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

Edward Lear 1812 (Holloway) – 1888 (Sanremo)



There was an Old Man of the West,
Who wore a pale plum-coloured vest;
When they said, 'Does it fit?'
He replied, 'Not a bit!'
That uneasy Old Man of the West.


Scheme AABBA
Poetic Form Limerick 
Metre 11111101 11011101 111111 101101 101011101
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 162
Words 36
Sentences 4
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 5
Lines Amount 5
Letters per line (avg) 23
Words per line (avg) 6
Letters per stanza (avg) 115
Words per stanza (avg) 32
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

10 sec read
37

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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