by Edward Lear
EDWARD LEAR
(1812-1888)
Contents
The Poetry Collections
A BOOK OF NONSENSE
NONSENSE SONGS, STORIES, BOTANY AND ALPHABETS
MORE NONSENSE, PICTURES, RHYMES, BOTANY, ETC.
LAUGHABLE LYRICS, A FOURTH BOOK OF NONSENSE POEMS, SONGS, BOTANY, MUSIC, ETC.
NONSENSE SONGS AND STORIES
POSTHUMOUSLY PUBLISHED WORKS
The Poems
LIST OF POEMS IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER
LIST OF POEMS IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER
Selected Paintings
LIST OF ARTWORKS
The Biography
BRIEF BIOGRAPHY by Franklin Lushington
© Delphi Classics 2014
Version 1
EDWARD LEAR
By Delphi Classics, 2014
NOTE
When reading poetry on an eReader, it is advisable to use a small font size, which will allow the lines of poetry to display correctly.
The Poetry Collections
Holloway, Islington, London — Lear’s birthplace. The poet and illustrator was born in Bowman’s Place, now replaced by the playground of Grafton Primary School.
Lear, 1840
A BOOK OF NONSENSE
In 1846 Lear published his first volume of limericks, which would go on to sell in three editions, helping establish the poetic form in world literature. The first edition was published by Thomas McLean on 10 February. There were altogether seventy-two lithographic limericks in two volumes, selling at 3s 6d each. It was the convention at the time for children’s books to be published anonymously, so there was no mention of Lear’s name in the book.
Limericks are invariably typeset as four plus one lines presently, but Lear’s limericks were published in a variety of formats. It appears that Lear wrote them in manuscript in as many lines as there was room for beneath the picture. For the first three editions most are typeset as, respectively, two, five and three lines. In Lear’s limericks the first and last lines usually end with the same word, rather than rhyming. For the most part, they are truly nonsensical and devoid of any punch line or literal point. They are also free from the bawdiness that the verse form is now associated. A typical thematic element is the presence of a callous and critical “they.”
Although Lear’s nonsense books were popular during his lifetime, a rumour had spread that “Edward Lear” was merely a pseudonym and that the books’ true author was the man to whom Lear had dedicated them, his patron the Earl of Derby. Promoters of this rumour offered as evidence the facts that both men were named Edward, and that “Lear” is an anagram of “Earl.”
The third edition, bearing the poet’s name
CONTENTS
There was an Old Derry down Derry
There was an Old Man with a nose
There was a Young Person of Smyrna
There was an Old Man on a hill
There was an Old Person of Chili
There was an Old Man with a gong
There was an Old Man of Kilkenny
There was an Old Man of Columbia
There was an Old Man in a tree
There was an Old Lady of Chertsey
There was a Young Lady whose chin
There was an Old Man with a flute, —
There was a Young Lady of Portugal
There was an Old Person of Ischia
There was an Old Man of Vienna
There was an Old Man in a boat
There was an Old Person of Buda
There was an Old Man of Moldavia
There was an Old Person of Hurst
There was an Old Man of Madras
There was an Old Person of Dover
There was an Old Person of Leeds
There was an Old Person of Cadiz
There was an Old Man of the Isles
There was an Old Person of Basing
There was an Old Man who supposed
There was an Old Person whose habits
There was an Old Man of the West
There was an Old Man of Marseilles
There was an Old Man of the Wrekin
There was a Young Lady whose nose
There was a Young Lady of Norway
There was an Old Man of Apulia
There was an Old Man of Quebec, —
There was a Young Lady of Bute
There was an Old Person of Philœ
There was an Old Man with a poker
There was an Old Person of Prague
There was an Old Man of Peru
There was an Old Man of the North
There was an Old Person of Troy
There was an Old Person of Mold
There was an Old Person of Tring
There was an Old Man of Nepaul
There was an Old Man of the Nile
There was an Old Man of th’ Abruzzi
There was an Old Man of Calcutta
There was an Old Person of Rhodes
There was an Old Man of the South
There was an Old Man of Melrose
There was an Old Man of the Dee
There was a Young Lady of Lucca
There was an Old Man of Coblenz
There was an Old Man of Bohemia
There was an Old Man of Corfu
There was an Old Man of Vesuvius
There was an Old Man of Dundee
There was an Old Lady whose folly
There was an Old Man on some rocks
There was an Old Person of Rheims
There was an Old Man of Leghorn
There was an Old Man in a pew
There was an Old Man of Jamaica
There was an Old Man who said, “How
There was a Young Lady of Troy
There was a Young Lady of Hull
There was an Old Person of Dutton
There was an Old Man who said, “Hush!
