FCB # 168 Poet's Corner

 

The artwork titled “The Owl and the Pussycat,” created by Edward Lear, is a romantic illustration deeply rooted in the Romantic art movement. This illustration vividly portrays a whimsical scene where an owl and a cat embark on an adventurous journey together in a small wooden boat. The romantic genre of the artwork captures the essence of fantasy and imagination, reflective of the period’s inclination towards nature and emotion. In the artwork, the owl is depicted serenading the cat with a stringed instrument, most likely expressing affection or narrating a tale, while the cat appears attentive, perhaps in contemplation. The boat they are seated in contains a jar labelled “HONEY” and seems to be sailing smoothly over calm waters. The intricate lines and details highlight the artist’s skill and ingenuity in bringing the poetic narrative to life through visual elements.                                                                          

The Owl and the Pussy-cat, nonsense poem by Edward Lear, published in "Nonsense Songs, Stories, Botany and Alphabets" (1871). One of the best known and most frequently anthologized of Lear’s poems, it was written and illustrated for a young daughter of the English man of letters John Addington Symonds.

                   The Owl and the Pussy-Cat

By Edward Lear    1822-1888

The Owl and the Pussy-cat went to sea

   In a beautiful pea-green boat,

They took some honey, and plenty of money,

   Wrapped up in a five-pound note.

The Owl looked up to the stars above,

   And sang to a small guitar,

"O lovely Pussy! O Pussy, my love,

    What a beautiful Pussy you are,

         You are,

         You are!

What a beautiful Pussy you are!"

II

Pussy said to the Owl, "You elegant fowl!

   How charmingly sweet you sing!

O let us be married! too long we have tarried:

   But what shall we do for a ring?"

They sailed away, for a year and a day,

   To the land where the Bong-Tree grows

And there in a wood a Piggy-wig stood

   With a ring at the end of his nose,

             His nose,

             His nose,

   With a ring at the end of his nose.

III

"Dear Pig, are you willing to sell for one shilling

   Your ring?" Said the Piggy, "I will."

So they took it away, and were married next day

   By the Turkey who lives on the hill.

They dined on mince, and slices of quince,

   Which they ate with a runcible spoon;

And hand in hand, on the edge of the sand,

   They danced by the light of the moon,

             The moon,

             The moon,

They danced by the light of the moon.

Here is an AI interpretation of the Owl and the Pussy-Cat:

Personally, I think I prefer Edward Lear's original works, of which there are two fine examples of his self-illustrated limericks here:

There was an Old Man with a beard,

Who said, "It is just as I feared!—

Two Owls and a Hen

Four Lars and a Wren

Have all built their nests in my beard!"

There was an Old Man of Coblenz,
The length of whose legs was immense;
He went with one prance
From Turkey to France,
That surprising Old Man of Coblenz.