The Owl and the Pussy-Cat

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SEVEN AGES - An Anthology of Poetry with Music - NA218912". www.naxos.com . Retrieved 23 March 2020. Even writing what amounts to his own obituary, with a letter sent to a friend shortly before his travels, he ends it, typically, When a story is short; I enjoy acquainting its authors, artists, and origin. I had never heard of “ The Owl And The Pussycat”, nor of Edward Lear. His inspiration for this odd titular pairing is as whimsical, as it is an enlightening explanation for quite a suite of factors that of course, are nonsense. Small birds are prey to cats, owls can carry small cats, and animals do not marry ceremoniously; never mind mingling species. It is a treat to learn from whence this came. I obtained it recently in a country thrift store, as a 1984 Canadian retelling by Canadian artist, Ron Berg. The Owl and the Pussy-cat" features four anthropomorphic animals – an owl, a cat, a pig, and a turkey – and tells the story of the love between the title characters who marry in the land "where the Bong-tree grows". So where on earth did he get his odd ideas? What made him juxtapose such ridiculous items to make a more-or-less coherent whole? The answer seem to be that, in common with many comedians throughout history, he was trying to escape his own unhappiness. He started out as a draughtsman for the Zoological Society of London, making drawings of rare birds and animals. Some of his beautiful bird paintings from this time are included in the books. He entertained his employer's children with his drawings and invented nonsense rhymes, to which they showed,

Edward Lear's classic children's poem, originally included in his 1871 collection, Nonsense Songs, Stories, Botany, and Alphabets, is here presented in picture-book form, with lovely watercolor illustrations by Charlotte Voake. As the story unfolds, the titular strigine and feline heroes head to sea in a pea-green boat, serenading and then proposing to one another, before wedding in a tropical paradise. The poem concludes as the happy pair dances by the light of the moon... Lucy Larcom, ed. (February 1870). "The Owl and the Pussy-Cat". Our Young Folks. VI (II): 111–112 . Retrieved 5 August 2022.Most of the scientific illustration of that day, by other artists, was very stiff and essentially done from dead specimens. Lear insisted, whenever he possibly could, to work from live specimens. They are real character and personality portraits, as well as depictions of that species – you feel you’re meeting another living creature, that he saw very much on a human scale,” he said. Lear’s talent for illustration emerged at a young age: his first published work, when he was just 19 years old, was not a collection of poetry but an illustrated monograph on parrots that he had seen at London Zoo. The illustrations are spectacular. They’re intricate and engaging and really help tell the story. There are many amusing and sweet touches. [Hilary Knight:], who illustrated the [Eloise:] books, and whose work I’ve always enjoyed, does a magnificent job here, and his art style in this book seems somewhat different from other art by him that I’ve seen. It’s easy to spend a lot of time looking at all the pictures; readers are likely to notice something new with each viewing. Before publishing her own stories, Potter illustrated fables, fairy tales and classic texts, such as Uncle Remus, Alice in Wonderland and The Owl and the Pussy-cat. She drew largely to amuse herself, or children she knew, but also to develop her illustrative technique. Her interpretations of these well-known texts are always fresh, original, and faithful to the true nature and appearance of animals. Her depiction of Lear's pussy-cat, for example, derives from her own, sardonic sense of humour - typically, the cat appears to be more interested in the fish than in the owl's guitar playing.

It was the main topic of The Owl and the Pussycat Went to See..., a 1968 children's musical play about Lear's nonsense poems. The play was written by Sheila Ruskin and David Wood. [6] The family live by places with strange names. The Cat dies, falling from a tall tree, leaving the Owl a single parent. The death causes the Owl great sadness. The money is all spent, but the Owl still sings to the original guitar. [2] Derivative works [ edit ]

More by this poet

Edward Lear was one of 20 children. He suffered from epilepsy, and had a very unhappy childhood as an unwanted member of the family. He was largely brought up by an elder sister who encouraged him to develop his artistic talent. Interestingly, Sarah, another sister of his, was also a talented artist and writer, though she is largely forgotten now. This edition of the book is dedicated to her memory. It includes seven of Edward Lear's most popular poems: