DOCSLIB.ORG

Translating Nonsense : a Non Nonsense

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Translating Nonsense : a Non Nonsense Mémoire présenté en vue de la validation du Master 1 Aire Culturelle du Monde Anglophone Traduction littéraire et traductologie / Linguistique Directrice de mémoire : Sara Greaves Translating Nonsense : a non nonsense Didier Deléglise – Juin 2015 “What do you know about this business?' the King said to Alice. 'Nothing,' said Alice. 'Nothing WHATEVER?' persisted the King. 'Nothing whatever,' said Alice. 'That's very important,' the King said, facing the jury.‎” Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, by Lewis Carroll Translating Nonsense : a non nonsense page 2/39 TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction 5 1. What Nonsense is not 7 Nonsense is not light verse, nor (only) meaningless or funny 7 Nonsense is neither the absurd… 7 ...nor humor 8 2. Attempt at a definition 9 Standard and literary definitions 9 A broader approach 10 Our definition 11 3. Some Nonsensical Devices 12 Faulty cause and effect 12 The quintessential absurd 14 Semantic mismatch 15 Absurd precision 15 Multiple repetition 16 Neologism and gibberish 16 Homophony and Alliteration 17 4. Translating Nonsense : nonsense…or not? 18 An Unbalanced presence 18 Translation criticism 19 A few words about the translator 20 (Non) Technical issues : translating the devices 20 The (non) issue of Puns 22 The essence of Nonsense...and translation 23 5. Stephen Leacock, the perfect embodiment 24 Oh no! Not Carroll and Lear! 24 Why Leacock? 24 Stephen Leacock : life and works 25 Forms, means and goals 26 6. Focus on a few translations and some personal attempts 28 7. Conclusion 33 page 3/39 8. Bibliography 34 Primary sources 34 Secondary sources 34 9. Annexes 35 Stephen Leacock’s Bibliography 35 Stephen Leacock on Worldcat 37 page 4/39 “Synopsis of Previous Chapters There are no Previous Chapters.” Nonsense Novels, Stephen Leacock Introduction At the very beginning of the 20th century, G.K. Chesterton wrote1 that if he were to be asked for the best proof of adventurous growth in the 19th century, “he would reply, with all respect for its portentous science and philosophy, that it was to be found in the rhymes of Mr. Edward Lear and the literature of Nonsense and that this was the literature of the future.” Unfortunately, one hundred and ten years later it seems that this peremptory assertion was over optimistic. Nonsense fiction, as we will argue, is still underrated as a genre, yet a great number of artists in many different fields have met success under that particular label :Lear’s Poetry, Carroll’s fiction, Beckett‘s theatre, Monty Python’s or Woody Allen’s cinema, to name a few. It can also be indisputably stated that Nonsense, like Humor, has the reputation of being a British —or sometimes Belgian—speciality and, since the death of Eugene Ionesco and Alphonse Allais, poorly represented in French literature, either as a primary source or in translation. Our thesis is that English speaking Nonsense can truly be considered as a genre of its own, and that if we focus on an English source and a French Target, translating Nonsense is not such a challenge.2 Firstly, to mark out the boundaries of our study, we are going to clarify what Nonsense is not, and what it must not be mixed up with. We will then review some academic definitions, show their possible limits and try to supply our own. Then, to pave the way for an effective translation, our third part will focus on the most frequently used devices that Nonsense can rely on. In our fourth part we will take a close look at Stephen Leacock’s art, which perfectly embodies the wealth and variety of the world of Nonsense. 1 G. K. Chesterton, The Defendant. Second edition. London : R. Brimley Johnson, 1902. 