All about limericks. Composing limericks as a means of creative development of children

MOU DOD Palace of Creativity for Children and Youth

Don Academy of Sciences for Young Researchers. Yu.A. Zhdanov

"Lexicology and Stylistics"

Research

topic: “Peculiarities of translating English limericks

into Russian"

Grade 11, MOU gymnasium No. 1,

G. Krasny Sulin

Supervisor:

Glyadentseva Victoria Evgenievna,

teacher of Russian language and literature of the highest category

Rostov-on-Don

2011

1. Introduction. 3-4
2. Main part.

1. Limerick as a Genre of Literature 5-11

And the rules for writing

1. Benchmarking 11-14

English limericks and

Existing translations into Russian.

1. Self-translated English limericks 15-16

And limericks in Russian.

1. Conclusions. 17
2. Literature. 18
3. Application. 19-23

1. Introduction.

I have been writing poetry since childhood. Over the years, a naive childhood hobby has grown into a serious occupation, although time-consuming, but enjoyable. It became interesting for me to try myself in different genres of poetry, for example, haiku, tanka. In English lessons, I got acquainted with one of the forms of English comic verse - limerick; I wanted to study it in more detail, compare different translations, and maybe write a few limericks myself.

Of particular interest to my research is the limerick as a special phenomenon of English literature, the theory of its origin as a genre, its linguistic and cultural features.

The relevance of the work lies in that, despite what is available in the research and scientific literature, there are enough Full description structure of the limerick and its features, little attention is paid to the analysis of translations of the English limerick into Russian.

This study attempts to identify the most common lexico-grammatical and semantic transformations that occur when translating English limericks into Russian. In parallel with the linguistic analysis of the available translated poetic material, I submit to the readers' judgment my own literary translations of famous limericks, as well as self-written limericks in Russian.

Target my research is a description of the metrical, structural and linguistic features of the limerick, the analysis of existing translations and the creation of my own literary translations of the English limerick in accordance with the features of the works of this genre.

To achieve this goal, the following tasks:

1. The study of the existing research literature on limericks and the selection of literary material for independent research.

2. Description of the structure and features of the English limerick using selected examples.

3. Comparative analysis of original and translated limericks.

4. Based on this analysis, identifying the most commonly used methods and techniques for translating an English limerick into Russian.

5. Creating your own translations of English limericks, as well as writing limericks in Russian.

Research methods(the method of linguistic description and comparative analysis) are determined by the tasks set.

Research materialserved as examples of limericks taken from books and from special Internet pages, as well as their own literary creativity. On the original and translated material, the features of the translation of an English limerick into Russian are studied for subsequent independent literary translation.

Working hypothesis is as follows: English limerick has a complex semantic and grammatical structure, which must be taken into account for its adequate translation into Russian.

The structure of the work consists of an introduction, which explains the choice of topic, reveals the main goals and objectives of the study, and puts forward a working hypothesis.

The first chapter of the study deals with the metrical and lexical-grammatical organization of the English limerick, visual means and techniques for creating a comic situation in it.

The second chapter is devoted to the analysis of existing translations of English limericks into Russian. Metric, lexical-grammatical and structural changes in translations are analyzed.

The third chapter analyzes own translations and limericks in Russian.

At the end of the study, there is a conclusion, a list of used literature, and an appendix.

1. Main part.

1. Limerick as a genre of literature and the rules of its writing.

Limerick is a form of English comic verse, originally used in songwriting; and although its origin is not exactly known, it is believed that the name "limerick" came from the refrain of songs sung by Irish militia soldiers who served under the French king Louis XIV. At their parties, the soldiers would improvise and sing songs (often of an indecent nature), each verse ending with a refrain, loudly repeated by the chorus - Will you come up to Limerick? (or, according to another version, Won "t you come up to Limerick?) ("Will you return to Limerick?"). Therefore, the English word "limerick" is pronounced with an accent on the first syllable - just like the name of a city in Ireland, which gave the name to this poetic form (hereinafter, based on the materials of the site en.wikipedia.org).

There are many legends and conjectures around the history of the origin of limerick. So, for example, one of the authors claims that even Aristophanes (V-IV centuries BC) used limericks in his plays; another researcher found a limerick describing a lion in a 14th-century manuscript in the British Museum. Limericks are found in Shakespeare's plays (basically, these examples refer to episodes connected, one way or another, with folk songwriting, such as the song of the already insane Ophelia in Hamlet).

The most common and most often cited is the theory of the emergence of limerick as a genre, which belongs to Langford Reid, who not only collected and published limericks, but also wrote them himself. It was according to this theory that limericks were sung, not recited, and this was improvisation; their content was different, only the refrain performed by the choir did not change.

Until the 19th century, until the time when this form became popular and acquired those clear features that are inherent in it and are considered characteristic of it to this day, limericks, appearing sometimes in printed form, were what in the 20th century. began to be called "underground" - that is, that which does not belong to the traditional, generally accepted in the field of art. It is known that the first collection of limericks was published in London in 1821 and was called "The History of Sixteen Wonderful Old Women", and in 1822 it was followed by another - "Anecdotes and Adventures of Fifteen Gentlemen".

The poems in these collections, although written in limerick form, were not called that. The word "limerick" itself officially entered the English language in 1898, when it was recorded in the Oxford English Dictionary and explained as "indecent nonsense verse".

Limerick gained obvious popularity as a poetic form after 1846. Then came the first volume of poems by Edward Lear "A Book of Nonsense", poems written for children and, as it turned out, for many, many adults, in the form of a limerick. (Although, it should be noted, E. Lear never called his poems limericks; the name was assigned to this poetic form by itself a little later - apparently due to the similarity with the improvisational folk song form.) E. Lear found that the limerick form provides endless possibilities for use of rhyme, and funny content is a wonderful material for artistic illustrations.

Limerick - this is a form of humorous, comic verse of absurd content (nonsense verse), written, as a rule, in anapaest and consisting of 5 lines, while the 1st, 2nd and 5th lines are tripartite, and the 3rd and 4th - bipedal.

The first two lines are closely related to each other: they are the same in duration, similar in accent-melodic structure (characterized by a rather calm descending melodic contour), separated by a short pause. The third and fourth lines, also closely related, form the second couplet. The tempo of these lines is somewhat accelerated, and the descending melody has a less calm (more precisely, indented) character. The last line (it contains the salt of the limerick), although the longest, is pronounced at a fast pace, at a low tonal level and sounds deliberately dull. This prosodic arrangement enhances the humorous effect. Limericks in this respect are similar to a joke, where the essence lies in the last phrase, which the narrator often strives to pronounce prosodic dully.

The rhyme scheme is set once and for all(rhyme - sound repeated consonances at the end of poetic lines):

A-A-B-B-A

You can, of course, use another scheme, but then it will not be a limerick, but simply a poem of five lines.

Thus, the poetic and rhythmic form of a limerick is almost always the same, it is based on a clear alternation of strong (A) and weak (a) stresses in a line.

1,2 and 5 lines are usually performed in three-foot (a foot is a combination of a stressed and unstressed syllable) anapaest - a three-syllable size with an emphasis on the third syllable:

a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a (-a-a)

A 3-foot amphibrach is also possible - a three-syllable size with an accent on the second syllable:

a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a (-a-a)

More rare is the 3-foot dactyl - a three-syllable size with an accent on the first syllable:

Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah (-ah-ah)

3rd and 4th lines always contain only two feet:

2-foot anapaest: ah-ah-ah-ah-ah (ah-ah)

2-foot amphibrach: a-a-a-a-a (-a-a)

2-foot dactyl: Ah-ah-ah-ah (ah-ah)

Generally speaking, English-language poetry does not require uniformity too strictly, and, following this tradition, some mixing of sizes is also often allowed in Russian limericks (for example, the first, second and fifth lines are written in dactyl, and the third and fourth - in anapaest, etc.) , as well as skipping unstressed syllables, especially at the beginning of a line.

