Analysis of Limerick: There was an Old Man of the East

Edward Lear 1812 (Holloway) – 1888 (Sanremo)



There was an Old Man of the East,
Who gave all his children a feast;
But they all ate so much
And their conduct was such
That it killed that Old Man of the East


Scheme AABBA
Poetic Form Limerick 
Metre 11111101 11111001 111111 010111 111111101
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 164
Words 37
Sentences 1
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 5
Lines Amount 5
Letters per line (avg) 25
Words per line (avg) 7
Letters per stanza (avg) 124
Words per stanza (avg) 35
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

11 sec read
145

Edward Lear

Edward Lear was an English artist, illustrator, author and poet, and is known now mostly for his literary nonsense in poetry and prose and especially his limericks, a form he popularised. more…

All Edward Lear poems | Edward Lear Books

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