What are the contrasting characterists of mr lear?
Answers
The poem begins by saying that Mr Lear is “ill-tempered and queer,” however the next line states that he is pleasant. It then goes on to say that “his mind is concrete and fastidious”, and “his nose is remarkably big.” The contrasting characteristics continue on and on and by the end, we are confused as to what Mr Lear really is like. I feel that this is where the true meaning of the poem begins to reveal itself.
The title of this poem is an example of irony. While the title seems to mean that Mr Lear is a pleasant person, the poem intentionally has contrasting characteristics to make us question whether or not it really is pleasant to know Mr Lear. This seems like the poem is bringing up the issue of identity, where we are unsure as to whether he is pleasant or unpleasant.
In this poem, he continually uses the word “He” at the beginning of sentences, making this poem 3rd person, as if someone else is trying to describe him. In Edward Lear’s time, there was a vast amount of stereotyping and prejudice. He most likely wrote this poem to show the problems in society at the time.