PUFFIN BOOKS
The Puffin Book of Nonsense Verse
Quentin Blake is one of Britain’s most renowned illustrators. Born in the suburbs of London in 1932, he read English at Cambridge before becoming a fulltime freelance illustrator. He began his career working for magazines such as The Spectator and Punch.
With a few deft, instantly recognizable strokes of the pen, Quentin Blake can animate any character or situation. His genius for illustration and sharp eye for humorous detail led him into the world of children’s books, where he is respected and loved internationally for both his own picture books and collaborations with other authors. The first of these was with John Yeoman; some twenty books and thirty years later, their ingenuity and sense of mischief show no sign of flagging. The creative relationship between Quentin Blake and Roald Dahl was a particularly special and enduring one – his interpretation of Dahl’s characters has become an integral part of childhood.
Quentin Blake was head of the Illustration Department at the Royal College of Art from 1978 to 1986 and is now a visiting Professor. He was awarded the OBE in 1988.
Other books by Quentin Blake
THE QUENTIN BLAKE BOOK OF NONSENSE STORIES
(hardback)
Other books illustrated by Quentin Blake
With Roald Dahl
THE BFG
CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY
CHARLIE AND THE GREAT GLASS ELEVATOR
DANNY THE CHAMPION OF THE WORLD
DIRTY BEASTS
THE ENORMOUS CROCODILE
ESIO TROT
GEORGE’S MARVELLOUS MEDICINE
THE GIRAFFE AND THE PELLY AND ME
JAMES AND THE GIANT PEACH
THE MAGIC FINGER
MATILDA
RHYME STEW (for older readers)
ROALD DAHL’S REVOLTING RHYMES
THE TWITS
THE VICAR OF NIBBLESWICKE (for older readers)
THE WITCHES
With Ogden Nash
CUSTARD AND COMPANY
With Michael Rosen
QUICK, LET’S GET OUT OF HERE
WOULDN’T YOU LIKE TO KNOW
YOU CAN’T CATCH ME!
With John Yeoman
THE FAMILY ALBUM
FEATHERBRAINS
The Puffin Book
of
Nonsense Verse
SELECTED AND ILLUSTRATED BY
PUFFIN BOOKS
For William and Mary
PUFFIN BOOKS
Published by the Penguin Group
Penguin Books Ltd, 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England
Penguin Putnam Inc., 375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, USA
Penguin Books Australia Ltd, 250 Camberwell Road, Camberwell, Victoria 3124, Australia
Penguin Books Canada Ltd, 10 Alcorn Avenue, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M4V 3B2
Penguin Books India (P) Ltd, 11 Community Centre, Panchsheel Park, New Delhi – 110 017, India
Penguin Books (NZ) Ltd, Cnr Rosedale and Airborne Roads, Albany, Auckland, New Zealand
Penguin Books (South Africa) (Pty) Ltd, 24 Sturdee Avenue, Rosebank 2196, South Africa
Penguin Books Ltd, Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England
www.penguin.com
First published by Viking as The Quentin Blake Book of Nonsense Verse 1994
Published in Puffin Books 1996
Copyright © Quentin Blake, 1994
All rights reserved
The acknowledgements on pp. 285–286 constitute an extension of this copyright page
The moral right of the author/illustrator has been asserted
