Tuesday, 24 June 2014

Jack and Poll

Fictiony fact ~ sketch
Published in Six Common Things (1893)
(First read 24/06/2014)

A sketch about a pet parrot and a pet jackdaw, which would more accurately be called Poll and Jack given that the jackdaw is rather tacked on at the end of the parrot, if you see what I mean.  As in his other pet sketches (including the ones written specifically for kiddies), EFB skilfully manages to employ anthropomorphism without its being silly: it's as if he were saying, "These are the things the parrot's behaviour made me think of" or "The jackdaw did something-or-other which put me in mind of so-and-so" rather than "Mr Jackdaw got up, looked me squarely in the eye, and said Gimme a biccy" etc.  Anyway, it's amusing enough (Jack is funnier than Poll) ... but not his best animal sketch by far.
It can be read online here.

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