Typographical Layout
Winnie-the-Pooh is a book that has been read to children by adults non-stop for almost a century. Unlike many storybooks, however, Milne wrote a book that no responsible adult would simply recite; he created an interactive experience that effectively forces interaction between reader and listener. One of the ways in which he does this is through creative typography; the layout of the words are often as important as the meaning of the words itself. The most striking example, perhaps, occurs quite early on when we are introduced to Pooh as he is climbing up a tree and singing a song to himself. The layout of the words complements the accompany illustration by creating a tall, thin tree-like sentence and a half of 30 words or so constructed lines. This typographical imagery practically forces any reader to show the page to any pre-literate listener so they can at least enjoy the creativity even if they know understand any of the actual words.
Capitalization
A key use of imagery in the stories is the frequent appearance of words that are capitalized which would not normally be so under traditional rules of grammar. Why? Although not entirely, one-hundred-percent consistent, the general rule put in play here by Milne follows traditional rules of capitalization: we are meant to realize something important is going on. The stories were written for children whose woes and concerns may not always correlate to what adults consider important. Case in point: when tiny little Piglet is faced with water rising to a height that might not concern those of adult stature and he thinks to himself, “It’s a little Anxious to be a Very Small Animal Entirely Surrounded by Water.”
Signs
The utilization of imagery through signs that appear in the story is one of the elements that lifts Milne’s work from standard juvenile entertainment and makes it entirely worthy of deep philosophical discussion. In a very subtle way which never intrudes upon the enjoyment of the stories, Milne has written a book that offers a quite scholarly linguistic analysis. In fact, Winnie-the-Pooh is almost positively Saussurian in its playful revelation of the linguist’s contention that “Language is a system of signs that expresses ideas.” Notice that he specifically says “ideas” rather than “meaning.” In the Hundred Acre Wood there are plenty of signs that express ideas, but the actual meaning of those ideas are show to be subject to constant misinterpretation and lack of understanding.
Illustrations
And, of course, it is hardly unfair to suggest that the widespread popularity of Winnie-the-Pooh might not have been quite so grand—despite Milne’s literary genius—were it not for the literal imagery which accompanies the text. The original illustrated images of familiar characters differ to varying degrees from the Disney versions perhaps more familiar to most and these were the creation of Ernest Shephard working in close collaboration with Milne through the creative process. The idea was the create a genuine picture storybook in which image and text created an interplay that was actually closer to a writer and set designer working on a stage production than the usual method of pairing up authors and artists. As a result, the literal images in the book become significant as literary imagery.