Except in the United States of America, this book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, re-sold, hired out, or otherwise circulated without the publisher’s prior consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser
CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
THE WORLD TURNED UPSIDE DOWN
from The World Turned Upside Down – ANONYMOUS
I saw a Peacock – ANONYMOUS
Uptown, Downtown – CLYDE WATSON
One Fine Day in the Middle of the Night – ANONYMOUS
I Saw iij Hedles Playen at a Ball – ANONYMOUS
I Went to the Pictures Tomorrow – PLAYGROUND RHYME
Topsyturvey-world – WILLIAM BRIGHTY RANDS
When I Went Out for a Walk One Day – ANONYMOUS
Sensible Questions – MARGARET MAHY
CHORTLING AND GALUMPHING
Jabberwocky – LEWIS CARROLL
To Marie – ANONYMOUS
Typo – RUSSELL HOBAN
The Lugubrious Whing-whang – JAMES WHITCOMB RILEY
Belagcholly Days –ANONYMOUS
A RECIPE FOR INDIGESTION
Dilly Dilly Piccalilli – CLYDE WATSON
Ever Eaten – ROGER MCGOUGH
Bleezer’s Ice-cream – JACK PRELUTSKY
The Remarkable Cake – MARGARET MAHY
‘I’ve Eaten Many Strange and Scrumptious Dishes…’ – ROALD DAHL
Brother and Sister – LEWIS CARROLL
You Must Never Bath in an Irish Stew – SPIKE MILLIGAN
The Friendly Cinnamon Bun – RUSSELL HOBAN
Buttons – WALTER DE LA MARE
The Walrus and the Carpenter – LEWIS CARROLL
Minnow Minnie – SHEL SILVERSTEIN
PORTRAITS FROM LIFE
Fame was a Claim of Uncle Ed’s – OGDEN NASH
from Melodies – LEWIS CARROLL
There was an Old Person of Slough – EDWARD LEAR
Incidents in the Life of my Uncle Arley – EDWARD LEAR
There was an Old Person in Gray – EDWARD LEAR
Moonshine – WALTER DE LA MARE
Jerry Hall – ANONYMOUS
Some Aunts and Uncles – MERVYN PEAKE
Mrs McPhee – CHARLES CAUSLEY
There was a Mad Man – ANONYMOUS
A FRIEND TO THE CHILDREN
The Yak – HILAIRE BELLOC
A Sunnit to the Big Ox – ANONYMOUS
The Elephant, or The Force of Habit – A. E.HOUSMAN
Eletelephony – LAURA RICHARDS
from The Crocodile or, Public Decency – A. E. HOUSMAN
The Purist – OGDEN NASH
Some Verses to Snaix – ANONYMOUS
S F – ERNEST LEVERETT
The Mad Hatter’s Song – LEWIS CARROLL
THE DEDICATED TRAVELLER
Anfruca – RUSSELL HOBAN
The Owl and the Pussy-cat – EDWARD LEAR
The Island of Llince – N. M. BODECKER
On the Ning Nang Nong – SPIKE MILLIGAN
The Jumblies – EDWARD LEAR
How I Brought the Good News from Aix to Ghent or, Vice Versa – W. C. SELLAR AND R. J. YEATMAN
The Nutcrackers and the Sugar-tongs – EDWARD LEAR
The Road to Zoagli – MAX BEERBOHM
O’er Seas that Have no Beaches – MERVYN PEAKE
THE BONGALOO AND THE SCRUNCH
A Quadrupedremian Song – THOMAS HOOD
The Wendigo – OGDEN NASH
The Utter Zoo Alphabet – EDWARD GOREY
The Blunderblat – COLIN WEST
The Bongaloo – SPIKE MILLIGAN
‘There is No Knowing What We Shall See!’… – ROALD DAHL
The Underwater Wibbles – JACK PRELUTSKY
The Worst – SHEL SILVERSTEIN
AN AREA OF UNCERTAINTY
A Chronicle – ANONYMOUS
There�
�s a Rather Odd Couple in Herts – EDWARD GOREY
Indirections – JOHN YEOMAN
The Mad Gardener’s Song – LEWIS CARROLL
Gazebos – ROGER MCGOUGH
The Amphisbaena or, The Limits of Human Knowledge – A. E. HOUSMAN
Wobble-dee-woo – COLIN WEST
From Number Nine, Penwiper Mews – EDWARD GOREY
The Ahkond of Swat – EDWARD LEAR
FLAMINGOES RULE OLÉ!
