Edward Lear: The Nonsense Poet and Artist

4. Edward Lear (12 May 1812 – 29 January 1888) was an English artist, illustrator, author and poet, and is renowned primarily for his literary nonsense, in poetry and prose and especially his limericks, a form that he popularised. From childhood he suffered ill health, including epilepsy (of which he was ashamed) and depression. He travelled widely for much of his life, before settling in Sanremo. He never married, though he did propose it, but he had many friends and a devoted pet cat. When, after a long decline in health, he died of heart disease, sadly, none of his friends was able to attend his funeral. His principal areas of work as an artist were threefold: as a draughtsman employed to illustrate birds and animals; making coloured drawings during his journeys, which he reworked later, sometimes as plates for his travel books; as a (largely frustrated) illustrator of Tennyson's poems. As an author, Lear is principally known for his popular nonsense works, rather than as a travel writer. These show a great ability to use with relish the sound of real and invented English words. He was particularly adept at surprising his readers, and, in his limericks, had a genius for doing so without resorting to shocking them.

5. In 1846 Lear published A Book of Nonsense, a volume of limericks that went through three editions and helped popularise the form. In 1865 The History of the Seven Families of the Lake Pipple-Popple was published, and in 1867 his most famous piece of nonsense, The Owl and the Pussycat, which he wrote for the children of his patron Edward Stanley, 13th Earl of Derby.

6. Conversation Between the duck and the kangaroo • The duck appreciates the kangaroo. • The duck says his life is bored. • The duck express his wish –to travel & to hop. • The duck wanted to ride on the kangaroo’s back. He wants to go to Dee and jelly Bo lee , he also wants to go over the sea and over the land. He assured that he will be quiet all along. • Kangaroo thought over the ducks request. The duck has perpetually wet feet . so the kangaroo fears that he may catch rheumatism.

7. Kangaroo thought over the ducks request. The duck has perpetually wet feet . so the kangaroo fears that he may catch rheumatism. • Assurance Given By The Duck. 1.Has purchased 4 pairs worsted socks. 2.Has purchased a shawl. 3.Will smoke a cigar everyday. • The journey began at night- The duck sat at the end of the kangaroo’s tail. They went round the world 3 times. The duck and the kangaroo are very happy as their journey was very successful.

8. Going around the world…

9. LIMERICK • Limerick is a kind of a witty, humorous, or nonsense poem,  especially one in five-line anapestic or amphibrachicmeter with a strictrhyme scheme (AABBA), which is sometimes obscene with humorous intent. The form can be found in England as of the early years of the 18th century. It was popularized by Edward Lear in the 19th century, although he did not use the term. • first Book of Nonsense (1845) and a later work (1872) on the same theme. Lear wrote 212 limericks, mostly nonsense verse. It was customary at the time for limericks to accompany an absurd illustration of the same subject, and for the final line of the limerick to be a kind of conclusion, usually a variant of the first line ending in the same word.

10. The limerick form was popularized by Edward Lear in his first Book of Nonsense (1845) and a later work (1872) on the same theme. Lear wrote 212 limericks, mostly nonsense verse. It was customary at the time for limericks to accompany an absurd illustration of the same subject, and for the final line of the limerick to be a kind of conclusion, usually a variant of the first line ending in the same word. • The following is an example of one of Edward Lear's limericks. • There was a Young Person of Smyrna • Whose grandmother threatened to burn her; • But she seized on the cat, • and said 'Granny, burn that! • You incongruous old woman of Smyrna!' • Lear's limericks were often typeset in three or four lines, according to the space available under the accompanying picture.

11. KANGAROO • Kangaroo, common name for a group of mammals found in Australia and neighbouring islands. Kangaroos are marsupials, a type of mammal that gives birth to undeveloped young. In kangaroos and many other marsupials, the young are carried and nurtured in a special pouch on the mother's body. • More than 50 different kinds of animals are grouped together in two kangaroo families. The large kangaroos include red kangaroos and grey kangaroos, wallabies, pad melons, and quokka; they belong in the family Macropodidae. The other family, Potoroidae, is made up of assorted smaller species, such as various rat-kangaroos, bettongs, and potoroos. The largest kangaroos are the grey kangaroo and red kangaroo, which can stand up to 2 m (6.5 ft.) tall and weigh up to 85 kg (187 lb.). The smallest are the musky rat-kangaroos, ratlike animals measuring about 30 cm (12 in), not including the tail. • Kangaroos are found only in mainland Australia and New Guinea and on some of their offshore islands, such as Tasmania. A few species have been introduced to other countries, such as tammars in New Zealand and a rock wallaby in Hawaii.

16. DUCK • Duck, a water bird with webbed feet, short legs, and a broad, flat beak. Ducks belong to the same family—waterfowl—as geese and swans. But most ducks have smaller bodies and shorter necks and legs than geese or swans. In general male ducks are brighter in colour and more boldly patterned than female ducks, whereas in geese and swans both sexes look alike. Male ducks are called drakes, female ducks are called hens or ducks, and Ducks live on all continents except Antarctica, and they inhabit most of the world’s islands. • Most ducks live near ponds, rivers, wetlands, or other places with freshwater. Some ducks inhabit saltwater bays, river mouths, or seas. Ducks that nest in cold or temperate (mild) climate zones usually migrate to warmer waters for the winter. Some fly from Alaska or northern Canada all the way to Central or South America. Eider ducks inhabit cold, northern waters of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans year round.