
Biography of Edward Lear
The British poet and painter known for his absurd wit, Edward Lear was born on May 12, 1812 and began his career as an artist at age 15. His father, a stockbroker of Danish origins, was sent to debtor’s prison when Lear was thirteen and the young Lear was forced to earn a living. Lear quickly gained recognition for his work and in 1832 was hired by the London Zoological Society to execute illustrations of birds. In the same year, the Earl of Derby invited Lear to reside at his estate; Lear ended up staying on until 1836.
His first book of poems, A Book of Nonsense (1846) was composed for the grandchildren of the Derby household. Around 1836 Lear decided to devote himself exclusively to landscape painting (although he continued to compose light verse). Between 1837 and 1847 Lear traveled extensively throughout Europe and Asia.
After his return to England, Lear’s travel journals were published in several volumes as The Illustrated Travels of a Landscape Painter. Popular and respected in his day, Lear’s travel books have largely been ignored in the twentieth century. Rather, Lear is remembered for his humorous poems, such as “The Owl and the Pussycat," and as the creator of the form and meter of the modern limerick. Like his younger peer Lewis Carroll, Lear wrote many deeply fantastical poems about imaginary creatures, such as “The Dong with the Luminous Nose.” His books of humorous verse also include Nonsense Songs (1871) and Laughable Lyrics (1877). Lear died on January 29, 1888 at the age of 76.
Although the subject and form of his works varies greatly, all of Lear’s poems can be characterized by his irreverent view of the world; Lear poked fun at everything, including himself in “By Way of a Preface.” Many critics view Lear’s devotion to the ridiculous as a method for dealing with or undermining the all-pervasive orderliness and industriousness of Victorian society. Regardless of impetus, the humor of Lear’s poems has proved irrefutably timeless.
Poems by Edward Lear
- Alphabet Poem
- Calicoe Pie
- Cold Are The Crabs
- He Lived At Dingle Bank
- Imitation Of The Olden Poets
- Incidents In The Life Of My Uncle Arly
- Mr And Mrs Discobbolos
- Mrs Jaypher
- Nonsense Alphabet
- Parody Of Tennyson'sto Edward Lear On His Travels In Greece
- Teapots And Quails
- The Akond Of Swat
- The Broom, The Shovel, The Poker And The Tongs
- The Courtship Of The Yonghy-Bonghy-Bo
- The Cummerbund: An Indian Poem
- The Daddy Long-Legs And The Fly
- The Dong With A Luminous Nose
- The Duck And The Kangaroo
- The Jumblies
- The New Vestments
- The Nutcrackers And The Sugar-Tongs
- The Pelican Chorus
- The Pobble Who Has No Toes
- The Quangle Wangle's Hat
- The Table And The Chair
- The Two Old Bachelors
- There Was A Young Lady Whose Eyes
- There Was An Old Lady Whose Folly
- There Was An Old Man In A Tree
- There Was An Old Man Of Calcutta
- There Was An Old Man Of New York
- There Was An Old Man Of Thermopylae
- There Was An Old Man On The Border
- There Was An Old Man With A Beard
- There Was An Old Person Of Nice