Literary nonsense
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| - | :''[[nonsense verse]]'' | + | '''Literary nonsense''' (or '''nonsense literature''') is a broad categorization of [[literature]] that uses sensical and nonsensical elements to defy language conventions or logical reasoning. Even though the most well-known form of literary nonsense is [[nonsense verse]], the genre is present in many forms of literature. |
| - | '''Literary nonsense''' refers to a [[literary genre]], whether poetry or prose, that depends on a balance of sense and non-sense, on order and chaos. It usually presents a topsy-turvy world but is distinct from fantasy. Often, though not necessarily humorous, nonsense has a kind of humor derived from a different source than a joke: nonsense is funny because it does ''not'' make sense, as opposed to most humor which is funny because it ''does''. Nonsense usually lives like a parasite, within the host of another genre or type of literature, and as such, can appear in many guises, such as romantic verse, alphabet, travel writing, short story, lyric poetry, journalism, and recipes. Structural strictness is often balanced by semantic chaos and polysemy. According to Wim Tigges, the effect of nonsense is often caused by an excess of meaning, rather than a lack of it. Tigges also gives a number of nonsense techniques/devices that characterize the genre, including faulty cause and effect, portmanteau, neologism, reversals and inversions, imprecision, simultaneity, picture/text incongruity, arbitrariness, infinite repetition, negativity or mirroring, and misappropriation. Michael Heyman has added to this list nonsense tautology, reduplication, statement of the obvious, and absurd precision . Nonsense can exist as a genre, in which many nonsense devices are used to create a careful balance, or it can be used as a device, in which case the text may be quite sensical with only moments of the nonsense effect. Sometimes this kind of writing is inaccurately referred to as "[[nonsense verse]]", which is inaccurate not because nonsense verse does not exist, but because nonsense can appear in non-verse forms. | + | |
| - | ==Audience== | + | The effect of nonsense is often caused by an excess of meaning, rather than a lack of it. Nonsense is often humorous in nature, although its humor is derived from its nonsensical nature, as opposed to most humor which is funny because it ''does'' make sense. |
| - | While much nonsense from the nineteenth century onward has been written for children, the genre has a much longer history in adult forms. [[Noel Malcolm]], in his book ''The Origins of English Nonsense,'' gives a good history of the genre in its adult form, starting with figures such as John Hoskyns, Henry Peacham, John Sanford, and John Taylor (all early seventeenth century). It has also appeared as an important element in the works of figures such as [[James Joyce]], [[Flann O'Brien]], and [[Eugene Ionesco]]. Literary nonsense, as opposed to folk forms of nonsense that have always existed, was first written for children in the early nineteenth century. It was popularized by [[Edward Lear]], and later by [[Lewis Carroll]]. Regardless of the intended audience, it is usually enjoyed by both adults and children for its careful artistry, absurd logic, adherence to form, delight in sound, sense of play, and subversive tendencies. | + | |
| ==History== | ==History== | ||
| - | Literary nonsense as a genre has its roots in two major branches. Its older branch hearkens back to the folk tradition, through folktales, drama, rhymes, songs, and games, such as "[[Hey Diddle Diddle]]". Schoolyard rhymes and Mother Goose are modern incarnations of this ancient art. Its role in the folk tradition varies from mnemonic device and subversive alteration of iconic text, to simply joyous play with the sound of language. | + | The roots of literary nonsense are divided into two branches. The first and older branch is traced back to the folk tradition, folktales, dramas, rhymes, songs, and games, such as the [[nursery rhyme]] "[[Hey Diddle Diddle]]". Schoolyard rhymes and the literary figure [[Mother Goose]] are somewhat contemporary incarnations of this style of writing. Its role in the folk tradition varies from mnemonic device to parody and satire. |
| - | The other root of literary nonsense is from the intellectual absurdities of court poets, scholars, and intellectuals of various kinds. These writers were often creating sophisticated nonsense forms of Latin parodies, religious travesties, or political satire. | + | The second, newer branch of literary nonsense has its origins in the intellectual absurdities of [[court poet]]s, scholars, and intellectuals of various kinds. These writers often created sophisticated nonsense forms of Latin parodies, religious [[Travesti (theatre)|travesties]] and political satire. |