2 Within the frame of this essay, we will focus more especially on prose and fiction, English and French and try to avoid ‘universal’ statements about translation ‘in general’. page 5/39 And finally, we will discuss the issues that may arise (or not) while translating Nonsense, illustrated by some short personal endeavors at translation. page 6/39 “It was a wild and stormy night on the West Coast of Scotland. This, however, is immaterial to the present story, as the scene is not laid in the West of Scotland. For the matter of that the weather was just as bad on the East coast of Ireland. But the scene of this narrative is laid in the South of England...” Incipit of "Gertrude the Governess", by Stephen Leacock 1. What Nonsense3 is not Nonsense is not light verse, nor (only) meaningless or funny Light verse, meaningless texts and jokes or puns are often mistaken for literary Nonsense,4 even if Nonsense can obviously sometimes use these forms and devices. Gibberish for example, is a device of nonsense, but cannot be labelled as such if no significant meaning can be found to balance it. Otherwise, the text simply falls into literal non-sense. A lot of texts may be funny and share humor, inconsequentiality, or playfulness with Nonsense, but without having the necessary tension between meaning and lack of meaning, or the necessary break in the logical thread. Riddles are not nonsense, because the tension between meaning and lack of meaning is canceled as soon as the answer to the riddle is given.5 Even the most absurd jokes cannot be considered as Nonsense, because what makes them funny is precisely that we make sense of them, that we ‘get them’. Nor is Nonsense fantasy as it doesn’t follow the illogical constraint : Once you have accepted the wonders or magic of ‘Fantasyland’, everything within follows the rules of logic and the very use of magic can ‘logically’ explain the uncanny. Nonsense is neither the absurd… The first and most common translation of Nonsense in French is ‘absurde’. Unfortunately, the word ‘absurde’ has mainly two very different meanings. The first one, as quoted from Le Robert’s French dictionary :6 “has a Latin origin Absurdus (that which doesn’t sound right), lacking 3 Nonsense will be written with a Capitalized N throughout this essay to distinguish it from nonsense or non­sense, in the common acceptation of the term : “That which is not sense; absurd or meaningless words or ideas” as defined in the Oxford English Dictionary. 4 See definitions, in part 2, for more details. 5 When the Mad Hatter asks Alice in Carroll's Alice in Wonderland :"Why is a raven like a writing­ desk?" and Alice gives up and the Hatter replies that he does not know either,” we actually have a nonsensical riddle, but only because the commonly accepted logic of the riddle, i.e. that the speaker KNOWS the answer, is not fulfilled here. 6 Le Nouveau petit Robert, Nouvelle édition. Paris : Les dictionnaires Le Robert, 1993. page 7/39 common sense, or reason, stupid.” The second definition is actually more relevant in the philosophical field or to a lesser extent in that of literature. Far from being funny, the latter has a very pessimistic acceptation and has been popularized by Albert Camus in the 50’s : “the existence of that is not justified by any final goal” (Le Nouveau petit Robert, ibid.). As Ronald Aronson put it in the Online Stanford Encyclopedia of philosophy :7 “Camus posed one of the twentieth century's best-known existentialist questions, which launches The Myth of Sisyphus : ‘There is only one really serious philosophical question, and that is suicide’. And his philosophy of the absurd has left us with a striking image of the human fate : Sisyphus endlessly pushing his rock up the mountain only to see it roll back down each time he reaches the top. ” In France the ambiguity of the term remains. Even restricted to the literary area, one speaks of ‘Théatre de l’absurde’, for Eugene Ionesco’s theatre as well as ‘roman absurde for L’étranger, by Camus or even Voyage au bout de la nuit by Céline. Thus, Nonsense may include some absurd situations, in the first meaning of the word, but may seldom refer to the absurd in its existentialist acceptation. Bernard Gendrel,8 during a lecture at l’Ecole Nationale Supérieure, pointed out that « l'absurde d'un roman de Kafka ou d'une pièce de Beckett diffère du nonsense. D'ailleurs, en anglais, on parle de «Theatre of the absurd» et non pas de «nonsense theatre». L'expression anglaise montre qu'il y a une différence de perception entre les deux genres. Chez Beckett, l'absurde se présente comme une vision du monde inspirée par une philosophie pessimiste. L'absurdité du monde soumis à la vieillesse et à la mort, l'absurdité du langage qui ne peut que se répéter sans innover […] Le nonsense, quant à lui, semble difficilement utilisable dans le cadre d'une philosophie.» ...nor humor Last but not least, Nonsense is not humor. More precisely, Nonsense is almost always humoristic, but the reverse is not true : there are actually numerous forms of humor that don’t rely on Nonsense. This distinction is all the more important as it is often the source of many misunderstandings. As we will see later on, puns or wordplay for example, which can be difficult to translate, are not at the heart of Nonsense. 