The Victorian Trickster and the Modern Shaman

Abstract

This paper aims to take its readers to the realm of nonsense poetry, to the world of games. It tries to draw a chronological line from folk literature to contemporary experimental poetry. It intends to examine the roots of the playful elements of Edward Lear’s poetry and the world he created for his age, either for adults or for children. Edwin Morgan’s concrete poetry will also be discussed with the aim of illustrating how the modern approaches work to play and to show the picture in the mirror.