On 6/1/05 2:14 AM, "Rebecca Seiferle" <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> If nonsense always refers back to sense, the poem is a
> subversive interruption of those commonsense admonitories of parents (if you
> don't do this, something terrible will happen--your toes will fall off), the
> warning, and the often roundabout procedure required (to take care of x, you
> don't take care of x (your toes), you must instead take care of y(your nose)
> and
> then when the worst has happened, the fact that one knew all along and didn't
> reveal (the fact is, bobbles are happier without their toes). It's a gentle
> interruption but I'd guess children like such things because it is a
> subversive
> interruption, they laugh, and reveals the nonsense of the commonsense
> admonitions they're always hearing, something like that.
Orwell comments of the lines
It's a fact the whole world knows
That Pobbles are happier without their toes
that "the whole theory of authoritarian governments is summed up in the
statement that Pobbles were happier without their toes". Which suggests a
different kind of sense.
Best
A
Alison Croggon
Blog: http://theatrenotes.blogspot.com
Editor, Masthead: http://masthead.net.au
Home page: http://alisoncroggon.com
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