Explore Edward Lear's nonsense verse with exclusive videos and activities.
Edward Lear's published his first collection of nonsense verse, The Book of Nonsense, in 1846 – but it was certainly not his last. Published in 1871, Lear’s Nonsense Songs, Stories, Botany and Alphabets contains the much loved poem, 'The Owl and Pussycat'. Whilst researching her own sequel, children’s author Julia Donaldson discovered that Lear wrote – but never completed – his own follow-up. In this fragment the cat falls out of a tree and the “elegant fowl” goes demented with grief – treading the characteristically fine line between joy and melancholy in Lear’s writing.
Edward Lear – the 20th child of a bankrupt and widowed businessman - was brought up by his elder sister. The young Lear had epilepsy – a condition stigmatised at the time, but he also had precocious artistic gifts. As a young man he was summoned to Knowsley Hall in Merseyside to paint the Earl of Derby’s menagerie. The aboriginal names of some of the exotic Australian creatures at Knowsley may have found their way into the nonsense verse that he began to write for the Earl’s children.
Lear’s verse coincided with an explosion in English nonsense literature – including Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland. But Lear also introduced a unique visual style to his books, pioneering a new kind of poetry that married brilliant wordplay with astonishing artwork. Lear’s poems represent a wonderfully childish, creative antidote to the relentless, and dehumanising, march of Victorian “progress” - which may be why his impish voice continues to speak to us today.
Video: Graphic books
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Graphic books
Learn how Edward Lear’s books were printed using the then-innovative technique of lithography.
Watch nowGraphic booksLevel: 1 Introductory
Video: Reading in and out of the nursery
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Reading in and out of the nursery
Learn how Victorian children would have enjoyed an expensive book like Edward Lear's collections of nonsense verse.
Watch nowReading in and out of the nurseryLevel: 1 Introductory
Adventures: Learn some nonsense by heart and find a nonsense alphabet of animals
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Learn some nonsense by heart
Go on an adventure with Edward Lear's Nonsense Songs, as you find a nonsense alphabet of animals and learn some nonsense by heart.
Take part nowLearn some nonsense by heartLevel: 1 Introductory
The Secret Life of Books - Find out more about the other books in the series.
Feeling loving, adventurous or scared? Poetry Prescription will find you the perfect poem to reflect your mood.
Level: 1 Introductory Download the app from the BBC Four series The Secret Life of Books.
Explore the wonders of the literary world with these five quirky animations.
Level: 1 Introductory In the last century which women writers have truly challenged the existing forms of literature? How did they make their voices heard using brand new techniques and styles? For centuries there have been women writers who have changed the face of literature, but we tend to talk of their lives and work in very certain terms. This series of video-slideshows reveals how writing and reputation are often forged in transition, uncertainty and change. In these 4 films we re-examine the lives, work and influence of: Virginia Woolf, Jean Rhys, Katherine Mansfield and Jeanette Winterson.
This material forms part of the Open University course A300 20th century literature: texts and debates. Level: 1 Introductory Why do people visit museums of writers' homes? Discover the secret life of authors in this short video.
Level: 1 IntroductoryExpand your mind
Poetry Prescription
The Secret Life of Books: Download the app
Outside the book
Women Writers: Voices in Transition
The author at home
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Start writing fiction: characters and stories
What is poetry?
Approaching prose fiction
Approaching poetry
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Become a student: study English Literature
Take your interest in literature further by studying with the Open University.
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BA (Honours) English Literature
English literature is a broad and accessible subject that is important in its own right and offers connections to a wide range of other kinds of cultural enquiry. This wide-ranging, fascinating degree course draws on a rich variety of texts and approaches, helping to reveal the extraordinary scope of English Literature and its importance in today’s world. You’ll encounter texts from different historical and cultural settings – including translations – in genres from poetry to fiction to film scripts. At Level 1 your studies will be framed within interdisciplinary themes; later, more specialised modules will help you consolidate your understanding of literary history and critical approaches to all the major literary genres. You can also choose creative writing and English language modules as part of your English literature degree. As you progress, you’ll become a more self-aware reader of all kinds of writing, and acquire advanced skills in analysis, evaluation and communication.
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From 18th Century chapbooks through to Young Adult novels, explore a vibrant world.
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