Let's take one of Edward Lear's limericks as an illustration:

1. There was an old man with a beard,
2. Who said, 'It is just as I feared.
3. Two owls and a hen.
4. Four larks and a wren
5. Have oil built their nests in my beard! "

1. a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a
2. a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a
3. a-a-a-a-A B
4. a-a-a-a-A B
5. a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a

Sometimes, for greater humorous effect, the author emphatically refuses naturally expected rhymes.

For example:

There was a young poet called Dan,

His poetry just didn't scan .

people wanted to know

Just why this was so.

And he said, ‘Well, you see. I try to get as many words into the last lines as possible can. (hereinafter quoted from the book. “English language. Edward Lear "A Book of Nonsense" / Edward Lear "A Book of Nonsense" AST, East-West, 2006.)

In this limerick, the fifth line is deliberately lengthened, the rhyme is preserved only in the last word.

The strict accent structure of a limerick sometimes leads to a change in the normative position of word stress in a word (stress-shift), however, in general, a clear rhyming of a limerick makes it possible to accurately predict its rhythmic structure.

The comedy in a limerick is achieved by the meaninglessness of the content or the absurdity of the behavior of the characters described in it. But although the limerick is based on absurdity, nonsense, this nonsense either must be logically organized, or, having no obvious logic of presentation, must nevertheless contain some, albeit absurd, meaning.

Limerick writers tend to take one of two directions. On the one hand, it is possible to strictly observe all the technical features of the form, while the described situation must be quite grotesque; supporters of another direction make the main bet on the witty, unusual denouement contained in the last line, and attach great importance to the originality of the rhyme.

Limericks usually describe an incident that happened to someone, somewhere. A prerequisite at the same time, the comedy of what is happening is, and humor is usually understood in the English style, a certain eccentricity, paradoxicality, irony - all this is highly appreciated.

In traditional, classic limericks, the storyline usually unfolds in the first line and continues in the second. The first defines the hero (gentleman, old man, lady, etc.), usually characterized by the words "some", "young", "elderly", etc., and specifies the location of his location (originally it was some place in England, Scotland, Ireland, but subsequently the geography of limericks expanded). Therefore, a limerick, as a rule, begins with the construction there is/was.

In general, the traditional beginning of a classic limerick might be, for example:

There was an old lady of Dublin...

or:

There was a young gentleman in Cardiff...

In Russian, this will also look similar, for example:An old lady from Bath...

or:

A certain gentleman from Liverpool...

The second line introduces some interesting feature of the hero:

Was so long that it reached her toes…

In this case, we mean the lady's long nose, reaching (literally) to her toes.

The third and fourth lines are short, they tell about unexpected and sometimes incredible events (in the example below, about a man who added mice to porridge for taste):

But to make it nicer

He inserted some mice…

And finally, the fifth line, the salt of the limerick, is the longest and funniest. In a classic limerick, traditionally, it is a modified first, ending in the same word (usually this is the scene):

There was a young lady of Bute... (1st line)

That amusing, young lady of Bute… (5th line)

Limericks have their own language, their visual means and techniques for creating a comic situation:

In several limericks specially changed pronunciation and spelling of words.

There was once a man not unique,

Who imagined himself quite a shique;

But the girls didn't fall

For the fellow at all

He made only twenty a wique.

A man not unique - an unremarkable man. Writing the last word on the first line unique dictates the subsequent spelling of words that rhyme with him in the second and fifth lines:

shiek (si) - shique - irresistible man; week-wique.

Such limericks are calledspelling.

Deliberately broken grammar rule.

When asked, are you frizz?

He said, Yes, I is.

(R. Kipling)

Use of hyperbolization to create a humorous effect, (from the ancient Greek "hyperbole" - "surplus", "exaggeration"). This technique is readily used by caricaturists: they take some characteristic feature of a person's appearance and take it to the extreme. Let's say a big nose or belly looks huge and implausible. Let me give you two of the most striking examples.

There was an old man with a beard,

Who said, "It"s just as I feared!

Two Owls and a Hen,

four larks and a wren,

Have all built their nests in my beard!"

There was a Young Lady whose nose

So she hired an old lady

Whose conduct was steady,

(E. Lear)

Inclusion in limerickidiom (proverb, saying).

Here lies a young salesman named Phipps,

who married on one of his trips,

A widow named Block,

Then he^died of the shock,

When he saw there were six little chips.

When he saw there were six little chips -allusion to idiom "a chip off / of the old block" - a son who is very like his father - he is all like his father.

Use to create a limerickpunning rhymes.

There was a Young Lady of Station,

"I love men!" was her sole exclamation.

But when men cried

"You flatter!" She replied, "

Oh! no matter, Isle of Man is the true explanation!"

In this group of limericks one can meet

Puns with words of the same sound, different spellings, with different meanings ( homophones):

There was a young girl, a sweet lamb,

Who smiled as she entered a tram.

After she had embarked

The conductor remarked,

"Your fare." And she said, "Yes, I am."

In England, fares are collected by the bus conductor or sometimes by the bus driver. A fare - fare. Your fare! - We pay the fare! (It is with these words that the English conductors address the passengers who have just entered). So, conductor your fare narcissistic girl understands how You're fair (You are beautiful) and responds accordingly: Yes!

Puns built on the ambiguity of words.

There was a young fellow named Hall

Who fell in the spring in the fall.

"Would have been a sad thing

If he "d died in the spring,

But he didn't - he died in the fall.

It is curious that, although among the works of this genre - well-known, not very well-known or anonymous authors - many attract attention not only by the amusing situations described in them, but also by the melody, musical sound in the original language - in English, attempts to translate them, in particular , into Russian, are not always successful.

1. Comparative analysis of English limericks and existing translations into Russian.

Limericks rarely translate well because of their unusual rhyme, humor, and implausibility of the events they describe. When translating limericks, adherence to their rigid structure often forces one to sacrifice minor details or replace them in order to preserve the essence.

In addition, the Russian language is very different from English, in particular, in that English words, on average, are shorter than Russian ones and contain fewer syllables, so it is difficult to “squeeze” adequate content into a short, rigidly given poetic form. This is especially true for the 3rd and 4th lines, which are the shortest.

In most translations, the names of the characters, the "geography" of their habitat, and even the essence of the limerick are changed. The translator selects some name already for the rhymes of his language. As a result, the Russian translator sometimes comes up with a fantasy about an English limerick.

There was an Old Person of Ewell,

But to make it nicer

He inserted some mice,

Which refreshed that Old Person of Ewell.

There lived an old man named Bell.

He only ate porridge for breakfast.

And to make it tastier

A couple of mice in porridge

Added old gourmet Bell.

(E. Lear) (O. Astafieva)

Another example of translation, where a young man from Bengal had to be changed into Jimmy Brown, and a bun into a sausage.

There was a young man of Bengal

Who went to a fancy-dress ball;

He went, just for fun

Dressed up as a bun

And a dog ate him up in the hall.

Jimmy Brown was a pretty weirdo:

He went to a masquerade ball

Dressed up as a sausage.

And some erdelke

He got caught for dinner in the front door.

(E. Lear) (M. Redkina)

Of course, when translating limericks into Russian, there are some restrictions, even when it is allowed to invent unlimitedly.