As I Went Over the Water – ANONYMOUS
There was an Old Man with a Beard – EDWARD LEAR
There was an Old Man of Dumbree – EDWARD LEAR
Pooem – JOHN UPDIKE
The Duck – LORD ALFRED DOUGLAS
Goosey, Goosey, Gander – ANONYMOUS
Little Birds – LEWIS CARROLL
Ever See – ROGER MCGOUGH
SPEAK ROUGHLY TO YOUR LITTLE BOY
The Duchess’s Lullaby – LEWIS CARROLL
Franklin Hyde – HILAIRE BELLOC
The Happy Family – JOHN CIARDI
Politeness – HARRY GRAHAM
The Willow-tree – WILLIAM MAKEPEACE THACKERAY
Purple William or, The Liar’s Doom – A. E. HOUSMAN
Inconsiderate Hannah – HARRY GRAHAM
DEPARTMENT OF FACTS AND QUERIES
An Unexpected Fact – EDWARD CANNON
Scientific Proof – J. W. FOLEY
The Flies Crawled up the Window – ELLIS AND FURBER
The Lazy Roof – GELETT BURGESS
Strange Meeting – JOHN YEOMAN
Capacity – JOHN UPDIKE
Father William – LEWIS CARROLL
The Sea Serpant – WALLACE IRWIN
There was an Old Man in a Trunk – OGDEN NASH
The White Knight’s Ballad – LEWIS CARROLL
Planting a Mailbox – JOHN UPDIKE
I WISH I WERE A JELLY FISH
Triolet – G. K. CHESTERTON
Poems of Mystery and Imagination (No. 1) – ROGER MCGOUGH
The Sword-fish – LORD ALFRED DOUGLAS
The Cod – LORD ALFRED DOUGLAS
Afternoon of a Prawn – KIT WRIGHT
It Makes a Change – MERVYN PEAKE
STICKY ENDS
The Babe – EDWARD GOREY
Little Willie’s Dead – ANONYMOUS
The Lion – OGDEN NASH
Waste – HARRY GRAHAM
Idyll – J. B. MORTON
Sally Simpkin’s Lament – THOMAS HOOD
On the Accidental Death of an Officer of the Salvation Army – A. E. HOUSMAN
Kitty – COLIN WEST
DISTRACTING CREATURES
Said the Monkey to the Donkey – ANONYMOUS
A Cat Came Dancing out of a Barn – ANONYMOUS
The Comic Adventures of Old Mother Hubbard and her Dog – ANONYMOUS
Nine Mice – JACK PRELUTSKY
Vladimir’s Song from ‘Waiting for Godot’ – SAMUEL BECKETT
Old Mother Hubbard and Her Dog Revisited – JOHN YEOMAN
The Story of the Man that Went Out Shooting – DR HEINRICH HOFFMAN
Fur and Feathers – A. B. ‘BANJO’ PATERSON
The Monkey’s Glue – GOLDWIN GOLDSMITH
The Monkey’s Wedding – ANONYMOUS
A GAMUT OF ACHIEVEMENTS
Simple Simon – ANONYMOUS
Science for the Young – WALLACE IRWIN
Hooray for Captain Spaulding – BERT KALMAR AND HARRY RUBY
The Adventures of Isabel – OGDEN NASH
Knots – JOHN YEOMAN
Bones – WALTER DE LA MARE
The Reluctant Hero – MARGARET MAHY
INDEX OF POETS
INDEX OF FIRST LINES
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
INTRODUCTION
Would I make my own choice of poems for a book of nonsense verse? And then would I illustrate it? An invitation as nice as that doesn’t happen very often, so I said ‘yes’ straight away. After that I had to think what I knew about nonsense.
I’ve certainly had some dealings with it at one time and another; and there seems to be some natural affinity between nonsense in words and nonsense in pictures. It’s something I first noticed many years ago when I was still a schoolboy. I had gone to stay with some family friends in the country. They had three small children, and I found myself making drawings to amuse them. Here’s a giant to begin with – not too difficult. But should he have one head or two? I seem to remember that in the end we decided that three looked best. And then this dragon: five legs? seventeen? why not twenty-two? With socks on, of course. What we were happily launched into was the experimental nonsense of suppose-we-make-it-different.
This is nothing new. Hundreds of years ago people were writing nonsense based on a version of just this idea; of standing things on their heads; of the world-turned-upside-down. The result may be exactly the opposite of what we’re used to – so that there’s a pig cooking a man, instead of the other way about – or it may be something quite incongruous, like a goat playing the violin. This is very nice if you are an illustrator, because you are given a lot of new and amusing subjects to draw. The same is not true about another way of standing things on their heads, which is to write about things which can’t be drawn because, except in words, they can’t be. You can find it today in the playground:
I went to the pictures tomorrow
And took a front seat at the back
but it, too, existed hundreds of years ago.