7 See : http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/camus/ 8 L’humour : tentative de définition, a Lecture from Bernard Gendrel and Patrick Moran. Ecole normale supérieure, Paris, 2005­2006. page 8/39 "Lord Ronald said nothing, flung himself upon his horse and rode madly off in all directions." Gertrude the Governess, Stephen Leacock 2. Attempt at a definition Before attempting to propose our own definition of Nonsense we are going to review some of those proposed by reference dictionaries and then by literary glossaries.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Open Maryallenfinal Thesis.Pdf
    THE PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY SCHREYER HONORS COLLEGE DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH SIX IMPOSSIBLE THINGS BEFORE BREAKFAST: THE LIFE AND MIND OF LEWIS CARROLL IN THE AGE OF ALICE’S ADVENTURES IN WONDERLAND MARY ALLEN SPRING 2020 A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for a baccalaureate degree in English with honors in English Reviewed and approved* by the following: Kate Rosenberg Assistant Teaching Professor of English Thesis Supervisor Christopher Reed Distinguished Professor of English, Visual Culture, and Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Honors Adviser * Electronic approvals are on file. i ABSTRACT This thesis analyzes and offers connections between esteemed children’s literature author Lewis Carroll and the quality of mental state in which he was perceived by the public. Due to the imaginative nature of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, it has been commonplace among scholars, students, readers, and most individuals familiar with the novel to wonder about the motive behind the unique perspective, or if the motive was ever intentional. This thesis explores the intentionality, or lack thereof, of the motives behind the novel along with elements of a close reading of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. It additionally explores the origins of the concept of childhood along with the qualifications in relation to time period, culture, location, and age. It identifies common stereotypes and presumptions within the subject of mental illness. It aims to achieve a connection between the contents of Carroll’s novel with
    [Show full text]
  • Examining the Relationship Between Children's
    A Spoonful of Silly: Examining the Relationship Between Children’s Nonsense Verse and Critical Literacy by Bonnie Tulloch B.A., (Hons), Simon Fraser University, 2013 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS in THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE AND POSTDOCTORAL STUDIES (Children’s Literature) THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA (Vancouver) December 2015 © Bonnie Tulloch, 2015 Abstract This thesis interrogates the common assumption that nonsense literature makes “no sense.” Building off research in the fields of English and Education that suggests the intellectual value of literary nonsense, this study explores the nonsense verse of several North American children’s poets to determine if and how their play with language disrupts the colonizing agenda of children’s literature. Adopting the critical lenses of Translation Theory and Postcolonial Theory in its discussion of Dr. Seuss’s On Beyond Zebra! (1955) and I Can Read with My Eyes Shut! (1978), along with selected poems from Shel Silverstein’s Where the Sidewalk Ends (1974), A Light in the Attic (1981), Runny Babbit (2005), Dennis Lee’s Alligator Pie (1974), Nicholas Knock and Other People (1974), and JonArno Lawson’s Black Stars in a White Night Sky (2006) and Down in the Bottom of the Bottom of the Box (2012), this thesis examines how the foreignizing effect of nonsense verse exposes the hidden adult presence within children’s literature, reminding children that childhood is essentially an adult concept—a subjective interpretation (i.e., translation) of their lived experiences. Analyzing the way these poets’ nonsense verse deviates from cultural norms and exposes the hidden adult presence within children’s literature, this research considers the way their poetry assumes a knowledgeable implied reader, one who is capable of critically engaging with the text.
