"A was some Ants, who seldom stood still: but they made a nice house, in the side of a hill. A! Nice little ants!"
The alphabet is a brilliant taxonomy. It not only contains all the digits we need to communicate eons of human invention, but it also sets up a concise group of thingness that creative individuals can use to list things.
I think, and science might back me someday, that the brain of Edward Lear, one of my absolute favorite artists/botanists/poets and imaginaries of thingness (owls, pussycats, dancing flowers, etc., etc.), must be ordered in sections by the alphabet.
Edward Lear in 1887. Lear's cat Foss, was in the crook of his arm until right before the picture was taken, leaving the artist in a somewhat abrupt pose.Edward Lear (May 12, 1812 – January 29, 1888) was highly original. He began as a botanical illustrator and lithographer and moved to painting as his eyesight deteriorated. He also suffered from epileptic seizures, the fear of which paralyzed him in fright and melancholy, an affliction he called 'the morbids.'
An alienation from society can have many effects,
Edward Lear's illustration for his wonderfully original A Book of Nonsense, published in 1861.Alongside lithographs, botanical, ornithological, and landscape paintings, Lear is best known for his reinvention of the limerick, a sort of silliness that pointed to human foibles.
Lear gained such popularity through the second edition of his first nonsense publication, in 1861, in which he pokes fun at having to prove that someone as silly as he genuinely existed.
Fortunately, Lear indeed did exist and provided us with immeasurable pleasure in this Nonsense Alphabet, all tidied up and ordered by this great alphabet of ours.
A was some Ants,
Who seldom stood still;
But they made a nice house,
In the side of a hill.
Nice little ants!
B was a Butterfly
Born in a bower,
And living on Roses
And every fine flower.
Butterfly B!
C was a Cat,
Who ran after a Rat,
Whose courage did fail
When she seized on his tail.
c!
Crafty old cat!
D was a Duck,
With spots on his back.
He lived in the water
And always said, “Quack!”
d!
dear little duck!
E was an Eel,
Who lived in the river,
And his skin was so cold
That it caused you to shiver
e!
Cold little eel!
F was a Fan,
All crimson and green,
The Loveliest fan,
That had ever been seen.
f!
Fine little fan!
G was a Gooseberry,
Green and delightful:
The fruit was quite sweet,
But the thorns were quite frightful.
g!
Gooseberry g!
H, was a Hat,
Which was rather too flat,
And the brim was too wide,
And all on one side.
h!
Ugly old hat!
I was some Ink
Which was not good to drink,
But was quite fit to write
On paper so white.
i!
Useful black ink!
J was a Jackdaw
Who hopped up and down,
First into the street
And then all through the town;
j!
Jump little jackdaw!
K was a Kite,
Which flew upon high,
All over the houses,
And into the sky,
k!
Fly away kite!
L was a Lady,
Dress’d nicely in blue;
She walked up and down,
And said, “How do you do?”
l!
Sweet little lady!
M was a Mouse
Whose whiskers were long:
But he stole some new cheese,
Which was certainly wrong
m!
Naughty old Mouse!
N was a Nut
Which was perfectly brown,
And when the wind blew
It soon tumbled down.
n!
nice little nut!
O was an Oyster
Who lived in the sea
In a hole of a rock
Near the great river Dee.
o!
quiet old oyster!
P was a Puppy
Whose tail was curly,
He was spotted with a black
And his temper was surly.
p!
cross little puppy!
Q, was a Quail,
With a very short tail,
For he fed upon corn
Ever since he was born.
q!
Queer little quail!
R was a Ring,
Of Emeralds so green,
And rubies and pearls,
And diamonds between;
r!
What a fine ring!
S was a Slipper,
So pretty and new
Of rose-colored leather
All are spotted with blue.
s!
Elegant slipper!
T was a Trumpet,
Which sounded aloud
Rowdy dow, dowdy dow,
Dowdy dowdy dow-dowd!
t!
Noisy old trumpet!
U was an Urn,
Which was full of hot water,
To make some nice Tea
For my son and my Daughter.
u!
useful old urn!
V was a Veil,
With little spots on it,
To keep off the dust
From a Lady’s pink bonnet.
v!
Beautiful veil!
W was a Watch,
Which went Tick a tick tick,
Sometimes it went slow,
And sometimes it went quickly.
w!
Pretty new watch!
X was king Xerxes,
Who more than all Turks is
Renowned for his fashion
Of fury and passion
x!
Angry old Xerxes!
Y, was a Yew,
Which flourished and grew
Near a person’s abode,
By the side of a road.
y!
Very old yew!
Z was some Zinc,
So shiny and bright
Which caused you to wink
In the Sun’s merry light.
z!
Pretty bright zinc!
Alongside this wonderful Nonsense Alphabet, treat yourself to Lears' silly but well-ordered mind in his The Complete Nonsense and Other Verse, as well as Jorge Luis Borges' vast and enriching bestiary of imaginary beings, and T. S. Eliot's masterful collection of feline-inspired rhymes perched on the edge of nonsense. A creative mind in touch with one's childhood silliness is a beautiful thing.
All images and text from the unpublished manuscript of Edward Lear's Nonsense Alphabet are © Estate of Edward Lear and provided by the British Library. Learn more.