“A Book of Nonsense” is a piece of work by Edward Lear created in 1846. As part of the Romanticism movement, this illustration is a typical genre of Lear’s corpus, showcasing an example of his whimsical and nonsensical style.
The artwork features a simple black and white pen drawing that illustrates a poem by Edward Lear. It depicts an old man with a long, bushy beard extending horizontally across the majority of the image. Within the dense shrubbery of his beard, several birds have taken residence: two owls, a hen, four larks, and a wren, each nestled comfortably among the tangles. The man, dressed in a coat with button details and wearing shoes, has a mildly surprised or resigned expression on his face and stands leaning slightly back with one hand extended outward as if gesturing or balancing himself. He is perched somewhat awkwardly on a wooden chair that tilts with him. Below the illustration is the accompanying limerick, providing a humorous juxtaposition of text and image that is characteristic of Edward Lear’s work. The image and verse together convey a lighthearted and absurd scene rooted in Victorian humor.
