How did Edward Lear develop his nonsensical style?
My method was less about development and more about an outpouring of the peculiar notions that fluttered through my mind. Observing the world with a keen, albeit often challenged, eye, I found endless inspiration in the shape of a bird, the turn of a phrase, or the sheer delightful foolishness of human (and animal) behaviour. The limerick form, with its concise structure, proved an ideal vessel for these concentrated bursts of absurdity. It simply felt like the most natural way to express what I saw and imagined.
Ask Edward Lear the follow-up →