    [Show full text]
  • Examining the Relationship Between Children's Nonsense Verse And
    A Spoonful of Silly: Examining the Relationship Between Children’s Nonsense Verse and Critical Literacy by Bonnie Tulloch B.A., (Hons), Simon Fraser University, 2013 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS in THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE AND POSTDOCTORAL STUDIES (Children’s Literature) THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA (Vancouver) December 2015 © Bonnie Tulloch, 2015 Abstract This thesis interrogates the common assumption that nonsense literature makes “no sense.” Building off research in the fields of English and Education that suggests the intellectual value of literary nonsense, this study explores the nonsense verse of several North American children’s poets to determine if and how their play with language disrupts the colonizing agenda of children’s literature. Adopting the critical lenses of Translation Theory and Postcolonial Theory in its discussion of Dr. Seuss’s On Beyond Zebra! (1955) and I Can Read with My Eyes Shut! (1978), along with selected poems from Shel Silverstein’s Where the Sidewalk Ends (1974), A Light in the Attic (1981), Runny Babbit (2005), Dennis Lee’s Alligator Pie (1974), Nicholas Knock and Other People (1974), and JonArno Lawson’s Black Stars in a White Night Sky (2006) and Down in the Bottom of the Bottom of the Box (2012), this thesis examines how the foreignizing effect of nonsense verse exposes the hidden adult presence within children’s literature, reminding children that childhood is essentially an adult concept—a subjective interpretation (i.e., translation) of their lived experiences. Analyzing the way these poets’ nonsense verse deviates from cultural norms and exposes the hidden adult presence within children’s literature, this research considers the way their poetry assumes a knowledgeable implied reader, one who is capable of critically engaging with the text.
    [Show full text]
  • 1.Hum-Roald Dahl's Nonsense Poetry-Snigdha Nagar
    IMPACT: International Journal of Research in Humanities, Arts and Literature (IMPACT: IJRHAL) ISSN(P): 2347-4564; ISSN(E): 2321-8878 Vol. 4, Issue 4, Apr 2016, 1-8 © Impact Journals ROALD DAHL’ S NONSENSE POETRY: A METHOD IN MADNESS SNIGDHA NAGAR Research Scholar, EFL University, Tarnaka, Hyderabad, India ABSTRACT Following on the footsteps of writers like Louis Carroll, Edward Lear, and Dr. Seuss, Roald Dahl’s nonsensical verses create a realm of semiotic confusion which negates formal diction and meaning. This temporary reshuffling of reality actually affirms that which it negates. In other words, as long as it is transitory the ‘nonsense’ serves to establish more firmly the authority of the ‘sense.’ My paper attempts to locate Roald Dahl’s verse in the field of literary nonsense in as much as it avows that which it appears to parody. Set at the brink of modernism these poems are a playful inditement of Victorian conventionality. The three collections of verses Rhyme Stew, Dirty Beasts, and Revolving Rhyme subvert social paradigms through their treatment of censorship and female sexuality. Meant primarily for children, these verses raise a series of uncomfortable questions by alienating the readers with what was once familiar territory. KEYWORDS : Roald Dahl’s Poetry, Subversion, Alienation, Meaning, Nonsense INTRODUCTION The epistemological uncertainty that manifested itself during the Victorian mechanization reached its zenith after the two world wars. “Even signs must burn.” says Jean Baudrillard in For a Critique of the Political Economy of the Sign (1981).The metaphor of chaos was literalized in works of fantasy and humor in all genres.
    [Show full text]
  • Humour in Nonsense Literature
    http://dx.doi.org/10.7592/EJHR2017.5.3.holobut European Journal of Humour Research 5 (3) 1–3 www.europeanjournalofhumour.org Editorial: Humour in nonsense literature Agata Hołobut Jagiellonian University, Kraków, Poland [email protected] Władysław Chłopicki Jagiellonian University, Kraków, Poland [email protected] The present special issue is quite unique. It grew out of a one-off scholarly seminar entitled BLÖÖF: Nonsense in Translation and Beyond, which attracted international scholars to the Institute of English Studies of Kraków’s Jagiellonian University on 18 May 2016 – a venue which had earlier yielded the series of studies entitled In Search of (Non)Sense (Chrzanowska- Kluczewska & Szpila 2009). The discussion at the seminar brought everyone to the, perhaps inevitable, conclusion that nonsense is bound to be humorous, and thus nonsense is definitely within the scope of humour studies. “Nonsense expressions easily become humorous ones, as humans often obtain pleasure from linguistic play and are ready to look for alternative paths to produce meaning. Nonsense has been experienced as a form of freedom, especially as a means to free thinking from the conventional bindings of logic and language” (Viana 2014). The interest in literary nonsense is quite long dating back to such grand figures as Dante, Rabelais, Erasmus of Rotterdam, and especially notably to the Anglosphere with its grand figures of Jonathan Swift, Lawrence Sterne, Edward Lear, Lewis Carroll, James Joyce, and Samuel Beckett. At least since the time of Lewis Carroll and the antics of Alice in Wonderland nonsense humour rose to the status of a ‘typically English’ phenomenon, and the subject of creative nonsense or sense in nonsense has been quite prominent in English-language literary studies, whether of verse or prose.