For example, Rudyard Kipling wrote a limerick about a kid from Quebec who was once covered in snow. Quebec is a province of Canada where there are severe frosts. The translator of this limerick preserved the geography, preserved the frost and snow, but the neck "turned" into eyelids. Various English vernaculars can be expressed by some Russian not very literate words. The translator did not find such words, but the verb moo reports that the hero's speech is not very separate.

There once was a boy in Quebec,

Who was buried in the snow to his neck.

When asked, are you frizz?

He said, Yes, I is.

But we don't call this cold in Quebec.

Heavy snow boy in Quebec

Filled up to the very eyelids.

With a frostbitten nose

He mumbled that the frost

He carries easily in Quebec.

(Translated by K. Vasiliev)

Interesting translations of limericks are written by S. Marshak, V. Nabokov, G. Kruzhkov, O. Astafieva, M. Redkina, B. Arkhiptsev, Yu. Sabantsev and others. Of course, one cannot ignore those rare cases when translators skillfully preserve the form of a limerick and at the same time accurately convey the content of the original.

There was an old person of Gretna

Who rushed down the crater of Etna;

When they said, "Is it hot?"

He replied, “No, it's not!”

That mendacious old person of Gretna.

An old man from the city of Gretna

Jumped into the crater of Mount Etna.

To the question "Is it hot there?"

He replied: "Not to us!"

An old liar from the city of Gretna.

(E. Lear)

A question arises, not a new one in fact:What is primary in the translation of a poetic text - the preservation of the ideological and figurative content of the original or the form in which this content is transmitted?

Phonetic and, in particular, rhythmic organization of speech is specific to each language. The predominance of one- or polysyllabic words, the verbal stress characteristic of the language determine not only the choice of poetic size, but also determine the nature of the rhyme. Perhaps it will not be an exaggeration to say that most often the most successful are those poetic translations where the figurative content is expressed in a form more natural for the language into which the poem is translated. In the most successful versions, that is, in those that are perceived as limericks - poems that have a certain rhythm, structure and rhyme, first of all, the poetic form is preserved, although the content or dominant image of the original is often changed.

There are three parameters in evaluating limerick translations:

1. The poetic virtues of a limerick (rhyme, rhythm, etc.).
2. Closeness to the English original.
3. The extent to which such canonical limerick rules as the number and length of lines are observed.

I analyzed several variants of translations by unknown authors of the same limerick, taking into account these criteria for their evaluation.

There was a young lady of Bute

Who played on a silver-gilt flute;

She played several jigs

To her uncle's white pigs,

That amusing young lady of Bute.

(E. Lear)

Once upon a time there was a young lady in Bute

Playing a gilded lute.

She played ditties

Uncle piglet -

This funny lady from Bute.

There was a girl in Bute

And on a gilded lute

For uncle pig

Played ditties

Funny lady from Bute.

In the first example, the translator made an attempt to convey the content of the original limerick as accurately as possible and even reproduced the last refrain line with the replacement of the adjective, but, obviously,the general laws of versification are not observed - there is no size and rhythm.

The second example seems to be more successful - the rhyme has the same content , as the original, and, most importantly, - limerick shape.

Some translations, while retaining the content of the original, have the correct poetic form and are easy to remember due to good rhythm and rhyme, but they are not limericks (1st option).

There was an old man of Berlin

whose form was uncommonly thin,

Till he once by mistake

was mixed up in a cake,

So they baked that old man of Berlin.

(E. Lear)

Once upon a time there lived a Berliner,

It was no thicker than a little finger.

But one day - what a misfortune! -

He became one part of the test.

It turned out a wonderful dessert from a Berliner!

Once there lived a skinny Berliner -

No thicker than a child's little finger.

But time - about misfortune! -

He became a part of the test -

Someone got a guest...

In the second version, the translator, in an effort to preserve the form, sacrificed some of the subtleties of the content of the original rhyme, but the result was very successful - real limericks in Russian turned out.

This can be confirmed by another translation of the limerick into Russian:

There was an old man of Peru

who watched his wife making a stew;

But once by mistake

In a stove she did bake

That unfortunate man of Peru.

(E. Lear)

One husband loved to eat very much,

Followed my wife in the kitchen.

But one day she

I burned all the potatoes -

Until the end of his days, he did not forgive her.

(A.Laas)

The translation of limerick by E. Lear, made by G. Kruzhkov, seems to me ideal (Edward Lear, The Big Book of Nonsense. ID Ivan Limbakh, 2010, 288 pages):

There was an Old Man of Vesuvius,

Who studied the works of Vitruvius;

When the flames burnt his book,

To drink he took

That morbid Old Man of Vesuvius.

An old man lived at the foot of Vesuvius,

Studied the work of Vitruvius.

But his volume burned down

And he took up the rum

Rum is an antique old man by Vesuvius!

The examples given, which represent only a small part of the material analyzed by me, allow us to conclude that when translating a limerick into Russian intoin the foreground is the task of preserving the poetic form characteristic of it, despite the fact that when transferring the content of full compliance is not required. Since the limerick is nonsense, the absurdity of a character's character or an absurd situation can be conveyed by means of another language with more or less accuracy; but the lack of form, the lack of "logical organization" of the linguistic material, which is achieved by the presence of a certain meter, rhythm and rhyme, deprives the work of the expected sound, as a result it is not perceived as comical, funny, loses the completeness of the image, and, in general, is not a limerick in classical understanding.

1. Independent translations of English limericks and limericks in Russian.

I did my own translation of several limericks taken from an English textbook for grammar schools (“English textbook for grade VII schools with in-depth study of English, lyceums and gymnasiums”, O. V. Afanaseva, I. V. Mikheeva. M. "Enlightenment", 2008)

In the 1st limerick, as in all the others, I managed to keep the rhyme (A-A-B-B-A).

There was an Old Man of the East

Who gave all his children a feast; He arranged a holiday for his children.

But they all ate so much

And their conduct was such

That it killed that Old Man of the East. The prankster died of grief.

Of course, in English version the monosyllabic words “East” and “feast” rhyme perfectly, for the Russian translation I had to leave only the word “holiday”, since, in my opinion, it carries the main semantic load. But I had to sacrifice an indication of the geography of the limerick hero, replacing it with the rhyming "prankster".

We also had to make some changes in the metric structure: the 1st line (А-а-а-А-а-а-А-а) is a very rare three-foot dactyl in limericks; The 2nd and 5th lines (а-А-а-а-А-а-а-А-а) are written in three-foot amphibrach. In the original text, the 2nd line is also written in three-foot amphibrach. However, as mentioned above (pp. 5-6), such changes are quite acceptable.

Consider another example - the already familiar limerick about the lady with the long nose. In form, it turned out to be impeccable for me: all 5 lines are written in anapaest (1,2 and 5 - three-foot, 3 and 4 - two-foot). As for the content, in my translation the beauty received the name Frog (frog), which is not just the first rhyme that came across to the word “boot”, but also a contextual oxymoron. I have also retained hyperbole (nose reaching to boots) as the main means of creating a comic situation in this limerick.

There was a Young Lady whose nose

Was so long that it reached her toes;

So she hired an old lady

Whose conduct was steady,

To carry that wonderful nose.

Lady Frog had a long nose.

He reached almost to his boots.

Hired a maid

To that early in the morning

The nose was worn by the beautiful Frog.

And finally, the last of the limericks I translated:

There was an old man of the North,

But a laudable cook

fished him out with a hook,

A certain mister from the Grand Canyon

Fell into a bowl of broth.

The old man was saved

The cook brought a hook.

Lucky old man from the canyon.

In my translation, I managed to keep the form of the original. Lines 1, 2 and 5 are written in three-foot anapaest. 3, 4 - two-footed. In terms of content, the geography has not changed much. The Grand Canyon is located in North America, so, one might say, in the North. Saved storyline and comic situation.