There is another aspect of the nonsensical suppose-we-make-it-different experiment that didn’t show itself until later on, in the nineteenth century. It was the idea of making up new words; words like frabjous and vorpal, which sound as though they mean something but actually don’t. I can’t help wondering if the urge to do this came into being because printing was becoming more common, words were being organized into dictionaries, and so at least a few writers began to feel that a little anarchy was called for.
(These words I’ve quoted, incidentally, come from one of the most famous nonsense poems, ‘Jabberwocky’. In it Lewis Carroll invented, and obviously enjoyed inventing, a whole string of new words. The strange thing is that some of them, like chortle, galumphing and burble, have passed into the language, so that plenty of people now use them without knowing where they come from or that they were ever meant to be nonsense in the first place.)
The first two sections of this book are devoted to these two kinds of nonsense – the world-turned-upside-down kind and the invented-words kind – but all the other sections are simply based on the idea of putting similar things together, such as animals, birds, travels, successes, confusions, and so on, in a way that I thought would be interesting. I can’t guarantee that every poem I’ve included is pure nonsense. Some have an element of nonsense without being absolutely nonsensical; and there are a few that are just sort of crazy in a way that I couldn’t resist, like the poem about ‘Snaix’. Worse than that, I’ve also cheated and put in one or two poems that are not nonsense at all, but just look like nonsense. ‘I saw a Peacock’ stops being nonsense if you move the punctuation to the middle of the line. The poem ‘Belagcholly Days’ looks as though it’s composed of a lot of those invented words until you say it as if you had a cold in your nose. (The last word is Adieu, but you have to sneeze at the same time.) And there may be others.
There is one respect in which nonsense poetry isn’t in the least bit crazy; it is the way the poems are made. The rhymes, the metre, the verse-forms are just as regular as, and in many cases identical with, those of more serious poems. Indeed, it’s the fact that nonsense poems preserve this decorum – that at first sight they appear to be serious – that makes them effective. More than that it allows them, sometimes, to have their own mysterious poetry and atmosphere, so that they are funny and serious at the same time.
When I began collecting the poems for this book I was already in possession of a piece of encouraging good fortune. It was that I had a rich source of verses in the books of several
people whose work I had illustrated, such as Margaret Mahy, Russell Hoban, Ogden Nash and Roald Dahl; so that the beginning was easy. But after having started at home, so to speak, the subsequent search went into all kinds of places; not only into libraries and bookshops but into the dusty bookshelves of spare bedrooms: anywhere that nonsense might lurk. I looked at all kinds of anthologies and at the works of individual poets; everything from heavy leather-bound Victorian volumes to slim new paperbacks. One very helpful book turned up unexpectedly just at the right moment, in a second-hand bookshop in New Orleans, where it seemed to have been waiting for me. And, to end as well as to begin with luck, on three occasions when I thought there ought to be poems which, however, didn’t exist, John Yeoman, with characteristic promptness, sat down and wrote them for me.
No doubt now that I’m taken with the habit of looking for nonsense verse, old and new, I shan’t be able to stop. Perhaps I shall even transfer the habit to you, at least as far as making you want to seek out the other writings of the authors represented here. If you do, you’ll perhaps be reminded of the closeness of nonsense in writing and drawing, because you will find that many of these writers are also artists, and very good ones. Edward Lear is the most famous; but there are also Edward Gorey and Mervyn Peake and Shel Silverstein, and several others. However, for this book, because it’s my collection and because we wanted it to come together as a single entertainment, you will find that you have my illustrations all the way through.
I hope you’ll enjoy them too.
THE WORLD TURNED UPSIDE DOWN
from
THE WORLD TURNED UPSIDE DOWN
OR,
NO NEWS, AND STRANGE NEWS
Here you may see what’s very rare,
The world turn’d upside down;
A tree and castle in the air,
A man walk on his crown.
To see a cat catching a mouse,
is no news;
But to see a rat building a house,
is strange indeed!
Some rats take delight to gnaw
Houses down –
I want to build a good
House of my own.