    [Show full text]
  • The Origin and Principles of Victorian Nonsense: Darwin's and Lyell's Influence on Lear's Limericks and Carroll's Alice Stories"
    DIPLOMARBEIT / DIPLOMA THESIS Titel der Diplomarbeit / Title of the Diploma Thesis „The Origin and Principles of Victorian Nonsense: Darwin's and Lyell's Influence on Lear's Limericks and Carroll's Alice Stories" verfasst von / submitted by Susanne Schramek angestrebter akademischer Grad / in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Magistra der Philologie (Mag. phil.) Wien, 2018 / Vienna, 2018 Studienkennzahl lt. Studienblatt / A 190 347 344 degree programme code as it appears on the student record sheet: Studienrichtung lt. Studienblatt / Lehramtsstudium UniStG, UF Französisch UniStG degree programme as it appears on UF Englisch UniStG the student record sheet: Betreut von / Supervisor: Univ.-Prof. i.R. Dr. Ewald Mengel Mitbetreut von / Co-Supervisor: nicht zutreffend / not applicable Acknowledgements / Danksagung Vielen Dank an Herrn Professor Mengel für die Unterstützung bei der Themenfindung, die verlässlichen und raschen Rückmeldungen und den hilfreichen Input - ich habe mich durchwegs bestens betreut gefühlt. I also want to thank Fionnuala Dillane, whose seminar on literature and science at UCD Dublin inspired me to choose a topic I could not have been happier with. Ganz viel Danke auch an all die lieben Menschen in meiner Welt, die mich offenohriger, zuredender und tanzender Weise durch diese Zeit begleitet haben. Besonders danke ich meiner Familie: Mama und Papa, ich kann gar nicht ausdrücken, wie dankbar ich bin, dass ihr mich über all die Jahre in allem, was mir wichtig war, unterstützt, mir immer Halt gegeben und mich mit eurem Vertrauen angesteckt habt, dass schon alles gut so ist, wie es kommt und wie ich meinen Weg gehe. Und Fan, vielen herzlichen Buuh fürs gemeinsame Freuen über jeden Lustifortschritt und für die wohldosierte Ablenkung zwischendurch mit diversen Lustinarien.
    [Show full text]
  • Finding Sense Behind Nonsense in Select Poems of Sukumar Ray
    Journal of the Department of English Vidyasagar University Vol. 12, 2014-2015 Finding Sense Behind Nonsense in Select Poems of Sukumar Ray Rima Chakraborty Nonsense literature is generally categorized as part of the macrocosm of children’s literature. And there is no denying that as children we have all read such literary pieces with much amusement and delight. In 1900 G.K. Chesterton wrote that, if he were to be asked for the best proof of ‘adventurous growth’ in the nineteenth century, he would reply, “with all respect for its portentous science and philosophy, that it was to be found in the literature of nonsense” and that “this was the literature of the future” (Chesterton 43). Now, “Nonsense” as a literary genre is difficult to define in absolute terms. It is interpretation gone wild, but also lucid, as clearly appears in the works of the early practitioners of the form in the mid 19th century, namely Edward Lear and Lewis Carroll. It is true that the “modern nonsense” originated in the mid- 19th century, but it is equally true that the roots of the tradition can be traced back to some of its early practitioners and precursors- such as the anonymous nonsense of nursery rhymes, the ‘water poet’ John Taylor and the Bedlamite and mad talk of Shakespeare. Again, if the genre of literary nonsense is analyzed with reference to its contemporary socio-political scenario, it becomes clear that nonsense is actually a medium which allows the literary artist to point out various shortcomings of the society at large. So, as its name suggests, “non-sense” always exists in relation to, and as a comment on, “sense.” T.
