Read more from Edward Lear
Edward Lear's One Hundred Nonsense Pictures and Rhymes Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Jumblies Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Book of Nonsense Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHis Shoes Were Far Too Tight: Poems by Edward Lear Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Owl and the Pussy-Cat Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Book of Nonsense Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Jumblies and Other Nonsense Verses Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Jumblies and Other Nonsense Verses Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Short Story Hour - Volume 5 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsNonsense Books Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLaughable Lyrics Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Short Stories Of Edward Lear Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsNonsense Drolleries: The Owl & The Pussy-Cat—The Duck & The Kangaroo Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsNonsense Poems Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsNonsense Alphabet Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Table and the Chair Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Complete Works of Edward Lear Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Related to A Book of Nonsense
Related ebooks
Found Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAnansi and the Lion: A Baba Indaba Story Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5THE PIXIE OF THE WELL - A Turkish Fairy Tale: Baba Indaba Children's Stories Issue 05 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHappy New Year Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Nursery Rhyme Book Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Prince and the Pauper (Unabridged) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSAMI THE MAGIC BEAR: A Trip to the Hospital!: (Full-Color Edition) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsIdle Thoughts of an Idle Fellow Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Persuasion Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Seamstress of Ourfa Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLily's Mountain Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTreasure Hunt Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Rock Doesn't Roll on an Empty Stomach Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSecret Sacrament Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5F is for Florida: Written by Kids for Kids Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFifty Famous Stories Retold Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings5:2 Diet Cookbook: 20 Fast and Easy to Make Diet Recipes To Reduce Your Weight Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTales from Shakespeare Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTaming Chaos: A Parable on Decision Making Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSpitfire: The Remarkable Flight Of A Very Courageous Hummingbird Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsIf I Gave You God's Phone Number....Searching for Spirituality in America Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Meet a Baby Wombat Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Spookiest Tricks & Treats Joke Book Ever! Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsI Know My Christmas Decorations Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Spellbound Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTurtle Island Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThree Men In A Boat Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Land of the Lost Tribe Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Reviews for A Book of Nonsense
8 ratings8 reviews
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5I prefer limericks with more word play and less pure nonsense.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Lear's limericks are fun and silly, with some of that absurd humor I might also find in Dr. Seuss or Carroll's poetry. He makes up foolish words to suit his odd characters, who range from regular people who perform peculiar actions to bizarre figures who might be doing the mundane or the odd. A young woman has a chin so sharp she plays the harp, and a different fellow has a head so tiny that he purchases an immense wig to enlarge it. The edition I bought as an ebook had no illustrations. I had never read his poetry before, only seen references to it in other books, but even so, I knew something was missing. Fortunately, I easily found his limericks online with the accompanying pictures. (Now why did I buy that ebook?) The pictures are black-and-white sketches, as lugubrious and ridiculous as the poetry. I had an amusing hour as I read this book. Limericks aren't my favorite style, but I've never spent more than a passing moment with them, so it was interesting to read an entire collection of them. From what I gather, Lear is one of the better known limerick writers. He managed to instill his own style into a poetic form that has very set rules. The humor is mostly silly, but can be gruesome, with people dying and being cruel to others. I felt like it was an early form of black humor. I like trying new things, and don't regret spending time with this book, although I probably won't be seeking out other limericks in the near future.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5This was the free Kindle edition and it is missing all the illustrations which are surely integral to the book. The limericks themselves are old-fashioned but they are the originals of their type and so worth reading for that alone. They were indeed nonsense but they didn't make me laugh. The style of these limericks is somewhat grating with the last words of the first and fourth lines being identical rather than simply rhyming, which would have sounded so much more lyrical. Easy read though - I read the whole thing over a cup of coffee.
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5This probably seemed incredibly witty when it was written but, I actually found this tedious. It is one 'joke' repeated ad nauseam: There was an old man of... Poor. if early limericks.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5As expected, it reminded me of the nonsense verse I used to love as a child. I have no great interest in poetry, but something in this kind of funny, nonsensical turn of phrase intrigues me. A very quick read for a wet morning when you need the literary equivalent of a tickle!
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I don't think any parent (or grandparent) would purchase this book were it to be written and published today. More than half of the subjects are killed off, and most by incredibly nasty means. Even considering British pronunciation, the rhyming schemes are stretched beyond belief.So why did I give it four stars, you may well ask. 1. These children's nonsense rhymes are part of our cultural heritage--at least those of us from an English-speaking background.2. Lear exposes children to an incredibly rich vocabulary. In a time when so much is "dumbed down" for our children, it is a pleasure to find that such words as:incongruousimprudentintrinsicglobularfutilecapriciousinvidiousto name but a few, are at the very least, being exposed to their ear. And then there are some words, which at the least should provoke a fun discussion as to their meaning (as in "ombliferous"), and teach our children that language isn't static , but is a living entity.If you haven't been exposed to the Guttenberg Project, please check it out. Free digitized copies of books in the public domain. What a treasure!
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Many of the Limericks are fun, notably those featuring Birds,but this is not a book for kids or sensitive adults = too much violence, Killing, death, and animal cruelty.
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5When 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.
Book preview
A Book of Nonsense - Edward Lear
The Project Gutenberg eBook, A Book of Nonsense, by Edward Lear
This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or
re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.net
Title: A Book of Nonsense
Author: Edward Lear
Release Date: October 8, 2004 [eBook #13646]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A BOOK OF NONSENSE***
E-text prepared by Dave Newman, Ben Courtney,
and Project Gutenberg Distributed Proofreaders
NONSENSE RHYMES AND PICTURES
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112