| - | Today, what we commonly consider to be the genre of literary nonsense comes from a combination of the folk and the "intellectual." Though not the first to write this hybrid kind of nonsense, Edward Lear developed and popularized it in his many limericks (starting with ''A Book of Nonsense'', 1846) and other famous texts such as "The Owl and the Pussycat", "The Dong with a Luminous Nose," "The Jumblies," and "The Story of the Four Little Children Who Went Around the World." Lewis Carroll continued this trend, making literary nonsense a world-wide phenomenon with [[Alice's Adventures in Wonderland]] (1865) and [[Through the Looking-Glass]] (1871). Carroll's "[[Jabberwocky]]" which appears in ''[[Through the Looking-Glass]]'' is often considered quintessential nonsense. | + | Today's literary nonsense comes from a combination of both branches. Though not the first to write this hybrid kind of nonsense, [[Edward Lear]] developed and popularized it in his many [[limerick]]s (starting with ''[[A Book of Nonsense]]'', 1846) and other famous texts such as "The Owl and the Pussycat", "The Dong with a Luminous Nose," "[[s:The Jumblies|The Jumblies]]" and "The Story of the Four Little Children Who Went Around the World." [[Lewis Carroll]] continued this trend, making literary nonsense a worldwide phenomenon with ''[[Alice's Adventures in Wonderland]]'' (1865) and ''[[Through the Looking-Glass]]'' (1871). Carroll's "[[Jabberwocky]]" which appears in ''[[Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There]]'' is often considered quintessential nonsense literature. |
| ==Theory== | ==Theory== | ||
| - | The sentence "[[Colorless green ideas sleep furiously]]" was coined by [[Noam Chomsky]] as an example of nonsense. The individual words make sense, and are arranged according to proper [[grammar]], yet the result is still nonsense. The inspiration for this attempt at creating verbal nonsense came from the idea of [[contradiction]] and irrelevant or immaterial characteristics (an idea may have a dimension of [[color]], yet it is first specified to be without hue), both of which would be sure to make a phrase meaningless. The phrase "the square root of Tuesday" operates on the latter principle. This principle is behind the inscrutability of the [[koan]] "What is the sound of one hand clapping?", as one hand would supposedly require another hand to complete the definition of clapping. | + | In literary nonsense, formal diction and tone may be balanced with elements of absurdity. It is most easily recognizable by the various techniques it uses to create nonsensical effects, such as faulty cause and effect, [[portmanteau]], [[neologism]], reversals and inversions, imprecision, simultaneity, picture/text incongruity, arbitrariness, infinite repetition, negativity or mirroring, and misappropriation. Nonsense tautology, reduplication, and absurd precision have also been used effectively in the nonsense genre. For a text to be within the bounds of literary nonsense, it must have an abundance of nonsense techniques woven into the fabric of the piece. If the text employs only occasional nonsense techniques, then it may not be classified as literary nonsense, though there may be a nonsensical effect to certain portions of the work. |
| - | Still, the human will to find meaning is strong; ''green ideas'' might be ideas associated with a [[Green party]] in politics, and ''colorless green ideas'' criticises some of them as uninspiring. For some, the human impulse to find meaning in what is actually random or nonsensical is what makes people find [[luck]] in [[coincidence]], or believe in [[omen]]s and [[divination]]. | + | Nonsense literature is effective because of the human desire to find meaning everywhere, in everything, and where perhaps none exists. |
| - | == What nonsense is not == | + | ==What nonsense is not== |
| + | Gibberish can be a form of nonsense, but true nonsense literature has semantic, syntactic, phonetic or contextual meaning. Literature that employs the use of [[neologism]]s or made-up words is distinguished from gibberish if the context assigns meaning to those words or if [[word play]] is used to associate the gibberish with familiar words, such as "[[Jabberwocky]]" or "[[Hey Diddle Diddle]]". | ||
| - | Pure gibberish, such as "Sluggahbooh chinftifg gahgahgah axxyt ipipi" may qualify as nonsense in the dictionary definition, but in terms of nonsense art, it is low on the scale. This is so mainly because such a statement does not exhibit the kind of balance needed to make good nonsense that challenges us to play with meanings. This statement has very little semantic, syntactic, phonetic or contextual meaning (though of course no statement can be completely without meaning). In other words, there is not enough sense here for it to be nonsense. Gibberish can, however, be used occasionally as a device within a nonsense text, such as "[[Hey Diddle Diddle]]." | + | Nonsense is distinct from [[fantasy]], though there are sometimes resemblances between them. While nonsense may employ the strange creatures, other worldly situations, magic, and talking animals of fantasy, these supernatural phenomena are not nonsensical if they have a discernible logic supporting their existence. The distinction lies in the coherent and unified nature of fantasy. Everything follows logic within the rules of the fantasy world; the nonsense world, on the other