PLAYFUL POETRY

The pleasing whimsy of Edward Lear’s quirky rhymes

‘The Owl and the Pussy-cat’ is one of the happiest poems ever, and in 1877, Bazaar proudly published six poems by its author Edward Lear (1812–1888). The 20th of 21 children (so he said, although records suggest he may have romanticised the number) born to a failed stockbroker, Lear won teenage fame as a natural-history painter – David Attenborough still thinks him one of the finest of all time. His ambition, though, was to paint landscapes and from the age of 25 he lived mostly abroad for this reason. Shy and lovable, he wrote his limericks and songs for sheer fun, creating vivid nonsense alphabets like this one that appeared in the 7 April 1877 edition of Bazaar, to read aloud to the children of his many friends. ‘Mr Lear: A Life of Art and Nonsense’ by Jenny Uglow (£25, Faber & Faber) is published on 5 October.

A tumbled down, and hurt his Arm against a bit of wood.

B said, “My Boy, oh! do not cry; it can not do you good.”

C said, “A Cup of Coffee hot can’t do you any harm.”

D said, “A Doctor should be fetched, and he would cure the arm.”

E said ,“An Egg beat up with milk would quick-ly make him well .”

F said, “A Fish, if broiled, might cure, if only by the smell.”

H said, “His Hat should be kept on, to keep him from the cold.”

G said ,“Green Goose berry fool, the best of cures I hold .”

I said, “Some Ice upon his head will make him better soon.”

J said, “Some Jam, if spread on bread, or given in a spoon.”

K said ,“A Kangaroo is here–this picture let him see .”

L said ,“A Lamp pray keep a light, to make some barley tea .”

M said, “A Mulberry or two might give him satisfaction.”

N said, “Some Nuts, if rolled about, might be a slight attraction.”

O said, “An Owl might make him laugh, if only it would wink.”

P said, “Some Poetry might be read aloud, to make him think.”

Q said, “A Quince I recommend–a Quince, or else a Quail.”

R said ,“Some Rats might make him move, if fastened by their tail .”

S said, “A Song should now be sung, in hopes to make him laugh.”

Tsaid, “A Turnip might avail, if sliced or cut in half.”

U said ,“An U rn, with water hot, placed under-neath his chin .”

V

said, “I’ll stand upon a chair, and play a Violin.”

W said, “Some Whiskey-Whizzgigs fetch, some marbles and a ball.”

X said ,“Some doubleXXa le would be thebes to fall .”

Y said, “Some Yeast mixed up with salt would make a perfect

Z said, “Here is a box of Zinc! Get in, my little master!

We’ll shut you up! We’ll nail you down!

We will, my little master!

We think we’ve all heard quite enough of this

your sad disaster.”