William Shakespeare s Jabberwocky And Lear s Limericks...

When everything in our reality seems like unreal, it can be difficult to distinguish between sense and nonsense. Everyday we seem to read another tragic headline about people getting assaulted for being their true selves, countries being torn apart because of hate and intolerance and innocent children getting killed in the crossfire. The frightening part is when these horrors that never make any sense become normal to us. It begs the question, has the world gone mad or have we? Growing up can be a difficult and confusing experience for all. As we grow older and realize the world is more than what is right in front of us. We ask questions to try and make sense of the world as we grow from the simplicity of childhood to the complications of adulthood. As we mature, our perceptions of the world change drastically. A child’s closed off world view is challenged as he begins to ask questions and explore. What seemed simple before is much more intricate now. The use of nonsense in bo th Carroll’s Jabberwocky and Lear’s limericks from The Book of Nonsense force us to challenge nonsensical situations so we can grow and adjust to the harsh realities of our world by realizing that things are not always what they seem. Both authors do this effectively through the absence of meaning and the use of juxtaposition. The absence of meaning in both Carroll and Lear’s poems is significant, even though it may seem like the opposite. When reading these poems for the first time, the reader may be