Edward Lear

Edward Lear

About Edward Lear

Edward Lear was an English painter and poet who was born on May 12, 1812 in England. He was the 20th of 21 children, but many of them did not live past infancy. His oldest sister, Ann, acted as his mother for most of his life, and she tutored him at home because he did not have a lot of formal education.

Lear suffered from epileptic seizures and asthma during his life. The epilepsy caused a lot of guilt and loneliness because during the time he lived, seizures were associated with demonic possession.

Lear had a natural talent for drawing and painting, which his sister encouraged. In 1832 he published a volume of folio lithographic prints of parrots, Illustrations of the Family of Psittacidae. This collection caught the eye of the 13th earl of Derby, Edward Stanley. He asked Lear to draw the animals at his estate in Lancashire.

To entertain the children at the estate, Lear began writing poems. He first published these and his own illustrations under a penname in 1846 in a collection called A Book of Nonsense. The book was a compilation of nonsensical limericks. Lear helped to popularize this particular form of poetry.

The collection was expanded in 1861 under Lear's real name, and it was received well by the public. He thought he would make a name for himself as a painter, not a poet, but the success encouraged him to write more poems. During the 1870's Lear published three more volumes of poems: Nonsense Songs (1870), More Nonsense (1872), and Laughable Lyrics (1877)

His most famous individual piece is considered to be "The Owl and the Pussycat".

Edward Lear never married, but he did travel a lot. In addition to book of poetry, Lear published animal drawings and travel books.

In 1886 he contracted a severe case of bronchitis, which led to a decline in health. He passed away on January 29, 1888 in Italy.

References

    Poems by Edward Lear

  • The Owl And The Pussy-Cat

    Famous Poem

    in Famous Children Poems

    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.

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    • Poem of the Day
  • Limericks By Edward Lear

    Famous Poem

    in Famous Funny Poems

    There was an Old Man with a beard,
    Who said, 'It is just as I feared!
    Two Owls and a Hen,
    Four Larks and a Wren,

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    • Rating 3.94
    • Poem of the Week
    Featured Shared Story

    Those birds will just nest anywhere! Of course they need to build a home for their young-uns. Our dad told us a story that when he was young he would help gather the clothes off the clothes...

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