Conducting a comparative analysis of English and Russian limericks, I acquired not only the skill of translating these comic poems, but also was able to write several of my own limericks in Russian. I would like to present to you some of them:

1. My neighbor named Kolya

I wanted some alcohol.

But green from the stove

Suddenly the men came.

And since then, Uncle Kolya has not been drinking.

1. Skinny named Ella

I still kept losing weight.

But, unable to withstand the storm,

With such a figure

Fly away like a feather, Ella.

1. Two very hungry pussies

We saw sausages in a bowl.

But cheeky mice

Armpit sausages.

Left hungry pussies.

1. conclusions

During the study, the working hypothesis was confirmed.English limerick really has a complex semantic-grammatical structure, which must be taken into account for its adequate translation into Russian. Based on the material I have analyzed, it can be said that, although the translation of a limerick must take into account all the necessary criteria (the poetic merits of a limerick, b affinity to the English original and the degree to which the number and length of lines are respected), the main rule is to preserve the form of the limerick, that is, such canons as the rhyming scheme and the size. Otherwise, the resulting translation will not be a limerick, but simply a five-line poem.

I believe that the study of this genre of English literature will be useful to me in further teaching a foreign language and, possibly, in professional self-determination. The translation of limericks, as well as any other works written in a foreign language, greatly expands lexicon, improves pronunciation and, of course, helps to understand the mentality of a foreign people and explore their cultural and historical traditions, without which a deep study of the English language is impossible.

1. Literature.

1. English language. Edward Lear "A Book of Nonsense" / Edward Lear "A Book of Nonsense" AST, East-West, 2006, 128 pages.
2. Afanasyeva O. V., Mikheeva I. V. "English textbook for grade VII schools with in-depth study of English, lyceums and gymnasiums", M: Education, 2008, 351 pages.
3. Edward Lear, The Big Book of Nonsense. ID Ivan Limbakh, 2010, 288 pp.
4. Meshcheryakova M. "Literature in tables and diagrams", 9th edition, M: Iris-Press, 2009, 220 pages.
5. The world is upside down (English humor in verse). In English: The Topsy-Turvy World / compiled by N. M. Demiurova. M., 1974, 114 pages.
6. Scientific and methodological journal "Foreign languages ​​at school", 1995, No. 5
7. en.wikipedia.org
8. ec-dejavu.ru
9. limericks.narod.ru

1. Application.

To write my work, I studied in detail 18 limericks popular in English-speaking countries with translations into Russian made by professional translators in order to independently learn how to make my own literary translation of limericks.

1. An important young man from Quebec

Had to welcome the Duchess of Teck,

So he bought for a dollar

A very high collar

To save himself washing his neck.

(anon)

The young lord who lives in Aberdeen

Invited the duchess to dinner.

To not wash your neck,

Collar for a guinea

Tall bought in the store.

(M.Redkina)

2. As a beauty I "m not a great star,
There are others more handsome by far,

But my face, I don't mind it,

Because I'm behind it

Tis the folks in the front that I jar.

(Antony Euwer)

I never shone with beauty,

I am not a rose. More like a swan.

It doesn't hurt me -

I can't see myself.

That's for the counter so, however, the trouble.

(M. Lorie)

3. There once was a sprinter from Wheeling,
Endowed with such delicate feeling

That she thought any chair

Shouldn't have its legs bare,

So she kept her eyes fixed on the ceiling.

(anon)

A virgin from Eton

Very delicately brought up:

"Chairs bare legs

a bit indecent,"

turning away from them, she says.

(M.Redkina)

4. There was an old lady of Rye,

Who was baked by mistake in a pie;

To the household's disgust

She emerged through the crust,

And exclaimed , with a yawn, "Where am I?'

(anon)

In the rotosey cook's pie

Baked a native of Sydney.

Through the crust - oh horror! -

She went outside

And, yawning, exclaimed: "Where am I?"

(M.Redkina)

5. There was an old man of Dumbree,

Who taught little owls to drink tea

For he said, To eat mice

Is not proper to nice".

That amiable man of Dumbree.

(anon)

The Old Gentleman of Aldershot

He gave two owlets a mug of compote.

"Eating mice is indecent", -

He usually spoke

A good gentleman from Aldershot.

(O. Astafieva)

6. There was an old man of Leghorn,

The smallest as ever was born;

But quickly snapped up he

was once by a pappy

Who devoured that old man of Leghorn.

(anon)

Once upon a time there was a midget from Livorno, -

The smallest in the world, no doubt.

But one day as a puppy

Was swallowed in secret

An old midget from Livorno.

(M.Redkina)

7. There was an old man of the North,

Who fell into a basin of broth;

But a laudable cook

fished him out with a hook,

Which saved that old man of the North.

(anon)

The sloppy old man from Lyon

Fell into a pot of broth.

The cook was not a fool -

He found a colander

And faked the old man from Lyon.

(M.Redkina)

8. 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

Have oil built their nests in my beard!"

(Edward Lear)

One bearded man exclaimed:

“Well, what am I to do! At least cry!

Live like in a nest

In my beard

Magpie, raven and rook.

(V. Orel)

9. There was an old person of Dean,
Who dined on one pea and one bean;

For he said, "More than that

Would make me too fat"

That careful old man of Dean.

(Edward Lear)

Lonely old man from Tunisia

I ate a grain of rice for lunch.

“I don’t dare to eat anymore,

Otherwise, I’ll get fat, ”-

He explained to friends from Tunisia.

(O. Astafieva)

10. There was an old person of Ewell,
who chiefly subsisted on gruel;

But to make it nicer

He inserted some mice,

Which refreshed that old man of Ewell.

(anon)

There lived an old man named Bell.

He only ate porridge for breakfast.

And to make it tastier

A couple of mice in porridge

Added old gourmet Bell.

(O. Astafieva)

11. There was an old person of Hurst,

Who drank when he was not athirst;

When they said, 'You'll grow fatter'

He replied, "What matter?"

That globular person of Hurst. (anon)

A fat man from Ottawa drinks lemonade.

Not out of thirst, but for fun.

Everyone yells, “Watch out!

So it’s possible to burst!”

But the fat man from Ottawa does not hear.

(M.Redkina)

12. There was an old skinflint named Green,

Who grew up so abnormally lean

And flat and compressed

That his back met his chest,

And sideways he couldn't be seen.

(anon)

An old curmudgeon named Green

Greed flat as a pancake.

And now it's for the eyes

Visible only in full face,

Well, in profile it became indistinguishable.

(O. Astafieva)

13. There was a young fellow from Tune,

Put his head on the South-Eastern Line;

But he died of ennui,

For the 5.53

Didn't come till a quarter past nine.

(anon)

The unfortunate youth from Barnstal

Decided to die on the sleepers

And died of longing -

Train 5.43

Left the station at 8:30.

(M.Redkina)

14. There was a young fellow of Lyme,

Who lived with three wives at a time.

When asked, "Why the third?"

He said, "One"'s absurd,

And bigamy, sir, is a crime." (Anon)

An Englishman named John

He used to say

That one is not enough for him

Bigamy - punishes the law.

(O. Astafieva)

15. There was a young lady of Lynn,

Who was so uncommonly thin

That when she essayed

To drink lemonade

She slipped through the straw and fell in. (anon)

Villa owner in Thessaloniki

She was surprisingly thin.

Wanted to be cool

Drink lemonade -

And fell into the glass through a straw.

(M.Redkina)

16. There was a young man of Japan,

Who wrote the verse that would never scan.

