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.

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..."

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...

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).

There once was a writer named Lear
With a lauded poetic career,
But based on these rhymes
(Mediocre, most times),
The cause of his fame is unclear.

Alright, so that might be a bit harsh (or as Lear might say, borascible). Lear does have some moments of humorous nonsense here (though nothing that made me laugh out loud), and I appreciated some of his entertaining and obscure adjectives (both real and freshly coined). But this edition is entirely made up of limericks, which is a hard sell from the start, and even the ones that I found amusing still have drawbacks:

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!

There was an Old Man who said, Hush!
I perceive a young bird in this bush!
When they said - Is it small?
He replied - Not at all!
It is four times as big as the bush!

There was an Old Man of Acosta,
Who possessed a large cow, but he lost her;
But they said, Don't you see,
She has rushed up a tree?
You invidious Old Man of Acosta!

There was an Old Man in a boat,
Who said, I'm afloat! I'm afloat!
When they said, No! You Ain't!
He was ready to faint,
That unhappy Old Man in a boat.

I feel like he has to lose points for reusing end words rather than coming up with three distinct words that rhyme for lines 1, 2, and 5. The majority of his limericks employ this tactic, and it weakens their novelty, which is a problem since a book made up entirely of traditional limericks on similar subjects is already prone to feeling very repetitive.

I'm still open to reading more Lear... but preferably something other than limericks.

1 of: The Nonsense Poems [Hardcover:]
By: Edward Lear and illustrated by Leslie Brooke
Condition: Used - Good
Sold by: fairandfast1t£0.01



and there was a postcard inside



The word "runcible" was apparently one of Lear's favourite inventions, appearing in several of his works in reference to a number of different objects. source - wiki

Pooh! - this doesn't include any of his limericks so I'll have to search again for those

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 Thermopylae
Who never did anything properly
But they said, if you choose
To boil eggs in your shoes
You will never remain in Thermopylae!

I'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:

There was a young fellow named Tate
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.

(Non-Brits may have trouble with the next example)

There was a young curate from Salisbury
Whose manners were quite halisbury-scalisbury
Once morning in Hampshire
He took off his pampshire
Though his vicar had told him to walisbury

Last 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:

There was a young lady of Crewe
Whose limericks stopped at line two

Having read that, you'll hopefully appreciate the logical continuation:

There was a young man of Verdun

And then, of course there's the third one. It appears that limerick technology is still advancing...

Took away 2 stars because contrary to the title of the book, some verses actually made sense!

Relaxing, funny and light reading :3 I guess I need to try and read limericks in English now :))

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.

Edward Lear's limericks make me feel slightly mad... but in the most wonderful way possible!

Location: Kineruku
With: Best friend

A very light reading to boost today’s mood with its own dark jokes or pure innocent comedy. Suit for kids. Or just to lit up your mood to read some more.

Update: kinda sleepy here to read with a companion of hot chocolate and morning fine breeze.