Nonsense Books · Chapter
Chapter V: The History of the Seven Young Parrots explained
The seven young Parrots, after setting out, find a tree with a single cherry.
What happens
The seven young Parrots, after setting out, find a tree with a single cherry. The oldest picks it, but the other six, hungry, try to take it. They fight violently, tearing each other to pieces until only the cherry and seven small green feathers remain.
Themes in this chapter
Nonsense and Absurdity
The absurdly violent and chaotic fight over a single cherry, ending in complete self-destruction, exemplifies Lear's nonsensical humor.
Mortality and Loss
The young Parrots' vicious end and the reduction to only a cherry and feathers highlight themes of mortality and loss.
Characters to notice
- The Parrots
The seven young Parrots fight over a single cherry and destroy each other.
Key passages
“they scuffled, and ruffled, and shuffled, and puffled, and muffled, and buffled, and duffled, and fluffled, and guffled, and bruffled, and screamed, and shrieked, and squealed, and squeaked, and clawed, and snapped, and bit, and bumped, and thumped, and dumped, and flumped each other, till they were all torn into little bits”
They fought with a great commotion and noise, clawing and biting each other until they were completely torn apart.
The extended list of nonsense verbs emphasizes the chaotic and absurd nature of the fight.