    [Show full text]
  • Light and Outrageous - the New York Review of Books
    Light and Outrageous - The New York Review of Books http://www.nybooks.com/articles/17325 VOLUME 51, NUMBER 13 · AUGUST 12, 2004 Light and Outrageous By Edward Mendelson W. H. Auden's Book of Light Verse The New York Review of Books 1. When a poet presents an outline of the history of literature, he generally describes a tradition of many centuries that culminates in his own poems. W.B. Yeats found the high points of English verse and prose in the Irish Protestant writers he claimed as his literary ancestors, Bishop Berkeley and Jonathan Swift, and in visionaries such as William Blake. T.S. Eliot persuaded many of his contemporaries that the central line of descent in the history of English poetry extended from the school of John Donne to Eliot himself; Milton and the Romantics were mere offshoots, and Shakespeare's primacy was slightly doubtful. W.H. Auden compiled The Oxford Book of Light Verse[1] in 1937 partly to provide an entertaining textbook of literary history that emphasized a tradition that could be traced back from his own poems through the work of Byron, Pope, and Chaucer, with contributions from dozens of poets known only as "Anon.," derived not only from books but also from oral tradition, broadsides, and tombstones, a tradition that comprised ballads, limericks, nonsense verse, sea chanties, barroom songs, nursery rhymes, epigrams, spirituals, and the songs sung by soldiers, laborers, criminals, and tramps. In the first half of the twentieth century, the Oxford books of verse enjoyed greater prestige and authority than any other series of anthologies, although they had the slightly stuffy air of monuments left over from an earlier generation.
    [Show full text]
  • Exploring Wonderland with Alice
    Deep Blue Deep Blue https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/documents Research Collections Library (University of Michigan Library) 2015 "Curioser and Curioser!": Exploring Wonderland with Alice McLoone, Juli https://hdl.handle.net/2027.42/120246 Downloaded from Deep Blue, University of Michigan's institutional repository “Curiouser and Curiouser!” : Exploring Wonderland with Alice 25 August – 17 December 2015 Special Collections Exhibit Space 7th Floor • Hatcher Graduate Library University of Michigan Library Ann Arbor, Michigan PB 1 © 2015 University of Michigan Library (Special Collections Library) All rights reserved. Curators: Juli McLoone, Outreach Librarian & Curator, Special Collections Library & Jo Angela Oehrli, Learning Librarian, Children’s Literature Librarian, Learning and Teaching Unit We thank Cathleen A. Baker and Tom Hogarth of the Preservation & Conservation Department for their help in designing, preparing, and installing this exhibit; Anne Elias and Karmen Beecroft of the Special Collections Library for their assistance; Olivia Crowley and Michael McLean of Askwith Media Library for help with film editing and Mary Reilly of Services for Students with Disabilities for assistance with captioning; and Janet Crayne of International Studies for assistance with the Russian edition of Alice on display. 2 3 “Curiouser and Curiouser!” : Exploring Wonderland with Alice “It flashed across her mind that she had never before seen a rabbit with either a waistcoat-pocket, or a watch to take out of it, and, burning with curiosity, she ran across the field after it, and was just in time to see it pop down a large rabbit-hole under the hedge.” With these words, Charles Dodgson—better known as Lewis Carroll— launches his heroine down the rabbit hole and into a wonderland filled with impossible riddles, irascible characters, and constant threats to life and limb.
    [Show full text]
  • Lewis Carroll's 'Jabberwocky': Non -Sense Not Nonsense 1 Adam Rose, University of Chicago
    ARTICLE Lewis Carroll's 'Jabberwocky': non -sense not nonsense 1 Adam Rose, University of Chicago Abstract Although Lewis Carroll's 'Jabberwocky' is traditionally considered to be 'nonsense', such a characterisation ultimately rests on a Western folk notion of language as fundamentally semantico-referential. A more semiotically, and pragmatically, informed view of language and language-use, however, is capable of describing in considerable detail both the means by which a text such as 'Jabberwocky' 'makes sense' and the ends to which such a text can be put. Indeed, such a view shows that some discursive ends are particularly suited to attainment by means of so-called 'nonsense' texts such as 'Jabberwocky'. This article outlines such a view and applies it to 'Jabberwocky', which is thus seen to make both denotational and interactional 'sense'. Keywords: Carroll, Lewis; 'Jabberwocky'; literary pragmatics; poetics: pragmatics; semiotics The analysis of the two closely interconnected synthetic powers of poetry - that of similarity and contiguity and that of selection and combination - is a burning task faced by our science. Any fear of or reluctance about the analysis of poetic transformation of language impairs the scientific program of those linguists who pull back from the pivotal problem of this vital transformation; and likewise it curtails the research of those literary scholars who, in treating poetry, pull back from the innermost problems of language. (Jakobsen and Waugh (1979) The Sound Shape of Langunge, p. 236) I Introduction Since its publication in 1871 as part of Through the Looking Glass, Lewis Carroll's 'Jabberwocky' (see Appendix) has traditionally been considered to be a masterful piece of 'nonsense'.