There was a Young Lady of Russia
There was a Young Lady of Tyre
There was an Old Person of Bangor
There was an Old Man of the East
There was an Old Man of the Coast
There was an Old Man of Kamschatka
There was an Old Person of Gretna
There was an Old Man with a beard
There was an Old Man of Berlin
There was an Old Man of the West
There was an Old Person of Cheadle
There was an Old Person of Anerley
There was a Young Lady of Wales
There was a Young Lady of Welling
There was an Old Person of Tartary
There was an Old Man of Whitehaven
There was a Young Lady of Sweden
There was an Old Person of Chester
There was an Old Man of the Cape
There was an Old Person of Burton
There was an Old Person of Ems
There was a Young Girl of Majorca
There was a Young Lady of Poole
There was an Old Lady of Prague
There was a Young Lady of Parma
There was an Old Person of Sparta
There was an Old Man on whose nose
There was a Young Lady of Turkey
There was an Old Man of Aôsta
There was a Young Person of Crete
There was a Young Lady of Clare
There was a Young Lady of Dorking
There was an Old Man of Cape Horn
There was an old Person of Cromer
There was an Old Man of the Hague
There was an Old Person of Spain
There was an Old Man who said, “Well!
There was an Old Man with
an Owl
There was an Old Man in a casement
There was an Old Person of Ewell
There was an Old Man of Peru.
There was an Old Man with a beard
There was a Young Lady whose eyes
There was a Young Lady of Ryde
There was a Young Lady whose bonnet
Lear’s great early patron, Edward Smith-Stanley, 13th Earl of Derby KG (1775-1851) was an English politician, landowner, builder, farmer, art collector and naturalist.
Knowsley Hall, near Liverpool. From 1832 to 1836 the Earl of Derby, who kept a private menagerie at his estate, employed Lear as a draughtsman.
There was an Old Derry down Derry
There was an Old Derry down Derry, who loved to see little folks merry;
So he made them a Book, and with laughter they shook At the fun of that Derry down Derry.
NONSENSE RHYMES AND PICTURES
NONSENSE RHYMES AND PICTURES
There was an Old Man with a nose
There was an Old Man with a nose,
Who said, “If you choose to suppose
That my nose is too long, you are certainly wrong!”
That remarkable Man with a nose.
There was a Young Person of Smyrna
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!”
There was an Old Man on a hill
There was an Old Man on a hill,
Who seldom, if ever, stood still;
He ran up and down in his Grandmother’s gown,
Which adorned that Old Man on a hill.
There was an Old Person of Chili
There was an Old Person of Chili,
Whose conduct was painful and silly;
He sate on the stairs, eating apples and pears,
That imprudent Old Person of Chili.
There was an Old Man with a gong
There was an Old Man with a gong,
Who bumped at it all the day long;
But they called out, “Oh, law! you’re a horrid old bore!”
So they smashed that Old Man with a gong.
There was an Old Man of Kilkenny
There was an Old Man of Kilkenny,
Who never had more than a penny;
He spent all that money in onions and honey,
That wayward Old Man of Kilkenny.
There was an Old Man of Columbia
There was an Old Man of Columbia,
Who was thirsty, and called out for some beer;
But they brought it quite hot, in a small copper pot,
Which disgusted that man of Columbia.
There was an Old Man in a tree
There was an Old Man in a tree,
Who was horribly bored by a Bee;
When they said, “Does it buzz?” he replied, “Yes, it does!
It’s a regular brute of a Bee.”
