Montag, 10. Januar 2011

Edward Lear


Edward Lear (1812-1888) englischer Dichter und Unsinnschreiber. Das zwanzigste von einundzwanzig Kindern, depressiv, Epileptiker und ein "victorianischer Trickster". In der prüden, rüden Hoch-Zeit des britischen Imperiums zog er es vor, die meiste Zeit in Griechenland und Albanien zu verbringen, zu zeichnen, Reiseberichte zu verfassen und Limericks und andere Verse zu fabrizieren. Eine kleine Weile war er der Zeivchenlehrer der jungen Queen Victoria. Sicher nicht von der Unfassbarkeit eines Lewis Caroll, sind seine Verse doch von eigenartiger Doppeldeutigkeit und die sparsamen Zeichnungen voller Witz.
Als Landschaftsmaler fast vergessen, kann doch jedes englische Kind ein paar seiner Reime auswendig, wahrscheinlich ohne je vom Autoren gehört zu haben.



 
I
The Owl and the Pussy-cat went to sea
    In a beautiful pea green boat,
They took some honey, and plenty of money,
    Wrapped up in a five pound note.
The Owl looked up to the stars above,
    And sang to a small guitar,
'O lovely Pussy! O Pussy my love,
      What a beautiful Pussy you are,
          You are,
          You are!
What a beautiful Pussy you are!'
II
Pussy said to the Owl, 'You elegant fowl!
    How charmingly sweet you sing!
O let us be married! too long we have tarried:
    But what shall we do for a ring?'
They sailed away, for a year and a day,
    To the land where the Bong-tree grows
And there in a wood a Piggy-wig stood
    With a ring at the end of his nose,
          His nose,
          His nose,
With a ring at the end of his nose.


III
'Dear pig, are you willing to sell for one shilling
    Your ring?' Said the Piggy, 'I will.'
So they took it away, and were married next day
    By the Turkey who lives on the hill.
They dined on mince, and slices of quince,
    Which they ate with a runcible spoon;
And hand in hand, on the edge of the sand,
    They danced by the light of the moon,
          The moon,
          The moon,
They danced by the light of the moon.


Und noch eins extra. Lear hat auch lange Zeit für die Zoologische Gesellschaft Tiere und Pflanzen gezeichnet.
Tigerlillia Terribilis.
Tigerlillia Terribilis.




2 Kommentare:

  1. In his startling collection of verse and prosery, Lennon has rolled Edward Lear, Lewis Carroll and James Thurber into one great post-Joycean spitball. All those jellybean-lobbing, caterwauling Beatle fans are not going to understand it at all.
    John Lennon World of Books Interview (1965, June 16)
    http://www.dmbeatles.com/interviews.php?interview=38

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