    [Show full text]
  • The Age of Alice: Fairy Tales, Fantasy, and Nonsense in Victorian England
    THE AGE o f ALICE THE AGE of ALICE FAIRY TALES, FANTASY, AND NONSENSE IN VICTORIAN ENGLAND VASSAR COLLEGE LIBRARIES THE AGE OF ALICE: FAIRY TALES, FANTASY, AND NONSENSE IN VICTORIAN ENGLAND 1 2 THE AGE OF ALICE FAIRY TALES, FANTASY, AND NONSENSE IN VICTORIAN ENGLAND An Exhibition Catalogue VASSAR COLLEGE LIBRARIES Poughkeepsie, New York 2015 3 Text © of the authors, 2015 Contents PREFACE By Ronald Patkus 7 ALICE AND THE QUESTION OF VICTORIAN CHILDHOOD By Lydia Murdoch 11 THE AGE OF ALICE: FAIRY TALES, FANTASY, AND NONSENSE IN VICTORIAN ENGLAND By Ronald Patkus 21 WORLDBACKWARDS: LEWIS CARROLL, NONSENSE AND RUSSIAN AVANT-GARDE By Nikolai Firtich 29 THE INVISIBLE TEACHER By Nancy Willard 43 EXHIBITION CHECKLIST 59 IMAGES 63 Preface By RONALD PATKUS This year marks the 150th anniversary of the publication of one of the world’s most famous works of fantasy: Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. The first copies of the book were printed in July of 1865, to great success. In later years, other editions appeared, with new pre- sentations. Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland marked a key transition in literature, but other works incorporating fairy tales or elements of fantasy had appeared decades before and continued to appear throughout the century. Many of these fairy tales and works of fantasy and nonsense make up part of the extensive collection of children’s books in the Vassar College Library. The collection is actually made up of several smaller collec- tions that have been donated by alumna and friends, or developed by the library. Perhaps the most well-known is the Louise Seaman Bechtel Collection, named after the children’s book editor.
    [Show full text]
  • Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Literary Nonsense
    University of Iceland School of Humanities Department of English Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Literary Nonsense A Deconstructive Analysis of Lewis Carroll’s Novel B. A. Essay Lara Ruiz Prados Kt.: 271184-4339 Supervisor: Anna Heiða Pálsdóttir January 2018 ABSTRACT This essay analyzes the main features of the nonsense genre, including its definition, characteristics and, especially, its relevance in the world of literature. Nonsense literature encourages the imagination of the reader, whether child or adult, and, at the same time, it motivates the use of the reader’s wisdom to make it even greater. It is not necessary to find out the intention of the writer while he or she was creating the book. The reader must interpret the text according to his own circumstances. Without any doubt, and according to Jacques Derrida (1930-2004), a critical reading must create a text because “there is nothing outside of the text.” Furthermore, the essay offers a deconstructive analysis of nonsense books by the well- known mathematician Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (1832-1898), who used to sign his novels with his pen name, Lewis Carroll. Particularly, the essay focuses its investigation on Carroll’s books about the unforgettable character of Alice, such as Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (1865) and Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There (1871). Indeed, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland has been one of the world’s most frequently translated works and, after Shakespeare, Carroll is possibly the world’s most quoted author. The famous books about Alice were not expressly written for children; it is needless to say that also adults enjoy Carroll’s unsolved logic problems.
    [Show full text]