Analysis of Limerick: There was an Old Person in Black

Edward Lear 1812 (Holloway) – 1888 (Sanremo)



There was an Old Person in Black,
A Grasshopper jumped on his back;
When it chirped in his ear,
He was smitten with fear,
That helpless Old Person in Black.


Scheme AABCA
Poetic Form Tetractys  (40%)
Cinquain  (20%)
Metre 11111001 0101111 111011 111011 11011001
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 160
Words 32
Sentences 2
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 5
Lines Amount 5
Letters per line (avg) 24
Words per line (avg) 6
Letters per stanza (avg) 122
Words per stanza (avg) 30
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

9 sec read
80

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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