I was a journalism major in college, and then a theatre major, moved to political science, and finally graduated with a degree in history. My BA should have an MA in ADD. Summing up all my skills, I think this qualifies me to write a little about a lot or maybe a lot of nonsense. I found out the other day nonsense is actually a language and you don’t need Rosetta Stone to become proficient at it. My daughter and her friend were in the back of the car arguing about whether it was a real language or not. So we looked it up on Wikipedia. Turns out my daughter was right. Nonsense is real as much as reality sometimes seems like nonsense.
Nonsense is a verbal communication or written text that is spoken or written in a human language or other symbolic system but lacks any coherent meaning. Many poets, novelists and songwriters have used nonsense in their works, often creating entire works using it.
An example of nonsense: when you are just on the verge of falling asleep and you say random things to your spouse with absolutely no context for the current conversation. Our subconscious mind on the edge of slumber can turn the most articulate person into a babbling fool. Oh, if only we had tape recorders in those moments. I love it when my husband snuggles into the pillow, then blurts out, “What did the guy in green the car say?”
I think he said, “You’re out of gas, Mr. Over-tired!”
Literary nonsense takes it one step further and for a writer is a cornucopia of delicious words to play with. In its essence, literary nonsense is contradiction using correct grammar that results in any lack of meaning. The saying, “Colorless green ideas sleep furiously” penned by Noam Chomsky is an example of nonsense.
So in honor of fall, autumn and the pure love of spooky words , here is a stab at some Jabberwocky(a poem of nonsense).
The jack-o-lanterns menacing grin lulled the small child into a state of tranquility.
The sweet comfort of terror filling the night with peace.
Snickers and candy corn creating a cacophony of song
And blackest midnight dancing a jig with dawn.
Related Articles
- Google is to start translating poetry (guardian.co.uk)
- The ventious crapests pounted raditally (3quarksdaily.com)
- Colorless green, and clueless (stat.columbia.edu)