When they said, "But the thing

Doesn't go with a swing",

He said,"Yes, but I always like to get as many words into the last lines as possibly can.

(anon)

Prolific Poet from Canada

Dimensionless writes ballads.

Reviewers grumble:

"Here the size is weak,"

And he replies: “I like to make the last line much longer than it should be.”

(M.Redkina)

17. There was a young man who was bitten
By twenty-two cats and a kitten.
Cried he, 'It is clear

My end is quite near.

No matter! I"ll die like a Briton!" (anon)

The youngster was defeated by a crowd

Five cats and a cat - tail pipe.

The youth exclaimed:

"I'm about to be finished

I'm British - I'll die a hero!"

(M.Redkina)

18. There was a young woman named Riley,
Who valued old candle-ends highly.
When no one was looking

She used them for cooking.

‘It"s wicked to waste", she said dryly. (anon)

The hostess, one from New York, Kept candle stubs.

When there were no cereals

She put them in soup

And she was known as an economical cook.

(M.Redkina)

Hobby- What is Limericky? ("Irish ditties")

──══════════── Limericky () I. Bozhenko, 1999 What is it? A year ago in Optocoupler |23 a selection of limericks was published, and it was promised to explain what it was soon. Well, contrary to the proverb, the promise did not have to wait for three whole years. So what is it -"limericks"? Opening the dictionary, you can find out that Limerick are: 1) A county in the southwest of Ireland. 2) City, port and county seat of Limerick. Located at the mouth of the Shannon River. The population is about 100 thousand inhabitants (which is approximately half of the Lvov Sikhovsky housing estate). Machine-building, construction, food, sewing and shoe enterprises operate there (unlike in Sikhov). Not far from Limerick, Shannon International Airport is located - a "transit point" on the Moscow - New York highway. Limerick has long been famous for all sorts of mysterious and inexplicable events taking place in and around it. Here we can recall, at least, the famous dream of "Tsar Boris" on board the plane at Shannon Airport, which led to the disruption of his meeting with the Prime Minister of Ireland. 3) Lace self made from Limerick. 4) Small fishing hook. And finally... 5)A special form of poetryoriginally - one of the varieties of English poetic folklore. His "homeland" is considered Limerick. Form Limerick has a very rigid rhyme, meter and plot. It contains five lines with a rhyming scheme"A-A-B-B-A" (the first line rhymes with the second and fifth, the second - with the third). Lines 1, 2, 5 - three-foot anapaest or amphibrach:a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-aLines 3, 4 - two-foot anapaest or amphibrach:a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a a-a-a-a-a-a-aIn English verses, lines 3, 4, as a rule, are combined into one. This is sometimes done in translations as well. Content The limerick plot in its canonical form has the following construction: - line 1 - the name (or sign) of the hero of the poem and his place of residence are reported; - line 2 - it is reported what the hero was doing; - lines 3, 4 - an explanation of the reasons or consequences of these classes; - line 5 - morality, while the line should, like an echo, half repeat line 1 and contain some evaluative epithet.A bit of historyLong time ago, yearsI think two hundred, maybe three hundredago, the inhabitants of the glorious city of Limerick had a tradition every autumn to arrange, as they would call it now, festivals (attention, spektrumisty!) beer. Incredible amounts of Irish ale were drunk there and songs were sung in praise of hometown and the beer produced in it, for example:You shall be drink a beer in Limerick! O, won't you come up, Come all the way up, Come all the way up to Limerick?It was also customary for each of the companions to take turns singing a verse composed by himself of an endless song dedicated to the adventures of a certain unfortunate young man from Limerick, for example:There was a Young Man of Limerick, Who was in great hysteric; When they said, "Are you mad?" He replied, "No, I"m fat!" That fooly Young Man of Limerick.(I confess that I composed this verse myself - to make sure that this activity was quite a simple thing). Following Irish ale, limericks also migrated to England and spread widely there ... Meanwhile, the greatVictorian era...Oh, the Victorian era! What people! Victoria (Victoria). Born in 1819 in London, died in 1901 in Osborne. From 1837 - Queen of Great Britain(Her Magisty the Greate Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland). What names! C. Dickens, W. Thackeray, C. Bronte, E. Voynich, J. B. Shaw, G. Wells, O. Wilde, D. Joyce, A. Conan Doyle!And what time! The world industrial monopoly has been achieved! The realms of the British Crown stretch all over the world, and the sun never sets on them! And now all this has been transformed into the British Commonwealth of Nations.(Concord of Nations) - an interstate association consisting of 48 states (not to reproach the creators of the CIS). So, there lived at that time a little-known animal painter who taught Queen Victoria the art of drawing. And they called him Edward Lear (1812-1888). It was he who made limericks the great asset of English classical poetry. The poems composed by him immediately gained great popularity and retain it to this day all over the world. Limerick book printed in London in 1848"A Book of Nonsense" immediately became a bibliographic rarity: evenBritish Libraryforced to be content with only the 3rd edition (1861). Following Lear, the baton was picked up by such classics of English literature asR. Stevenson, R. Kipling, G. Chesterton.In the future, the authors of limericks (even those that have become "classics") were numerous anonymous authors.Translation problemsApproximately half a century ago, limericks began to speak Russian. There was also a "Russified" name -"Irish ditties".The first person to translate them wasSamuil Yakovlevich Marshak(1887-1964). Here is his translation of an old limerick that has not yet acquired canonical form:Upon my word and honor, As I went to Bonner, I met a pig without a stig, Upon my word and honor.I give you my word of honor, Yesterday at half past six I met two pigs Without a coat and boots, I give you my word of honor!And here is the translation from R. Kipling (Rudyard Kipling): There was a Young Lady of Niger, Who smiled as she rode on a tiger; They returned from the ride With the Lady inside, And the smile on the face of the tiger. Smiling, three brave ladies Riding on horseback bear. Now all three are inside the bear, And the smile is on the face of the bear. 1956 Interestingly, in an attempt to get closer to the original, Marshak made another option: smiled three brave girls On the back of bengal tigress.Now all three are inside the tigress, And the smile is on the tigress's face. 1964 *** Unfortunately, Marshak did very little limerick work. The authors of the "canonical" translations are Olga Astafieva and Marina Redkina.Alas! I am completely unaware of a publication in which the Russian translations of the limericks were somehow collected together. In the same timeAlexander Mokrovolskymade an almost complete translation of E. Lear into Ukrainian:E. Lir. Nebilitsi. - K .: Veselka, 1989.Let's get acquainted with the samples of Lear's translations:There was an Old Man on a hill, Who seldom, if ever, stood still; He ran up and down, In his Grandmother's gown, Which adorned that Old Man on a hill.At the top of the mountain lived an old man, He was not used to standing still. Up and down faster in a dress mother-in-law his Amazing old man ran. O. Astafieva Alive sobi cholovik on the hump - All on the suite robbing the nashvidka. Vilnim kroєm peace of mind Vdjag shirt grandmother That th gasav day i nich on the hump. old Person Of Harst, Who drank when he was not athirst; When they said"You"ll grow fatter" He answered, "What matter?"That globular Person of Harst. Drinking drinks fat man from ottawaNot out of thirst, but for fun. Everyone screams:"Caution! It's possible to burst like that!"But the fat man from Ottawa does not hear. M. Redkina P "e water uncle from Hurst,Drinking the sight of a wide heart! Say: -Get smooth! - Well, then what? Zalyubki! -Vўdmovlya round uncle from Hirst.O. Mokrovolsky *** There was an Old Man of Whitehaven Who danced a quadrille with a Raven; But they said, "It's absurd, To encourage this bird!"So they smashed that Old Man of Whitehaven. An old man named Wall The waltz danced with the black crow. Everyone shouts: "It's not good to encourage this bird!"Broken by grief, the old man sobbed. O. Astafieva Little one from WhitehavenVitantsovuvav s kruk so jealously, Cho said: - Whom do you dance pidohotiv?Well, beat the little guy from Whitehaven. O. Mokrovolsky *** The last limerick is downright dedicated to the fans"Black Crow"do not find? But pay attention: not once in the Russian translation was it possible to preserve the name and geographical name. But the Ukrainian language, having greater flexibility, made it possible to get much closer to the original. This is especially noticeable in the example of modern translations of Lear, which were made byGrigory Kruzhkov: There was a Young Lady of Russia Who screamed so that no one could hash her; Her screams were extreme, No one heard such scream At was screamed by that Lady of Russia. lived boy near Thermopylae,Who screamed so loudly, That all the aunts were deaf and the herrings were dead, And dust fell from the rafters. Gr. Kruzhkov Well, yelling Mrs. Russia! I can’t see anything with the cry of that yelling: Who is ticking, who is grimacing, Who is shouting at that pani from Russia.O. Mokrovolsky *** There was an old man of the border, who lived in the utmost desorder; He dansed with the cat, And made tea in his hat, Which vexed all the folks of the Border. once upon a time man in AmsterdamHe did not clean his hat for years He casually brewed tea in it And walked in it in Amsterdam. Gr.Kruzhkov Little one from CordonShe did not know the rules of a good tone: I danced from the cat, poured tea at the bril. Oh i angry people from Cordon!O. Mokrovolsky *** Poetry of the absurd Having retained the form of a folk limerick, Lear filled it with his own special, "Learish" content, creating a fantastic world - violent, strange, but, nevertheless, with its own laws and logic. Lear's heroes live on trees and poles, ring the doorbell until they turn gray, even though no one opens it... Their appearance corresponds to their actions, for example, a long nose where they put a cup of tea. They live in harmony with nature - running up and down the hill, dancing with a cat - and in disagreement with society, which is irritated by their chimeras. For example, a grandfather who dared to dance with a raven is beaten. But the heroes of limericks endure all hardships - for example, walking in the mouth of a volcano, they say that it is cold there. The harsh world of puritanism did not tolerate a full life, play and laughter, perceived everything exclusively in black and white. Lear "blew up" this worldview. And what? At the turn of the XIX-XX centuries. The widespread poetry of the absurd gave a powerful impetus to the development of "non-classical" philosophy, physics, mathematics, and logic. To make it clearer what we are talking about, let us dwell a little on such a branch of mathematics as intuitionistic logic. Founder of intuitionism - L.E.Brauer (1881-1966, Holland). In this logic, the principle is not allowed "There is no third"),those. logical calculations are performed in the same way as in Boolean algebra - but with the exception of its axioms=_X=X; X + X = 1 It follows from here that the method"From the contrary." To all provisions in intuitionism, the so-called."requirement of full evidence". Why not "Lear" logic? Lear and his closest "heir"Lewis Carroll (Alice in Wonderland, Hunting the Snark)- generally recognized founders of the literature of the absurd. However, I must note that elements of the poetry of the absurd can be found, for example, in the work of the Ukrainian poetStepan Rudansky(1834-1873). And in Russian literature, the classic of absurd poetry - of course,Korney Chukovsky(Nikolai Korneichukov, 1882-1969).Departure from the canonsOver time, limericks have lost the initially given rigidity of the plot and have become a kind of political and everyday epigrams. Here is a classic example (accompanied, for want of a better one, by my own translation):"What on earth have you done," said Christine, "Almost ruining the party machine. It is not at all the rude To lie in the nude, But to lie in the House is obscene!"Varto bulo bi diznatis, in the middle of current references, - Why did the minister's rating fall too much? Through those who vin grave Christine without a break, Che to the one who the whole nation vin grave?In the original, the heroine explains that she sees nothing shameful in demonstrating her charms.