Nonsense Books · Chapter
Chapter IX: The History of the Seven Young Guinea Pigs explained
Seven young Guinea Pigs, after falling asleep under a tiggory-tree in a garden, awake to find a large lettuce.
What happens
Seven young Guinea Pigs, after falling asleep under a tiggory-tree in a garden, awake to find a large lettuce. They rush at it eagerly, but the impact causes a fatal inflammation of their noses, killing all seven.
Themes in this chapter
Mortality and Loss
The sudden and absurd death of all seven young Guinea Pigs underscores the theme of mortality.
Nonsense and Absurdity
The fatal lettuce incident exemplifies Lear's characteristic nonsense, where a trivial action leads to catastrophic consequences.
Characters to notice
- The Guinea Pigs
The seven young Guinea Pigs die after rushing headlong into a lettuce.
Key passages
“Lettuce! O lettuce Let us, O let us, O lettuce-leaves, O let us leave this tree, and eat Lettuce, O let us, lettuce-leaves!”
The Guinea Pigs excitedly chant about eating the lettuce leaves.
The playful rhyme captures their impulsive desire.
“the concussion brought on directly an incipient transitional inflammation of their noses, which grew worse and worse and worse and worse, till it incidentally killed them all seven.”
The impact caused a nose inflammation that progressively worsened and ultimately killed all seven.
The exaggerated medical language adds to the absurd humor of the fatal accident.