hand, has no system of logic, although it may imply the existence of an inscrutable one, just beyond our grasp. The nature of magic within an imaginary world is an example of this distinction. Fantasy worlds employ the presence of magic to logically explain the impossible. In nonsense literature, magic is rare but when it does occur, its nonsensical nature only adds to the mystery rather than logically explaining anything. An example of nonsensical magic occurs in Carl Sandburg's ''[[Rootabaga Stories]]'', when Jason Squiff, in possession of a magical "gold buckskin whincher", has his hat, mittens, and shoes turn into popcorn because, according to the "rules" of the magic, "You have a letter Q in your name and because you have the pleasure and happiness of having a Q in your name you must have a popcorn hat, popcorn mittens and popcorn shoes". |
| - | Nonsense is distinct from [[fantasy]], though there are sometimes resemblances between them. While nonsense may employ the strange creatures, other worldly situations, magic, and talking animals of a fantasy, these elements in themselves are not nonsensical. Supernatural phenomena do not create nonsense as long as they have a discernible logic supporting their existence. The distinction lies primarily in the presence of coherence within fantasy. Everything makes sense within the rules of the fantasy world; the nonsense world, on the other hand, has no such coherent system, although it may imply the existence of an inscrutable one, just beyond our grasp. The nature of magic within an imaginary world can serve as an example of this distinction. Fantasy worlds use magic to make everything make sense. Magic is rare in nonsense worlds, but when it does occur, it is a nonsense kind of magic; that is, its magic only adds to the mystery rather than solving anything. This occurs in Carl Sandburg's ''Rootabaga Tales'', for instance, when Jason Squiff, in possession of a magical "gold buckskin whincher", has his hat, mittens, and shoes turn into popcorn because, according to the "rules" of the magic, "You have a letter Q in your name and because you have the pleasure and happiness of having a Q in your name you must have a popcorn hat, popcorn mittens and popcorn shoes" (Sandburg 82.) Nonsense logic determines the magic here, and we are no closer to understanding this world. | + | [[Riddles]] only appear to be nonsense until the answer is found. The most famous nonsense riddle is only so because it originally had no answer. In Carroll's ''Alice in Wonderland'', the Mad Hatter asks Alice "Why is a raven like a writing-desk?" When Alice gives up, the Hatter replies that he does not know either, creating a nonsensical riddle. Some seemingly nonsense texts are actually riddles, such as the popular 1940s song "[[Mairzy Doats]]", which at first appears to have little discernible meaning but has a discoverable message. |
| - | No form of composition is, in itself, nonsensical. Limericks, for instance, in their modern incarnation are usually a kind of joke rather than nonsense. Their humor hinges on the unexpected resolution found in the rhyme of the last line, the "punch line". Edward Lear's limericks (or "nonsenses," as he called them, the modern term not having been coined yet) have no such punch line. They are nonsensical because of their circularity, their absurdity, their misappropriations and neologisms, and their parody of logic, but not because of the form itself. His use of the same word for the ends of the first and last lines, for instance, creates the circularity and lack of resolution absent in modern limericks. Light verse, another form often used for nonsense, is also not necessarily so. Silliness, humor, and inconsequentiality may sometimes be by-products of nonsense but do not constitute it. | + | ==Audience== |
| + | While most contemporary nonsense has been written for children, the form has an extensive history in adult configurations before the nineteenth century. Figures such as John Hoskyns, Henry Peacham, [[John Sandford (poet)|John Sandford]], and John Taylor lived in the early seventeenth century and were noted nonsense authors in their time. Nonsense was also an important element in the works of [[Flann O'Brien]] and [[Eugene Ionesco]]. Literary nonsense, as opposed to the folk forms of nonsense that have always existed in written history, was only first written for children in the early nineteenth century. It was popularized by [[Edward Lear]] and then later by [[Lewis Carroll]]. Today literary nonsense enjoys a shared audience of adults and children. | ||
| - | [[Riddles]] only appear to be nonsense until the answer is found. The most famous nonsense riddle is only so because it originally had no answer. In Carroll's ''Alice in Wonderland'', the Mad Hatter asks Alice "Why is a raven like a writing-desk?" When Alice gives up, the Hatter replies that he does not know either, creating an answer-less riddle, a nonsense. Of course, clever answers have since been invented to fit the original, such as "Poe wrote on both." | + | ==Nonsense writers== |
