Analysis of Limerick:There was an Old Man of Whitehaven
Edward Lear 1812 (Holloway) – 1888 (Sanremo)
There was an Old Man of Whitehaven,
Who danced a quadrille with a raven;
But they said, 'It's absurd
To encourage this bird!'
So they smashed that Old Man of Whitehaven.
| Scheme | AABBA |
|---|---|
| Poetic Form | Limerick (60%) Tetractys (40%) Cinquain (20%) |
| Metre | 1111111 11011010 111101 101011 11111111 |
| Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
| Characters | 173 |
| Words | 34 |
| Sentences | 3 |
| Stanzas | 1 |
| Stanza Lengths | 5 |
| Lines Amount | 5 |
| Letters per line (avg) | 26 |
| Words per line (avg) | 6 |
| Letters per stanza (avg) | 131 |
| Words per stanza (avg) | 31 |
Font size:
Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 13, 2023
- 10 sec read
- 84 Views
1 fan
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"Limerick:There was an Old Man of Whitehaven" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 12 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/9753/limerick%3Athere-was-an-old-man-of-whitehaven>.
Powered by CITE.ME
Discuss this Edward Lear poem analysis with the community:
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In