(to lie in the nude) - as opposed to lying in the British House of Commons(to lie in the House). (By the way, constant "play on words" - another feature limerick, extremely difficult to translate). The limerick itself is about how in 1963 the British Minister of War John Profumo was accused of "hazing" with a fashion model Christine Keeler and denied it at parliamentary hearings. And an additional piquancy was that Kristina was suspected of collaborating with the KGB. So, as you can see, in history Bill and Monica there is nothing new. As for "everyday life" - here are its examples (translation -Vladimir Gurvich):There was a young maiden of Siam Who said to her lover, young Kiam, "If you kiss me, of course, You will have to use force, - But god knows you are stronger that I am".Once a native of Sydney said to Cavalier, turning pale: - A kiss, my dear, You will achieve only by force, But, by God, you are much stronger.*** A bather whose clothing was strewed By breezes that left her quite nude, Saw a man come along, And, unless I am wrong, You expected this line to be lewd.The young bather's grief - All the clothes were stolen by the sea. Look, a man is walking... Am I right in assuming That you are waiting for a dirty story?*** There was a young lady of Kent Who said that she knew what it meant When men asked her to dine, And served cocktails and wine; She knew what it meant - but she went! The girl is one of the Eagle She was very perceptive. And why men treat her with gin - I understood ... But still - I drank. *** And so, from the last of these limericks, we can move on to their "transplantation on domestic soil."Possible optionsIt often happens that several different limericks are created on the basis of one plot. And when it comes to translation, something appears, even "more different". For example:There was a Young Fellow of Lyme, who lived with three wives at a time. When asked, "Why the third?" He said, "One"s absurd, And bigamy, sir, is a crime."An Englishman named John Contained in his house of three female He said, it happened that one was not enough for him, Bigamy - punishes the law.O.Astafieva A Turk by the name of Haroun Ate whiskey by means of a spoon To one who asked why This turk made reply: "To drink is forbidden, you loon".Muslim Abu Ben Simbel ate whiskey with a tablespoon. When asked what was the reason, He said: - Fool! Drink Allah did not order alcohol. V.Gurvich The ministers asked Chubais: - Is it possible to drink genie from a canister? He said: - From the bucket It's bad to drink in the morning, And the bottles - end quickly. *** So, as you can see, "English" limerick is quite capable of becoming a "domestic". Here are some more similar examples:There was an Old Person of Gretna, Who rused down the crater of Etna; When they said, "Is it hot?" He replied, "No, it's not!" That mendacious Old Person of Gretna. E. LearEnticed didovi from Gretni Take a walk in the crater of Etni. Htos pita: - Pikaє? Did Guka: I'm freezing! - From zbrehav so zbrehav didid from Gretney! O. Mokrovolsky In Guantanamo, an old man from Gretna stole a powerful missile cruiser from the base. To the question: - What the hell? - Answered: - For grain! - This deceitful old man from Gretna.Kirill Katz *** There was a Young Fellow named Sistall, Who shot three old maids with a pistol. When "twas known what he he"d done, He was given a gun By the unmarried curates of Bristol.A scoundrel named Budd emptied a pistol in the old maids. The townspeople found out, they gave him a machine gun ... There are no more old maids in the city. O. Astafieva One villain zarizav on the gank Nationally svidom krayanka. Nesvidomi how they knew - they gave you a machine gun, Schob skinning wine to the robot to the wound.(translation - mine, I.B.)A certain count on the way to Geneva Raped an old maid. As a result of the scandal, suddenly there were a lot of old maids on the roads to Geneva!Viktor Arolovich *** A diring Yong Lady of Guam Observed, "The Pasific"s so calm I"ll swim out for a larc." She met a Large Shark... Let us now sing the Ninetieth Psalm.The brave maiden of Iran, Captivated by the beauty of the ocean, Flew overboard. Towards - a shark ... Peace to the soul that soared so early! M.Redkina A businessman in the oceanic wind Pluskotiv so, what's so cute! Alya at once missed a swarthy shark, - Less than a pager lost in the wind.(translation - mine, I.B.) *** A crusader "s wife skipped from the harrison And had an affair with saracin. She was not oversexed, Or jealous, or vexed, She just wanted to make a comparison.A black-browed maiden from Asia Gave herself to an Ashkenazi young man. It’s not that she didn’t get enough from her own, But she wanted variety. A. Balaev Political officer's spouse Xenia agreed with the commander of the department; And - without a shadow of shame: after all, not for the sake of fornication, But just for comparison.D. Danilov *** The typists in Wheesley and Beesley All fornicate keenly and eas "ly, In this pleasant way They add to their pay Which in Wheesley and Beesley is measly.Typists from the city of Grodno Give themselves up easily and freely. And for this occupation, the inhabitants of the city of Grodno add to their salary. D. Prokofiev Secretary from Leninabad Always happy to serve a Muscovite. But keep in mind - for a decent bribe: After all, her salary is not enough. D. Danilov *** Limericks on the webOn the Internet, the page of limericks can be found on the server Rambler's Top100 Service. Leads it and collects all kinds of limericks there - both "classic" and "amateur" - such a Ilya Ratner, now a citizen of Israel,"Mayor of the Free City of Limerick",as he calls himself. Here is a limerick composed especially in his honor:A certain mayor, like a lover of literature In his town and in the vicinity, For visiting hussars made a limerick bar, Which achieved virtual fame. Anat.Belkin National characterSince the limerick web page is run by Ole (translated from Hebrew - "new repatriate"), it is not surprising that the authorship of many limericks here belongs to the actual and potential Olya, and there is a lot of things here on "this very" topic:After drinking cola, the ole from Melbourne began to look for where the urn was nearby. So he walked, they say, from Metula to Eilat And swore violently to the extreme. Susie Brower Once upon a time there was a guy alone in Galilee, He ran along the sea, as if along an alley. The Olympic Committee Did not include him in the lists - And he left the sport, regretting.Elena ZusmanovichYoung pioneer Pavlik Morozov was not afraid of kulak threats. He forbade his own father to eat matzah, Saying: "Everything is for the good of the collective farms"! Margulis Rabinovich sighed at the rabbi: - The son was baptized! Such a beast! - He replied: - Fool! Even God, our father, has the same tsores from his son! Anat. Belkin *** There is even a special name for this variety of the genre -"Olimeriki". But, of course, not forgotten and all the others. Here are the limericks that I composedBoris Burda: Leader of the Intermovement in Estonia He wished to move to Japan. "To the rising sun! You won't find Estonians there! And the Japanese would somehow understand me..." ! A Yakut from Yakutsk was frightened: "Sentry, they are beating Russians in the Baltics! Know that the Balts hate the Yakuts so fiercely, That they left us for a snack!" A gentleman from Moldavia writes to Kiev: "You would give us Odessa kindly: Moldavian woman is ours there! And for the port and for the beaches We will fill you with wine up to the tonsils!" A Lviv resident from Rukh was convinced - There is a hole in the old woman. I exhausted the intellect, studied the dialect, With the Ukrainian, the correct one - deaf! A party worker from Minsk was furious: - Informals are more mysterious than the sphinx! They excite the people, seeking freedom ... I would have freedom - I would drink myself in a year! Once a venerable Georgian from Sukhumi Declared without buying New Texas jeans in GUM: - Because of the intrigues of the Abkhaz I will suffer in a black suit! An aksakal from Kyrgyzstan lamented: - In vain, Allah, they brought us closer to the Uzbeks! To live next to Denmark, Or - with the Congo and Chad ... And if not - deploy a division! *** However, I would like to warn you...... that anyone who looks at the web page of limericks will be amazed by the abundance of informal vocabulary there and the "specificity" of the subject, against the background of which a limerick likeA pancy who lived in Khartoum, Took a lesbian up to his room And they argued all night Over who had the right To do what, and with which, and to whom.With a lesbian decided once to sleep a young homosexual. But they had to decide: Who should poke, What, to whom, how, where, how many times? *** How can this be explained? Features of the national character? It is assumed, obviously, that the more obscene, the cooler. (Well, I think it's the other way around. It's a matter of taste.) The authors themselves explain this as follows:A Limerick gets laughs anatomical Into space that is quite economical. But the good ones I "ve seen So seldom are clean, And the clean ones so seldom are comical.Short limerick - that's good, It's a bit like tickling. It's a pity, funny, usually - Very indecent. From decent - you will die of boredom. V.Gurvich If your hearing is distorted by obscenities - The form of the verse is to blame for this! Very difficult, sorry: Fit in five lines - Humor, meaning and lack of obscenities! Vl. Andreev *** And finally, an afterword...Well, that's ended our brief digression ... Perhaps someone would like to know - or report - on this subject, something else? Or maybe someone will be tempted by the above examples, and he will take up writing limericks? Write to us and"Optocoupler" happy to publish your work!To be continued?..