| + | The most celebrated nonsense writers in English literature are [[Edward Lear]] (1812–1888) and [[Lewis Carroll]] (Charles Lutwidge Dodgson) (1832–1898). | ||
| - | There are also some texts which ''appear'' to be nonsense verse, but actually are not, such as the popular 40's song "[[Mairzy Doats]]". | + | Other nonsense writers in English: |
| + | {{div col|colwidth=20em}} | ||
| + | * [[L. Frank Baum]] | ||
| + | * [[Ivor Cutler]] | ||
| + | * [[Roald Dahl]] | ||
| + | * Nicholas Daly | ||
| + | * Simon L. Read | ||
| + | * [[Dave Eggers]] and his brother Christopher, writing as Dr. and Mr. Doris Haggis-on-Whey | ||
| + | * [[Mike Gordon]] | ||
| + | * [[Edward Gorey]] | ||
| + | * [[Andrew Hussie]] | ||
| + | * [[James Joyce]] | ||
| + | * [[Norton Juster]] | ||
| + | * [[John Lennon]] | ||
| + | * [[Spike Milligan]] | ||
| + | * [[Flann O'Brien]] | ||
| + | * [[Mervyn Peake]] | ||
| + | * [[Jack Prelutsky]] | ||
| + | * Anushka Ravishankar | ||
| + | * [[Laura E. Richards]] | ||
| + | * [[Michael Rosen]] | ||
| + | * [[Carl Sandburg]] | ||
| + | * [[Dr. Seuss]] | ||
| + | * [[Jean Shepherd]] | ||
| + | * [[Shel Silverstein]] | ||
| + | * [[James Thurber]] | ||
| + | * [[Jhonen Vasquez]] | ||
| + | * [[Alan Watts]] | ||
| + | {{div col end}} | ||
| - | ==Techniques== | + | Writers of nonsense from other languages include: |
| - | Wim Tigges gives a number of nonsense techniques/devices that characterize the genre, including faulty cause and effect, [[portmanteau]], [[neologism]], reversals and inversions, imprecision, simultaneity, picture/text incongruity, arbitrariness, infinite repetition, negativity or mirroring, and misappropriation. Michael Heyman has added to this list nonsense tautology, reduplication, statement of the obvious, and absurd precision. | + | {{div col|colwidth=20em}} |
| + | * [[Lennart Hellsing]] (Swedish) | ||
| + | * [[Zinken Hopp]] (Norwegian) | ||
| + | * [[Alfred Jarry]] (French) | ||
| + | * [[Franz Kafka]] (German) | ||
| + | * [[Daniil Kharms]] (Russian) | ||
| + | * [[Christian Morgenstern]] (German) | ||
| + | * [[Halfdan Rasmussen]] (Danish) | ||
| + | * [[Sukumar Ray]] ([[Bengali language|Bengali]]) | ||
| + | * [[Erik Satie]] (French) | ||
| + | {{div col end}} | ||
| - | ==Nonsense artists== | + | ==Popular culture== |
| - | The two most celebrated nonsense writers in English are [[Edward Lear]] (1812-1888) and [[Lewis Carroll]] ([[Charles Lutwidge Dodgson]]) (1832-1898), although nonsense existed in English long before the nineteenth century. | + | [[David Byrne (musician)|David Byrne]], frontman of the [[art rock]]/[[New wave music|new wave]] group [[Talking Heads]], employed nonsensical techniques in songwriting. Byrne often combined coherent yet unrelated phrases to make up nonsensical lyrics in songs such as: "[[Burning Down the House]]", "Making Flippy Floppy" and "Girlfriend Is Better". This tendency formed the basis of the title for the Talking Heads concert movie, [[Stop Making Sense]]. More recently, Byrne published ''Arboretum'' (2006), a volume of tree-like diagrams that are, "mental maps of imaginary territory." He continues, explaining the aspect of nonsense: "Irrational logic--[...]. The application of logical scientific rigor and form to basically irrational premises. To proceed, carefully and deliberately, from nonsense, with a straight face, often arriving at a new kind of sense." |
| - | Some of the most talented writers in English who have contributed to the genre are: [[Mervyn Peake]], [[Spike Milligan]], [[Edward Gorey]], [[Flann O'Brien]], [[Alan Watts]], [[Dr. Seuss]], [[Carl Sandburg]], [[Laura E. Richards]], [[Jack Prelutsky]], [[Shel Silverstein]], [[John Lennon]], [[Michael Rosen]], Anushka Ravishankar, [[Mike Gordon]], Nicholas Daly, [[James Thurber]], and, most recently, Dr. and Mr. Doris Haggis-on-Whey ([[Dave Eggers]] and his brother Bill). | + | [[Syd Barrett]], one-time frontman and founder of [[Pink Floyd]], was known for his often nonsensical songwriting influenced by Lear and Carroll that featured heavily on Pink Floyd's first album, ''[[The Piper at the Gates of Dawn]]''. |
| - | Writers of nonsense from other languages include [[Christian Morgenstern]] (German), [[Sukumar Ray]] (Bengali), [[Alfred Jarry]] and [[Erik Satie]] (French), and Lennart Hellsing (Swedish). | + | [[Glen Baxter]]'s [[comic]] work is often nonsense, relying on the baffling interplay between word and image. |
| - | ==Other media== | + | ''[[Zippy the Pinhead]]'', by [[Bill Griffith]], is an American strip that mixes philosophy, including what has been called "Heideggerian disruptions," and pop culture in its nonsensical processes. |
| - | In the field of [[art]], the [[Dada]] movement resembles nonsense in certain ways, but is also quite distinct from it. As a genre, nonsense has no particular agenda, though it may imply a kind of subversion in various ways. Dada was more directed, creating an expression of disaffection with art and a society that seemed unavoidably addicted to the insanity of war. | + | |
| - | [[David Byrne (musician)|David Byrne]], front man of the [[art rock]] group [[Talking Heads]], employs a similar technique in songwriting. With [[Talking Heads]], Byrne often combined coherent yet unrelated phrases to make up nonsensical lyrics in songs such as: "[[Burning Down the House]]", "Making Flippy Floppy" and "Girlfriend Is Better". | + | ==See also== |
