Analysis of Limerick: There was an Old Man of Columbia

Edward Lear 1812 (Holloway) – 1888 (Sanremo)



There was an Old Man of Columbia,
Who was thirsty, and called out for some beer;
But they brought it quite hot,
In a small copper pot,
Which disgusted that man of Columbia.


Scheme ABCCA
Poetic Form Tetractys  (40%)
Cinquain  (20%)
Metre 1111110100 1110011111 111111 001101 10101110100
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 176
Words 35
Sentences 2
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 5
Lines Amount 5
Letters per line (avg) 27
Words per line (avg) 7
Letters per stanza (avg) 134
Words per stanza (avg) 33
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

10 sec read
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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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