If You read the following poem and are not surprised, I swear I will envy You. So your world is full of fantastic adventures. But seriously, here it is:

There lived a boy near Thermopylae,
Who screamed so loud
That all the aunts were deaf,
And the herrings died
And dust fell from the rafters.

This funny and ridiculous poem was written by in 1846 Edward Lear- famous English poet and artist. These poems are called limericks.

What is a limerick and how to write it?

So limerick is short poem, which is always 5 lines long. And this is not the only strict condition. But do not be upset - the rules and conventions here only simplify the process of composing. After all, the poet immediately knows where and what to write about.

Would you like to know more about the humorous poems that are extremely popular among the English? Then read on!

The history of limericks

It is believed that the literary inventor of limericks is the English poet Edward Lear. It was he who actively gave his fantasies a poetic form characteristic of limericks. Although - here's a paradox - the author himself never called his own creations limericks, instead using the term "nonsense".

Edward Lear is an English artist and poet, the king of nonsense poetry.

The word "limerick", according to scientists, originated from the name of the Irish city of the same name. The inhabitants of this town loved to have fun in this way - to compose small rhymes with fantasy content. However, according to other sources, the same poetic works were successfully composed by other Englishmen, starting from the 13th century.

Do you want to try yourself as a poet? Don't delay. You will surely succeed! Just read some interesting limericks by Edward Lear first and learn the basic rules for writing humorous poetry.

And here are a couple of funny limericks from Tatyana Petrosyan:

Rules for writing limericks

Although writing poetic jokes shows your creative abilities, you cannot do without certain rules:

• the first, second and fifth lines should rhyme with each other, and separately - the third and fourth;
• in the first term, you need to acquaint readers with the hero and his place of residence;
• the second line always tells about the actions performed by the invented character, or about the events that happened to him;
• well, then you need to compose the end of the adventure, which, it seems to me, is the most interesting;
• in Edward Lear's limericks, which are considered to be the most correct, the endings of the first and last lines of the poem were repeated. But you can fulfill this condition at will.

Limericks are great fun for kids!

If you are not yet sure whether you are good at composing, read the limericks invented by other poets. Moreover, there are quite a lot of them.

