This was a concise little essay about poems that mean very little, but are generally fun- or at least funny. An example of the latter is probably the work Orwell cites called Solomon Grundy, who is "born on Monday," "Christened on Tuesday"... and by the end of the week is buried. "And that was the end of Solomon Grundy."
Edward Lear is known for his nonsense rhymes that are set in made-up countries with peculiar, nonsensical characters. His most famous is probably "The Owl and the Pussycat." In Lear's limericks, the first and last lines have the same rhyme, giving them a peculiar charm. Still, Orwell thinks that, although fun, there is not.....
This is a free excerpt of 114 words. This section contains 226 words. This
study guide contains 24,733 words (approx. 82 pages at 300
words per page).
Read the rest of this Literature Guide with our Shooting an Elephant Access Pass.
