Analysis of Limerick: There was an Old Man of Corfu

Edward Lear 1812 (Holloway) – 1888 (Sanremo)



There was an Old Man of Corfu,
Who never knew what he should do;
So he rushed up and down,
Till the sun made him brown,
That bewildered Old Man of Corfu.


Scheme ABCCA
Poetic Form Tetractys  (40%)
Cinquain  (20%)
Metre 1111111 11011111 111101 101111 10101111
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 157
Words 34
Sentences 2
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 5
Lines Amount 5
Letters per line (avg) 23
Words per line (avg) 6
Letters per stanza (avg) 117
Words per stanza (avg) 32
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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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