Once upon a time there was an old man with a long nose.
“I am not used to such words!
That my nose is not good
This is a pure lie! -
This dear old man told everyone.
(Edward Lear from The Book of Nonsense)

Elderly old woman from Brest
In the morning I made a hat out of dough.
Take a sip of tea
And a piece of the hat
An old woman from Brest will eat for breakfast.
(Tamara Logacheva)

Hedgehog in the forest behind a distant village
Bald - not a single needle!
Only thin skin
And so it creeps
A hedgehog is a little bit behind a distant village.
(Elizabeth Dyck)

One old man from Macau
Dip your shoes in cocoa
A white vest
He dipped in vinaigrette -
Cheerful old man from Macau!
(Tatyana Petrosyan)

Did you laugh out loud? You see: it's exciting not only to compose, but also just to read limericks. And if you do it in the company of friends, you will get a funny literary party, which all its participants will remember for a long time.

English artist Edward Lear (Edward Lear) glorified the whole world not painting, but short and very funny absurd poems - limericks.

Edward Lear was the 20th child in the family and began early to earn his own living. By the age of twenty-one, he had already earned a reputation as a good academic animal painter, illustrating several publications and working on the European Birds and Toucans series.

Lear made his sketches at the London Zoo. There, a wealthy aristocrat, the thirteenth Earl of Derby, drew attention to him. The earl invited the young artist to his Knowsley estate and introduced him to his grandchildren, who were completely delighted with the pictures. Being the owner of a luxurious collection of outlandish birds and animals, the earl invited Edward to sketch all the inhabitants of his menagerie.

So Edward Lear became the favorite of the family, which for a long time patronized him. By the way, today the album with birds, made in the County of Knowsley, is in great demand among collectors, and some of these drawings were later reproduced on postage stamps.

But it was not the talent of the animal painter that made Lear famous. It was here, in Knowsley, that he began to compose his absurd poems, which are so popular with children. The author himself called them "absurdities" (more precisely, "nonsense rhymes" - nonsense rhymes).

There lived an old man with a poker,
Saying: "In my soul I am different."
To the question: "Which one?"
He just kicked his leg
And beat everyone with a poker

Translation by Grigory Kruzhkov

The Book of Nonsense was published in 1846. It was followed by three more collections of absurd poetry. All books in England were very popular.

John Ruskin, the famous English poet, writer and artist, who lived at the same time as Edward Lear, writes:

“Undoubtedly, of all the books ever published, the most innocent and most salutary is The Book of Nonsense, with its sparkling drawings, unique, fresh and perfect rhymes. I don't know of any author to whom I would be as grateful as I am to Edward Lear. I include him in the first hundred authors of all times and peoples.

Edward Lear. Cedars of Lisbon

Edward Lear is a unique phenomenon. He had followers who were influenced by Lear's work. You can name Lewis Carroll and the Oberiuts - Kharms, Oleinikov. There were imitators - more or less successful. And yet the genre of limerick is associated mainly with the name of Lear.

Translating limericks is very difficult. Or even impossible:

“Limericks cannot be translated, they are recreated “from nothing” in a foreign language. The translator, if he wants to retain this title at all costs, has to act in a roundabout manner "...

A very interesting theme of the intricacies of translation is described in the article of one of the brilliant translators Grigory Kruzhkov - "On Lear's Limericks and Accurate Translation". Poems by Edward Lear are also known in translations by Mark Freidkin, Evgeny Klyuev, Sergei Task, Samuil Marshak and others.

Today on the Chosen One is a small selection of limericks in, in our opinion, successful translations, conveying the atmosphere of Edward Lear's universe full of oddities, absurdities and humor.

Once upon a time there was a nice lady,
It looks completely square.
Whoever meets her
From the bottom of my heart I admired:
“How nice this lady is!”

There lived an old man from Niger
He got a vixen as his wife.
All day she whined:
"You're blacker than ink"
Taking the old man out of Niger.
***

Cautious old man from Cologne
Answered questions in a roundabout way.
To the question: "Are you healthy?"
He answered: “And who are you?” -
Suspicious old man from Cologne.

One fellow from Newcastle
The devils were left to fry in oil.
To the question: "Hot?"
He said, "No, nothing."
What a fellow from Newcastle!

An old man lived at the foot of Vesuvius,
Studied the works of Vitruvius,
But his volume burned down
And he took up the rum
Romantic old man at Vesuvius.

Translation by Grigory Kruzhkov
***

Once a certain old man from Egypt
Eucalyptus climbed to the top.
Disturbed the crow
Moved to the defensive
And - returned to the land of Egypt!

A wonderful nose of a townswoman,
Parisians, or maybe Rigans,
Leaning down to the ground
Carried along the alleys
Two servants and four maids.

The bees are stinging the girl Felicia!
And where are the police looking?
Felicia says:
“Well, what are the police doing here?
The bees are evil - that's their tradition!"

From The Book of Nonsense (translated by Evgeny Feldman)

****
An old woman who lived in Garf,
She played the harp with her chin.
"In my chin
‎Special notes”, —
She told her friends in Garf.

There lived a great thinker in Italy,
He was tormented by the question: what next?
He did not know peace
And, waving my hand,
Ran up and down Italy.

One gentleman from Luxor
I loved the breadth of my horizons.
He climbed higher
And from a palm tree, as from a roof,
I looked at the ruins of Luxor.

One gentleman in Versailles
So suddenly my eyes failed
What he couldn't see
Even your own legs -
And he asked to be shown.

An old woman lived in Jaipur
With a soul forever thirsty for the storm.
Climbing on the bough
She's long south
I looked: can you see the storm?

There lived a gentleman in Jordan,
Saboteur on a special mission.
He peeped on the violin
spreading smiles,
To confuse the people in Jordan.

There lived an old man from Venice,
He gave his daughter the name of Lucrezia.
But she will soon
Married to a thief
A grieving old man from Venice.

Lesson Objectives:

educational:

• familiarization with the limerick genre, its features, structure;
• modeling compositions in limerick genre;

educators:

• upbringing the activity of students' thoughts when considering linguistic issues;
• fostering interest in the subject being studied;

developing:

• formation of the ability to analyze the text;
• formation of the ability to use the visual and expressive resources of the language;
• development of logical and figurative thinking;
• development of the ability to analyze, generalize and systematize the information received;
• enrichment of the lexical material of the productive plan.

2. Translation of limericks from English into Russian.

– Limericks, before they began to be created in Russian, had to be translated from English into Russian. And this is very difficult.

“A translator in prose is a slave, a translator in verse is a rival,” wrote V.A. Zhukovsky, who himself was great poet, translator. Why do you think?

(It is not enough just to translate, you still need to process the text literary).

Slides 6-7

- First, we do an interlinear translation, and then - a literary one.

3. - And now - the competition. You need to make literary translations of the following limericks.

Slides 8-11

(The work is done in groups. Students are asked to translate limericks from English into Russian, then the work is analyzed).

IV. Summing up the lesson.

slide 12

- Limerick is called the English national treasure, and not everyone knows how to compose them. For example, S.Ya. Marshak, who translated a lot of Edward Lear, bypassed his limericks. It is generally accepted that only an Englishman can create a good limerick. Today we made sure that your works, if they do not completely refute this statement, then certainly give us the right to argue with it.

Literature:

1. Razheva E.I. Limerick: an untranslatable play on words or a translatable play on form? // Logical analysis of the language. Conceptual fields of play. – M.: Indrik, 2006. – S. 327–335.
2. Rodari Gianni. Creating a limerick // Gianni Rodari. Grammar of fantasy; Phone stories. - Alma-Ata: Mektep, 1982. - S. 34-36.
3. Lessons in the development of speech: Methodological guide for language teachers in the program "Speech": Grade 6 / Under the general editorship. G.I. Kanakina, G.V. Prantsova. - M .: Humanitarian publishing center VLADOS, 2000.
4. Shcherbina Alexander. English limerick // Around the world. - 2011. - No. 3. – P. 52–54.