And why a runcible spoon?
A. Why not? It's from The Owl and the Pussycat by Edward Lear, a (semi-)nonsense poem, and made-up words as well as fantastic situations and characters are an essential ingredient of this very British, perhaps particularly English, art form.

Q. What is it?
A. Humorous verse that differs from other comic verse in that it cannot be subjected to any rational or allegorical interpretation. It typically makes use of invented, meaningless words that sound real.

Q. Such as?
A.

    Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
    Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;
    All mimsy were the borogroves,
    And the mome raths outgrabe.

Perhaps the most famous opening lines of any nonsense verse, 'Jabberwocky' from Through the Looking-Glass by Lewis Carroll.

Q. Isn't that just gibberish?
A. Not really. Gibberish aims a complete breakdown of meaning, whereas nonsense stays within the bounds of literary form. It can be understood as an extreme form of parody, made doubly so by retaining a recognisable structure and appearing to sound as if it makes sense.

Q. Does nonsense have a long and distinguished history?
A. The best-known examples are from the 19th and 20th centuries. However, the beginnings of true nonsense can be traced back to the c. 1611 with the penning of Cabalistic Verses by the wit John Hoskyns. Here's an example:

    Even as the waves of brainless butter'd fish
    With bugle horn writ in the Hebrew tongue
    Fuming up flounders like a chafing-dish
    That looks asquint upon a Three-mans song.

Make sense to you?

Q. So who are or were  the masters of nonsense?
A. Edward Lear (1812-88) published The Book of Nonsense in 1846, which included The Owl and the Pussycat and also popularised the limerick. His imaginative use of language and gift for inventing fabulous creatures has endeared him to many generations of readers. For more on Lear, the Edward Lear homepage is at http://edwardlear.tripod.com/nl.html It also has a good few links to other nonsense-related sites. For an account of the history of the limerick and Lear's contribution to the form, go to http://www.bbc.co.uk/h2g2/guide/A218206

The Reverend Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (1832-98), aka Lewis Carrol, penned some of the finest nonsense verse. Apart from Jabberwocky, he wrote The Hunting of the Snark, the greatest of the lot, and other humorous verse. Some of his nonsense words are so convincing that they have entered the language. See http://www.lewiscarroll.org/carroll.html for more detailed information.

Joseph Hilary Pierre - better known as Hilaire - Belloc (1870-1953) wrote essays, novels, travelogues, history, biography and - of more significance here - verse, particularly parodies that verged on nonsense, such as Cautionary Tales, which lampooned some of the pomposities of Victorian children's poetry. Have a look at the Hilaire Belloc Archives at http://www.angelfire.com/va/belloc/

Mervyn Peake (1911-1968) is best known for the Gormenghast trilogy and his work as an illustrator, but he was a master of nonsense verse, too. The collection A Book of Nonsense features such bizarre creations as The Dwarf of Battersea, Footfruit and Squat Ursula. His work relies less on invented words than on surrealistic juxtapositions for its aura of absurdity, but it is the same tradition as Lear, Carroll and Belloc. 'I can be quite obscure and practically marzipan,' he once said. Indeed. Find the Mervyn Peake Webring at http://www.langdonjones.com/peakering.html

Spike Milligan (1918- ), as a living exponent of the art, should be mentioned here. His nonsense verse is closer to Peake's than it is to the others and, like Peake, he illustrates his own work. Books of verse to look out for include Silly Verse for Kids and A Book of Milliganimals. Here's an example:

    Said a tiny Ant
    To the Elephant
    'Mind how you tread in this clearing!'

    But alas! Cruel fate!
    She was crushed by the weight
    Of an Elephant, hard of hearing

Find out more about Spike Milligan at http://www.fireflycafe.org/spike/humorous.html

There's a book by Noel Malcolm entitled The Origins of English Nonsense (ISBN 7215970167) should you wish to delve into this further.

See also the article on limericks here

For more on Phrases & Sayings click here

By Simon Smith