FOREWORD

IT T is a singular thing that among the various dictionaries of "literary terms" there does not appear to be one which gives a definition of Nonsense Verse, although for more than half a century it has been a recognised department of the Thalian Muse, and unofficially and in spasmodic form has existed for very much longer. In endeavouring to supply an explication which shall meet this deficiency I am conscious of the responsibility of my task and feel sure I cannot do better than describe the standard I have set up for my own guidance.

This, then, is my definition:

Nonsense Verse is the rhymed "apotheosis" of the preposterous. Its conscious humour is based either upon the paradoxical and eccentric use of words and phrases, of the precise meaning of which their adapter has the most accurate conception; upon a coined vocabulary of which the words, although nonsensical and ludicrous to the eye and to the ear, are, essentially, onomatopoetic; or upon absurd and incongruous action on the part of its principal characters. It may be parodic, as in the case of Lewis Carroll's, "You are old, Father William," and other examples. But it is never essentially satiric and very rarely contains a moral. Where a moral does occur, as in the case of "The Walrus and the Carpenter," with its warning to the young and innocent not to trust to soft-spoken strangers, it is intended to be a subsidiary effect in the whole design.

Having come to these conclusions I cannot altogether agree with the opinions of Monsieur Emille Cammaerts, distinguished Belgian poet, as expressed in recent and interesting articles in

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"John o' London's Weekly," and "The Bookman's Journal," that "the poetry of Nonsense, as Lear and Carroll understood it, is entirely irresponsible," and "the main point about 'the literature of Nonsense' is that there is no point in it."

Such a description, I submit, gives to Nonsense Verse a literal and not a literary meaning and reduces it to the level of the nursery rhyme or to the unconscious babbling of idiocy. If it be true, then any combination of words, picked haphazard from the dictionary, may be termed "Nonsense Literature."

I agree that, in most cases, Nonsense Verse appears to be entirely irresponsible, but, surely, this is one of the phases of paradox which Bernard Shaw, among others, has made use of.

Actually, Nonsense Verse is a highly technical form of conscious and responsible humour which, when analysed, is found to contain a strong sense of versification, and, in most cases, of "plot," "achievement," and "climax." It is in these particulars that it differs, widely, from the Nursery Rhyme and the Folk Song, which are indifferent to all structural technique, and can, truly, be described as "entirely irresponsible." Admittedly, there are one or two exceptions-"Jack and Jill," for example.

While denying that genuine Nonsense Verse can be entirely irresponsible it must be admitted that it is usually meaningless. A quaint little boy of my acquaintance causes great amusement to his adult friends by suddenly standing on his head in the most unsuitable places (if one can speak of "suitability" in such a connection). He is as unable to explain why he indulges in such inversive practices as when he first commenced them, but they are not irresponsible, for the reason that he can control them at will.

Lewis Carroll was quite unable to explain the meaning of "The Hunting of the Snark," but he could not have denied that it lacked plan or design, for it is doubtful whether there

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has ever been a more conscious literary jester, or one who was a more meticulous precisian in the use and misuse of words, including those coined by himself.

To say that the main point about his humour is that it has no point is to pay a poor compliment to the inimitable artdisguised as artlessness-with which he employs the most preposterous paradox and the most incongruous effects to make his points.

If any further argument were needed to support my contention that Nonsense Verse is, essentially, a conscious and responsible form of humour, it may be found in the Limerick. I doubt whether there is a single Limerick which has retained its popularity among adults which can be said to be pointless. Certainly neither of those famous examples, "The Young Lady of Riga," nor "The Young Man of Devizes," are lacking in point. On the other hand, that old nursery Limerick, "Dickory, Dickory, Dock," is entirely irresponsible and so, being literal Nonsense Verse, and nothing else, can only appeal to those of immature mentality.

With the clearly defined and rigorous standard that I have set up for my own guidance, I have experienced no hesitation in agreeing with the opinion of that eminent "bon motteur" (or should it be "mottist"?), the late Duke of Wigan, as expressed to me, on one occasion, when we were sharing "une bouteille de Saint Galmier, 1925" at the Jeu d'Esprit Club, as follows: "To the man of recherché tastes, the difference between Nonsense Poetry and Comic Ditto is as distinct as that between Caviare and Kippers!"

Presactly, otherwise excisely!

I trust I shall be forgiven the interpolation of this nonsenseparagraph for the wisdom underlying it.

The supply of genuine Nonsense Verse has always been small. Good sense is obtainable from so many sources that it

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is hardly an exaggeration to describe it as a commonplace commodity; but good nonsense is among the rarest blessings of the Universe. I can imagine a Hades without it, but certainly not a Heaven!

Apart from one or two ancient Greek writers, the poetry of Nonsense is essentially British and American in its history and development and is, therefore, impossible of translation. Indeed, while I believe that it is possible for a foreigner to appreciate it and to revel in it-in the same way that I love and appreciate

music, without being able to interpret its "psychology"-I am of opinion that Nonsense Versification is so essentially a British and American art that it would be impossible for any foreign critic to analyse its varied phases and effects. It is doubtful, even, whether any foreigner who was not an experienced cosmopolitan would find it in the least amusing. An intelligent German of my acquaintance, for example, who heard me quote the line, "I am going to plant a lemon pip and listen to it grow," from Mr. A. A. Milne's admirable nonsense poem, "From a

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Full Heart," said to me, seriously, "I cannot see any humour in that the thing's impossible!"

There is no genuine Nonsense Verse in Germany, the poetical humour of their verse being mainly, either ponderous or pornographic-when it is not both-and confined, chiefly, to "comic" songs; or in France or Italy, where the most brilliant and fascinating humour is either satiric or ironic, and, altogether, lacks the kindliness of representative British and American humour.

The subject-matter of anthologies, like bus conductors, bobbed hair, and legs of arm-chairs should be short, and so I have deemed it advisable to exclude from this one, many famous and delightful compositions, such as "The Yarn of the Nancy Bell," "The Walrus and the Carpenter," and others, which, but for this ruling would have been recorded.

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Apart from the exclusion of lengthy poems, I have striven to make this work so comprehensive that it shall include all the best short Nonsense Verse (irrespective of Limericks) as well as a small leavening of Nonsense "Worse" (including my own) for the purpose of comparison. With regard to the many so-called Nonsense Songs of the music-halls, I propose to include only a single specimen of unusual merit by way of example, for the vast majority of these lyrics, divorced from their catchy airs, are dreary compositions which any dull, uninspired idiot might have perpetrated. It is, also, my plan to touch lightly upon the Nonsense humour of the old sea chanties and the unintentional nonsense, or bathos, of a few of the serious poets,

1 This and other nonsense poems dealing with the war have been omitted from this anthology at the request of their respective authors, who prefer to be represented by verses connected with a more "irresponsible" subject. * Already dealt with in my "Complete Limerick Book."

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