D.H. Lawrence's "Monkey Nuts": Romantic Comedy or Psychological Horror?

Abstract

D.H. Lawrence’s “Monkey Nuts” (1922–1924) operates as an ambigram of genre—a text that is first read “right side up” (romantic comedy) and then “upside down” (psychological horror). The perceived genre affects how the audience interprets the text’s emotional register and its moral and psychological implications. I analyze Lawrence’s word choice and sentence rhythm to determine that the language deliberately signals two opposed perspectives. Despite the opposing intentions of romantic comedy and psychological horror, I argue that the postwar atmosphere, which looms over the narrative, distorts both genres enough to create a hybrid genre.