There was an Old Lady of Chertsey
There was an Old Lady of Chertsey,
Who made a remarkable curtsey;
She twirled round and round, till she sank underground,
Which distressed all the people of Chertsey.
There was a Young Lady whose chin
There was a Young Lady whose chin
Resembled the point of a pin;
So she had it made sharp, and purchased a harp,
And played several tunes with her chin.
There was an Old Man with a flute, —
There was an Old Man with a flute, —
A “sarpint” ran into his boot!
But he played day and night, till the “sarpint” took flight,
And avoided that Man with a flute.
There was a Young Lady of Portugal
There was a Young Lady of Portugal,
Whose ideas were excessively nautical;
She climbed up a tree to examine the sea,
But declared she would never leave Portugal.
There was an Old Person of Ischia
There was an Old Person of Ischia,
Whose conduct grew friskier and friskier;
He danced hornpipes and jigs, and ate thousands of figs,
That lively Old Person of Ischia
There was an Old Man of Vienna
There was an Old Man of Vienna,
Who lived upon Tincture of Senna;
When that did not agree, he took Camomile Tea,
That nasty Old Man of Vienna.
There was an Old Man in a boat
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.
There was an Old Person of Buda
There was an Old Person of Buda,
Whose conduct grew ruder and ruder,
Till at last with a hammer they silenced his clamor.
By smashing that Person of Buda.
There was an Old Man of Moldavia
There was an Old Man of Moldavia,
Who had the most curious behavior;
For while he was able, he slept on a table,
That funny Old Man of Moldavia.
There was an Old Person of Hurst
There was an Old Person of Hurst,
Who drank when he was not athirst;
When they said, “You’ll grow fatter!” he answered “What matter?”
That globular Person of Hurst.
There was an Old Man of Madras
There was an Old Man of Madras,
Who rode on a cream-colored Ass;
But the length of its ears so promoted his fears,
That it killed that Old Man of Madras.
There was an Old Person of Dover
There was an Old Person of Dover,
Who rushed through a field of blue clover;
But some very large Bees stung his nose and his knees,
So he very soon went back to Dover.
There was an Old Person of Leeds
There was an Old Person of Leeds,
Whose head was infested with beads;
She sat on a stool and ate gooseberry-fool,
Which agreed with that Person of Leeds.
There was an Old Person of Cadiz
There was an Old Person of Cadiz,
Who was always polite to all ladies;
But in handing his daughter, he fell into the water,
Which drowned that Old Person of Cadiz.
There was an Old Man of the Isles
There was an Old Man of the Isles,
Whose face was pervaded with smiles;
He sang “High dum diddle,” and played on the fiddle,
That amiable Man of the Isles.
There was an Old Person of Basing
There was an Old Person of Basing,
Whose presence of mind was amazing;
He purchased a steed, which he rode at full speed,
And escaped from the people of Basing.
There was an Old Man who supposed
There was an Old Man who supposed
That the street door was partially closed;
But some very large Rats ate his coats and his hats,
While that futile Old Gentleman dozed.
There was an Old Person whose habits
There was an Old Person whose habits
Induced him to feed upon Rabbits;
When he’d eaten eighteen, he turned perfectly green,
Upon which he relinquished those habits.
There was an Old Man of the West
There was an Old Man of the West,
Who wore a pale plum-colored vest;
When they said, “Does it fit?” he replied, “Not a bit!”
That uneasy Old Man of the West.
There was an Old Man of Marseilles
There was an
Old Man of Marseilles,
Whose daughters wore bottle-green veils:
They caught several Fish, which they put in a dish,
And sent to their Pa at Marseilles.
There was an Old Man of the Wrekin
There was an Old Man of the Wrekin,
Whose shoes made a horrible creaking;
But they said, “Tell us whether your shoes are of leather,
Or of what, you Old Man of the Wrekin?”
There was a Young Lady whose nose
There was a Young Lady whose nose
Was so long that it reached to her toes;
So she hired an Old Lady, whose conduct was steady,
To carry that wonderful nose.
There was a Young Lady of Norway
There was a Young Lady of Norway,
Who casually sat in a doorway;
When the door squeezed her flat, she exclaimed, “What of that?”
