Summary: | 碩士 === 國立臺東大學 === 兒童文學研究所 === 100 === Edward Lear (1812-1888), the great nonsense poet and painter in the Victorian period, created 112 nonsense limericks in The Book of Nonsense published in 1846. The music between lines and the nonsense in pictures and words make children laugh and laugh. Lear’s limericks beloved by children have stood the test of time, and furthermore, are highly regarded as pioneer works in the field of nonsense literature.
Textual analysis is adopted for this study of nonsense in Lear’s 112 limericks from The Book of Nonsense. Reading pleasure arises not only from the musicality in Lear’s limericks, but also from the absurdity of his pictures and challenged common sense, together with a seemingly nonsensical, upside-down logic. In addition, the style of one poem plus one picture in each nonsense limerick constitutes unique Learic nonsense. Literary and pictorial arts, two different narrative ways, interact and render dramatic images and, quite often, conflictory meaning.
Pictures in Lear’s nonsense limericks attract readers before words. The musicality of his limericks can be experienced by young and adult readers reading the words aloud. The absurdity and upside-down logic in Learic pictures and words create a world of imagination. This study argues that juniors in Taiwan can have reading pleasure in Lear’s nonsense, and expects that more and more juniors in Taiwan experience aesthetic reading in the nonsense of Edward Lear.
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