Из полного собрания бессмыслиц

Из полного собрания бессмыслиц

Эдвард Лир

Эдвард Лир – один из величайших английских поэтов. И это несмотря на всю «несерьезность» его творчества. Его книжки «нонсенсов» (т. е. чепухи) произвели революцию не только в поэзии, но и в литературе в целом, породив так называемый жанр абсурда. Среди учеников и последователей Лира были и Льюис Кэрролл, и Огдан Нэш, и Кит Гилберт Честертон, и многие другие. Книга представляет собой билингву, то есть русский и английский текст даются параллельно.

Эдвард Лир

Из полного собрания бессмыслиц

Nonsense verse and songs

Self-portrait of the laureate of nonsense

How pleasant to know Mr. Lear!

Who has written such volumes of stuff!

Some think him ill-tempered and queer,

But a few think him pleasant enough.

His mind is concrete and fastidious,

His nose is remarkably big;

His visage is more of less hideous,

His beard it resembles a wig.

He has ears, and two eyes, and ten fingers,

Leastways if you reckon two thumbs,

Long ago he was one of the singers,

But now he is one of the dumbs.

He sits in a beautiful parlour,

With hundreds of books on the wall;

He drinks a great deal of Marsala,

But never gets tipsy at all.

He has many friends, laymen and clerical;

Old Foss is the name of his cat;

His body is perfectly spherical,

He weareth a runcible hat.

When he walks in a waterproof white,

The children run after him so!

Calling out, “He's come out in his night-

Gown, that crazy old Englishman, oh!”

He weeps by the side of the ocean,

He weeps on the top of the hill;

He purchases pancakes and lotion,

And chocolate shrimps from the mill.

He reads but he cannot speak Spanish,

He cannot abide ginger-beer:

Ere the days of his pilgrimage vanish,

How pleasant to know Mr. Lear!

The Owl and the Pussy-cat

I

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.