Literary Yard

Search for meaning

Nonsense Poem: The Owl and The Pussycat by Edward Lear

theowlandthepussycatThe Owl and the Pussycat is a classic nonsense poem by Edward Lear which has always been one of favourite poems since my childhood. I’ve deliberately chosen this poem for today since I feel that every young reader should read it once. The poem is a love story between two anthropomorphic characters – the owl and the pussycat – which follows them as they get involved in relationship and look out for a ring. We meet various other silly characters throughout the poem, and none of it really makes any sense. The nonsense its characters serve is one of the charming points of this poem.

Children reading this book will like the storyline as they will be introduced to a rhyming structure that is easy to follow and sounds colloquial. The poem promises a very imaginative and magical journey to the young children. The Owl and The Pussycat is available in several versions in the market. Many of them come with beautiful illustrations adding to the fun.

The Owl and The Pussycat by Edward Lear

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.
Tagged:

1 COMMENTS

Leave a Reply

Related Posts