| - | + | ||
| - | While films sometimes naturally fall into the realms of surrealism and dada, one of the most nonsensical, in terms of our definition here, is [[Steven Soderberg]]'s ''[[Schizopolis]]''. | + | |
| - | + | ||
| - | In comic strips, [[Glen Baxter]]'s work is often nonsensical, relying on the baffling interplay between word and image. | + | |
| - | + | ||
| - | ==References== | + | |
| - | {{Reflist}} | + | |
| - | + | ||
| - | == Works cited == | + | |
| - | Carroll, Lewis. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. ed. Donald J. Gray (New York: Norton, 1992)<br> | + | |
| - | Heyman, Michael, "An Indian Nonsense Naissance" in ''The Tenth Rasa: An Anthology of Indian Nonsense'', edited by Michael Heyman, with Sumanyu Satpathy and Anushka Ravishankar. New Delhi: Penguin, 2007.<br> | + | |
| - | Sandburg, Carl. Rootabaga Stories (London: George G. Harrap, 1924.<br> | + | |
| - | Tigges, Wim. ”An Anatomy of Nonsense” in ''Dutch Quarterly Review'' 16: 162-85, 1986, pp. 166-7. | + | |
| - | ____________. "The Limerick: The Sonnet of Nonsense?" in ''Dutch Quarterly Review'', Vol. 16, 1986/3, p. 220-236. | + | |
| - | == Further reading == | + | |
| - | + | ||
| - | '''Primary sources''' | + | |
| - | + | ||
| - | Carroll, Lewis (Charles Lutwidge Dodgson), ''Alice in Wonderland'', 1865, ed. Donald J. Gray, 2nd edition (London: Norton, 1992)<br> | + | |
| - | _________. ''The Complete Works of Lewis Carroll'' (London: Nonesuch Press, 1940)<br> | + | |
| - | Daly, Nicholas. ''A Wanderer in Og''. (Cape Town: Double Storey Books, 2005)<br> | + | |
| - | [Eggers, Dave and his brother Bill] aka Dr. and Mr. Doris Haggis-on-Whey'. ''Giraffes? Giraffes!'', The Haggis-On-Whey World of Unbelievable Brilliance, Volume 1., Earth: McSweeney's, 2003.<br> | + | |
| - | _________. ''Your Disgusting Head: The Darkest, Most Offensive--and Moist--Secrets of Your Ears, Mouth and Nose, Volume 2., 2004.<br> | + | |
| - | _________. ''Animals of the Ocean, In particular the giant squid'', Volume 3, 2006<br> | + | |
| - | Gordon, Mike. ''Mike's Corner: Daunting Literary Snippets from Phish's Bassist''. Boston: Bulfinch Press, 1997.<br> | + | |
| - | Gorey, Edward. ''Amphigorey'', (New York: Perigee, 1972)<br> | + | |
| - | _________. ''Amphigorey too'', (New York: Perigee, 1975)<br> | + | |
| - | _________. ''Amphigorey Also'', (Harvest, 1983)<br> | + | |
| - | _________. ''Amphigorey Again'', (Barnes & Noble, 2002)<br> | + | |
| - | Kipling, Rudyard, ''Just So Stories'' (New York: Signet, 1912)<br> | + | |
| - | Lear, Edward, ''The Complete Verse and Other Nonsense''. Ed. Vivian Noakes (London: Penguin, 2001)<br> | + | |
| - | Lennon, John, ''Skywriting by Word of Mouth and other writings, including The Ballad of John and Yoko'' (New York: Perennial, 1986.<br> | + | |
| - | _________. ''The Writings of John Lennon: In His Own Write, A Spaniard in the Works'' (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1964, 1965)<br> | + | |
| - | Milligan, Spike, Silly Verse for Kinds (London: Puffin, 1968)<br> | + | |
| - | Morgenstern, Christian, The Gallows Songs: Christian Morgenstern's "Galgenlieder", trans. Max Knight. (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1963)<br> | + | |
| - | Peake, Mervyn, ''A Book of Nonsense'' (London: Picador, 1972)<br> | + | |
| - | _________. ''Captain Slaughterboard Drops Anchor'' (London: Country Life Book, 1939)<br> | + | |
| - | _________. ''Titus Groan'' (London: Methuen, 1946)<br> | + | |
| - | Ravishankar, Anushka, ''Excuse Me Is This India?'' illus. by Anita Leutwiler, Chennai: Tara Publishing, 2001.<br> | + | |
| - | _________. ''Wish You Were Here'', Chennai: Tara Publishing, 2003.<br> | + | |
| - | _________. ''Today is My Day'', illus. Piet Grobler, Chennai: Tara Publishing, 2003.<br> | + | |
| - | Richards, Laura E., ''I Have a Song to Sing You: Still More Rhymes'', illus. Reginald Birch (New York, London: D. Appleton--Century Company, 1938)<br> | + | |
| - | _________. ''Tirra Lirra: Rhymes Old and New'', illus. Marguerite Davis (London: George G. Harrap, 1933)<br> | + | |
| - | Rosen, Michael, ''Michael Rosen’s Book of Nonsense'', illus. Claire Mackie (Hove: Macdonald Young Books, 1997)<br> | + | |
| - | Sandburg, Carl, ''Rootabaga Stories'' (London: George G. Harrap, 1924)<br> | + | |
| - | _________. ''More Rootabaga Stories''<br> | + | |
| - | Seuss, Dr. ''[[On Beyond Zebra!]]''New York: Random House, 1955.<br> | + | |
| - | Thurber, James, ''The 13 Clocks'', 1950, (New York: Dell, 1990)<br> | + | |
| - | Watts, Alan, ''Nonsense'' (New York: E.P. Dutton, 1975; originally Stolen Paper Review Editions, 1967)<br> | + | |
| - | + | ||
| - | + | ||
| - | '''Anthologies''' | + | |
| - | + | ||
| - | ''A Book of Nonsense Verse'', collected by Langford Reed, Illus. H.M. Bateman (New York & London: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1926)<br> | + | |
| - | ''The Chatto Book of Nonsense Poetry'', ed. [[Hugh Haughton]] (London: Chatto & Windus, 1988)<br> | + | |
