recipes" (the result of which no one would want to eat) and many many limericks (which, though he did not invent the genre -- it more likely having emerged the prior century -- he defintely popularized it). He also has a menagerie of fantastical animals to "teach" the alphabet.
Surely "The Owl and the Pussycat" is one of the magical poems from my childhood....probably, Lear's best and why it was the only piece of his that I had been familiar with.
His verse, like Carroll's work, has word play, invented words, and a tendency towards violence. I enjoyed reading his work, but I will not be left with any lasting memories of characters or places or images. Still, I can see a parent reading these poems to their kid and both enjoying the fun of the sounds of words and rhymes.
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