At a book sale yesterday, I picked up an Edward Gorey book I had never seen before, The Headless Bust: A Melancholy Meditation on the False Millennium. I was reminded again of how much I enjoy the world of this most distinctive illustrator. Gorey's artwork has a unique look, dubbed American Gothic, that has made him a favorite around the world. His drawings are enlivened by the texture and detail he lavishes on them. And not only is he a talented artist - Gorey wrote many dryly humorous books in his famous deadpan style. The books are often mistaken for children's books, probably because of Gorey's use of nonsense verse.
The aim of all nonsense verse is to amuse, and perhaps to shock. Nonsense verse tells of improbable or fantastic subjects. The humor is usually emphasized by odd words, neologisms, and unexpected juxtapositions. Often it is intended for children, but such verse also appeals to an adult sense of the ridiculous or whimsical.
The language of nonsense verse ranges from the fanciful and often aesthetically pleasing - "Hey-diddle-diddle, the cat and the fiddle / The cow jumped over the moon" - to words on the edge of meaning that tell a not-quite story.
The 19th century English writers Edward Lear and Lewis Carroll are the ultimate nonsense verse poets. The following is Lewis Carroll's poem The Hunting of the Snark. According to legend, whenever asked if the poem had allegorical, satirical, or other significance, Carroll would answer, "I don't know."
"It's a Snark!" was the sound that first came to their ears.
And seemed almost too good to be true.
Then followed a torrent of laughter and cheers:
Then the ominous words "It's a Boo -"
Then silence. Some fancied they heard in the air
A weary and wandering sigh
That sounded like "- jum!" but the others declare
It was only a breeze that went by.
The aim of all nonsense verse is to amuse, and perhaps to shock. Nonsense verse tells of improbable or fantastic subjects. The humor is usually emphasized by odd words, neologisms, and unexpected juxtapositions. Often it is intended for children, but such verse also appeals to an adult sense of the ridiculous or whimsical.
The language of nonsense verse ranges from the fanciful and often aesthetically pleasing - "Hey-diddle-diddle, the cat and the fiddle / The cow jumped over the moon" - to words on the edge of meaning that tell a not-quite story.
The 19th century English writers Edward Lear and Lewis Carroll are the ultimate nonsense verse poets. The following is Lewis Carroll's poem The Hunting of the Snark. According to legend, whenever asked if the poem had allegorical, satirical, or other significance, Carroll would answer, "I don't know."
"It's a Snark!" was the sound that first came to their ears.
And seemed almost too good to be true.
Then followed a torrent of laughter and cheers:
Then the ominous words "It's a Boo -"
Then silence. Some fancied they heard in the air
A weary and wandering sigh
That sounded like "- jum!" but the others declare
It was only a breeze that went by.
They hunted till darkness came on, but they found
Not a button, or feather, or mark,
By which they could tell that they stood on the ground
Where the Baker had met with the Snark.
In the midst of the word he was going to say,
In the midst of his laughter and glee,
He had softly and suddenly vanished away -
For the Snark was a Boojum, you see.
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