| - | ''The Everyman Book of Nonsense Verse'', ed. Louise Guinness (New York: Everyman, 2004)<br> | + | |
| - | ''The Faber Book of Nonsense Verse'', ed. Geoffrey Grigson (London: Faber, 1979)<br> | + | |
| - | ''A Nonsense Anthology'', collected by Carolyn Wells (New York: Charles Schribner's Sons, 1902)<br> | + | |
| - | ''O, What Nonsense!'', selected by William Cole, illus. Tomi Ungerer. (London: Methuen & Co., 1966)<br> | + | |
| - | ''The Puffin Book of Nonsense Verse'', selected and illus. Quentin Blake (London: Puffin, 1994)<br> | + | |
| - | ''The Tenth Rasa: An Anthology of Indian Nonsense'', ed. Michael Heyman, with Sumanyu Satpathy and Anushka Ravishankar (New Delhi: Penguin, 2007). The blog for this book and Indian nonsense: [http://tenthrasa.blogspot.com]<br> | + | |
| - | + | ||
| - | '''Secondary sources''' | + | |
| - | + | ||
| - | Andersen, Jorgen, “Edward Lear and the Origin of Nonsense,” English Studies, 31 (1950), 161-166<br> | + | |
| - | Baker, William, “T.S. Eliot on Edward Lear: An Unnoted Attribution,” English Studies, 64 (1983), 564-566<br> | + | |
| - | Bouissac, Paul, “Decoding Limericks: A Structuralist Approach,” Semiotica, 19 (1977), 1-12<br> | + | |
| - | Byrom, Thomas, ''Nonsense and Wonder: The Poems and Cartoons of Edward Lear'' (New York: E.P. Dutton, 1977)<br> | + | |
| - | Cammaerts, Emile, ''The Poetry of Nonsense'' (London: Routledge, 1925)<br> | + | |
| - | Chesterton, G.K., “A Defence of Nonsense,” in The Defendant (London: J.M. Dent & Sons, 1914), pp. 42-50<br> | + | |
| - | Chitty, Susan, ''That Singular Person Called Lear'' (London: Weidenfeld and Nicholson, 1988)<br> | + | |
| - | Colley, Ann C., Edward Lear and the Critics (Columbia, SC: Camden House, 1993)<br> | + | |
| - | _________. “Edward Lear’s Limericks and the Reversals of Nonsense,” Victorian Poetry, 29 (1988), 285-299<br> | + | |
| - | _________. “The Limerick and the Space of Metaphor,” Genre, 21 (Spring 1988), 65-91.<br> | + | |
| - | Cuddon, J.A., ed., revised by C.E. Preston, “Nonsense,” in A Dictionary of Literary Terms and Literary Theory, 4th edition (Oxford: Blackwell, 1976, 1998), pp. 551-58<br> | + | |
| - | Davidson, Angus, Edward Lear: Landscape Painter and Nonsense Poet (London: John Murray, 1938)<br> | + | |
| - | Deleuze, Gilles, The Logic of Sense, trans. Mark Lester with Charles Stivale, ed. Constantin V. Boundas (London: The Athlone Press, (French version 1969), 1990)<br> | + | |
| - | Dilworth, Thomas, “Edward Lear’s Suicide Limerick,” The Review of English Studies, 184 (1995), 535-38<br> | + | |
| - | _________. “Society and the Self in the Limericks of Lear,” The Review of English Studies, 177 (1994), 42-62<br> | + | |
| - | Dolitsky, Marlene, Under the Tumtum Tree: From Nonsense to Sense (Amsterdam: John Benjamins, 1984)<br> | + | |
| - | Ede, Lisa S., “The Nonsense Literature of Edward Lear and Lewis Carroll” (unpublished PhD dissertation, Ohio State University, 1975)<br> | + | |
| - | _________. “Edward Lear’s Limericks and Their Illustrations” in Explorations in the Field of Nonsense, ed. Wim Tigges (Amsterdam: Rodopi, 1987), pp. 101-116<br> | + | |
| - | _________. “An Introduction to the Nonsense Literature of Edward Lear and Lewis Carroll” in Explorations in the Field of Nonsense, ed. Wim Tigges (Amsterdam: Rodopi, 1987), pp. 47-60<br> | + | |
| - | Flescher, Jacqueline, “The language of nonsense in Alice,” Yale French Studies, 43 (1969-70) 128-44<br> | + | |
| - | Graziosi, Marco, “The Limerick” on Edward Lear Home Page (http://www2.pair.com/mgraz/Lear/index.html)<br> | + | |
| - | Guiliano, Edward, “A Time for Humor: Lewis Carroll, Laughter and Despair, and The Hunting of the Snark” in Lewis Carroll: A Celebration, ed. Edward Guiliano (New York, 1982), pp. 123-131<br> | + | |
| - | Haight, M.R., “Nonsense,” British Journal of Aesthetics, 11 (1971), 247-56<br> | + | |
| - | Hark, Ina Rae, Edward Lear (Boston: Twayne Publishers, 1982)<br> | + | |
| - | _________. “Edward Lear: Eccentricity and Victorian Angst,” Victorian Poetry, 16 (1978),112-122<br> | + | |
| - | Heyman, Michael, ''Isles of Boshen: Edward Lear in Context''. PhD dissertation, University of Glasgow, 1999. [http://hdl.handle.net/1905/330]<br> | + | |
| - | _________. "A New Defense of Nonsense; or, 'Where is his phallus?' and other questions not to ask" in Children's Literature Association Quarterly, Winter 1999-2000. Volume 24, Number 4 (186-194)<br> | + | |
| - | _________. "An Indian Nonsense Naissance" in ''The Tenth Rasa: An Anthology of Indian Nonsense'', edited by Michael Heyman, with Sumanyu Satpathy and Anushka Ravishankar. New Delhi: Penguin, 2007. <br> | + | |
| - | Hilbert, Richard A., “Approaching Reason’s Edge: ‘Nonsense’ as the Final Solution to the Problem of Meaning,” Sociological Inquiry, 47.1 (1977), 25-31<br> | + | |
| - | Huxley, Aldous, “Edward Lear,” in ''On the Margin'' (London: Chatto & Windus, 1923), pp. 167-172<br> | + | |
| - | Lecercle, Jean-Jacques, ''Philosophy of Nonsense: The Intuitions of Victorian Nonsense Literature'' (London, New York: Routledge, 1994)<br> | + | |
| - | Lehmann, John, ''Edward Lear and his World'' (Norwich: Thames and Hudson, 1977)<br> | + | |
| - | Malcolm, Noel, ''The Origins of English Nonsense'' (London: Fontana/HarperCollins, 1997)<br> | + | |
| - | McGillis, Rod, "Nonsense," ''A Companion to Victorian poetry'', ed. by Richard Cronin, Alison Chapman, and Anthony Harrison. Oxford: Blackwell, 2002. 155-170.<br> | + | |
| - | Noakes, Vivien, ''Edward Lear: The Life of a Wanderer'', 1968 (Glasgow: Fontana/Collins, revised edition 1979)<br> | + | |
| - | _________. ''Edward Lear, 1812-1888'' (London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1985)<br> | + | |
| - | Nock, S. A., “Lacrimae Nugarum: Edward Lear of the Nonsense Verses,” Sewanee Review, 49 (1941), 68-81<br> | + | |
| - | Orwell, George, “Nonsense Poetry” in ''Shooting an Elephant and Other Essays'' (London: Secker and Warburg, 1950), pp. 179-184<br> | + | |
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| - | Sewell, Elizabeth, ''The Field of Nonsense'' (London: Chatto and Windus, 1952)<br> | + | |
| - | Stewart, Susan, ''Nonsense: Aspects of Intertextuality in Folklore and Literature'' (Baltimore: The John’s Hopkins UP, 1979)<br> | + | |
| - | Tigges, Wim, ''An Anatomy of Literary Nonsense'' (Amsterdam: Rodopi, 1988)<br> | + | |
| - | _________. “The Limerick: The Sonnet of Nonsense?” Dutch Quarterly Review, 16 (1986), 220-236<br> | + | |
| - | _________. ed., ''Explorations in the Field of Nonsense'' (Amsterdam: Rodopi, 1987)<br> | + | |
| - | van Leeuwen, Hendrik, “The Liaison of Visual and Written Nonsense,” in Explorations in the Field of Nonsense, ed. Wim Tigges (Amsterdam: Rodopi, 1987), pp. 61-95<br> | + | |
| - | Wells, Carolyn, “The Sense of Nonsense,” Scribner’s Magazine, 29 (1901), 239-48<br> | + | |
| - | Willis, Gary, “Two Different Kettles of Talking Fish: The Nonsense of Lear and Carroll,” Jabberwocky, 9 (1980), 87-94<br> | + | |
| - | Wullschläger, Jackie, ''Inventing Wonderland, The Lives and Fantasies of Lewis Carroll, Edward Lear, J.M. Barrie, Kenneth Grahame, and A.A. Milne'' (London: Methuen, 1995)<br> | + | |
| + | :''[[nonsense verse]]'' | ||
| + | * [[Experimental literature]] | ||
| + | * [[Surreal humour]] | ||
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Literary nonsense (or nonsense literature) is a broad categorization of literature that uses sensical and nonsensical elements to defy language conventions or logical reasoning. Even though the most well-known form of literary nonsense is nonsense verse, the genre is present in many forms of literature.
The effect of nonsense is often caused by an excess of meaning, rather than a lack of it. Nonsense is often humorous in nature, although its humor is derived from its nonsensical nature, as opposed to most humor which is funny because it does make sense.
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History
The roots of literary nonsense are divided into two branches. The first and older branch is traced back to the folk tradition, folktales, dramas, rhymes, songs, and games, such as the nursery rhyme "Hey Diddle Diddle". Schoolyard rhymes and the literary figure Mother Goose are somewhat contemporary incarnations of this style of writing. Its role in the folk tradition varies from mnemonic device to parody and satire.
The second, newer branch of literary nonsense has its origins in the intellectual absurdities of court poets, scholars, and intellectuals of various kinds. These writers often created sophisticated nonsense forms of Latin parodies, religious travesties and political satire.
Today's literary nonsense comes from a combination of both branches. Though not the first to write this hybrid kind of nonsense, Edward Lear developed and popularized it in his many limericks (starting with A Book of Nonsense, 1846) and other famous texts such as "The Owl and the Pussycat", "The Dong with a Luminous Nose," "The Jumblies" and "The Story of the Four Little Children Who Went Around the World." Lewis Carroll continued this trend, making literary nonsense a worldwide phenomenon with Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865) and Through the Looking-Glass (1871). Carroll's "Jabberwocky" which appears in Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There is often considered quintessential nonsense literature.
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Theory
In literary nonsense, formal diction and tone may be balanced with elements of absurdity. It is most easily recognizable by the various techniques it uses to create nonsensical effects, such as faulty cause and effect, portmanteau, neologism, reversals and inversions, imprecision, simultaneity, picture/text incongruity, arbitrariness, infinite repetition, negativity or mirroring, and misappropriation. Nonsense tautology, reduplication, and absurd precision have also been used effectively in the nonsense genre. For a text to be within the bounds of literary nonsense, it must have an abundance of nonsense techniques woven into the fabric of the piece. If the text employs only occasional nonsense techniques, then it may not be classified as literary nonsense, though there may be a nonsensical effect to certain portions of the work.
Nonsense literature is effective because of the human desire to find meaning everywhere, in everything, and where perhaps none exists.
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What nonsense is not
Gibberish can be a form of nonsense, but true nonsense literature has semantic, syntactic, phonetic or contextual meaning. Literature that employs the use of neologisms or made-up words is distinguished from gibberish if the context assigns meaning to those words or if word play is used to associate the gibberish with familiar words, such as "Jabberwocky" or "Hey Diddle Diddle".
Nonsense is distinct from fantasy, though there are sometimes resemblances between them. While nonsense may employ the strange creatures, other worldly situations, magic, and talking animals of fantasy, these supernatural phenomena are not nonsensical if they have a discernible logic supporting their existence. The distinction lies in the coherent and unified nature of fantasy. Everything follows logic within the rules of the fantasy world; the nonsense world, on the other hand, has no system of logic, although it may imply the existence of an inscrutable one, just beyond our grasp. The nature of magic within an imaginary world is an example of this distinction. Fantasy worlds employ the presence of magic to logically explain the impossible. In nonsense literature, magic is rare but when it does occur, its nonsensical nature only adds to the mystery rather than logically explaining anything. An example of nonsensical magic occurs in Carl Sandburg's Rootabaga Stories, when Jason Squiff, in possession of a magical "gold buckskin whincher", has his hat, mittens, and shoes turn into popcorn because, according to the "rules" of the magic, "You have a letter Q in your name and because you have the pleasure and happiness of having a Q in your name you must have a popcorn hat, popcorn mittens and popcorn shoes".
Riddles only appear to be nonsense until the answer is found. The most famous nonsense riddle is only so because it originally had no answer. In Carroll's Alice in Wonderland, the Mad Hatter asks Alice "Why is a raven like a writing-desk?" When Alice gives up, the Hatter replies that he does not know either, creating a nonsensical riddle. Some seemingly nonsense texts are actually riddles, such as the popular 1940s song "Mairzy Doats", which at first appears to have little discernible meaning but has a discoverable message.
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Audience
While most contemporary nonsense has been written for children, the form has an extensive history in adult configurations before the nineteenth century. Figures such as John Hoskyns, Henry Peacham, John Sandford, and John Taylor lived in the early seventeenth century and were noted nonsense authors in their time. Nonsense was also an important element in the works of Flann O'Brien and Eugene Ionesco. Literary nonsense, as opposed to the folk forms of nonsense that have always existed in written history, was only first written for children in the early nineteenth century. It was popularized by Edward Lear and then later by Lewis Carroll. Today literary nonsense enjoys a shared audience of adults and children.
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Nonsense writers
The most celebrated nonsense writers in English literature are Edward Lear (1812–1888) and Lewis Carroll (Charles Lutwidge Dodgson) (1832–1898).
Other nonsense writers in English: Template:Div col
- L. Frank Baum
- Ivor Cutler
- Roald Dahl
- Nicholas Daly
- Simon L. Read
- Dave Eggers and his brother Christopher, writing as Dr. and Mr. Doris Haggis-on-Whey
- Mike Gordon
- Edward Gorey
- Andrew Hussie
- James Joyce
- Norton Juster
- John Lennon
- Spike Milligan
- Flann O'Brien
- Mervyn Peake
- Jack Prelutsky
- Anushka Ravishankar
- Laura E. Richards
- Michael Rosen
- Carl Sandburg
- Dr. Seuss
- Jean Shepherd
- Shel Silverstein
- James Thurber
- Jhonen Vasquez
- Alan Watts
Writers of nonsense from other languages include: Template:Div col
- Lennart Hellsing (Swedish)
- Zinken Hopp (Norwegian)
- Alfred Jarry (French)
- Franz Kafka (German)
- Daniil Kharms (Russian)
- Christian Morgenstern (German)
- Halfdan Rasmussen (Danish)
- Sukumar Ray (Bengali)
- Erik Satie (French)
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Popular culture
David Byrne, frontman of the art rock/new wave group Talking Heads, employed nonsensical techniques in songwriting. Byrne often combined coherent yet unrelated phrases to make up nonsensical lyrics in songs such as: "Burning Down the House", "Making Flippy Floppy" and "Girlfriend Is Better". This tendency formed the basis of the title for the Talking Heads concert movie, Stop Making Sense. More recently, Byrne published Arboretum (2006), a volume of tree-like diagrams that are, "mental maps of imaginary territory." He continues, explaining the aspect of nonsense: "Irrational logic--[...]. The application of logical scientific rigor and form to basically irrational premises. To proceed, carefully and deliberately, from nonsense, with a straight face, often arriving at a new kind of sense."
Syd Barrett, one-time frontman and founder of Pink Floyd, was known for his often nonsensical songwriting influenced by Lear and Carroll that featured heavily on Pink Floyd's first album, The Piper at the Gates of Dawn.
Glen Baxter's comic work is often nonsense, relying on the baffling interplay between word and image.
Zippy the Pinhead, by Bill Griffith, is an American strip that mixes philosophy, including what has been called "Heideggerian disruptions," and pop culture in its nonsensical processes.
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See also
Unless indicated otherwise, the text in this article is either based on Wikipedia article "Literary nonsense" or another language Wikipedia page thereof used under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License; or on research by Jahsonic and friends. See Art and Popular Culture's copyright notice.
