Analysis of Limerick: There was an Old Man of Madras

Edward Lear 1812 (Holloway) – 1888 (Sanremo)



There was an Old Man of Madras,
Who rode on a cream-coloured ass;
But the length of its ears,
So promoted his fears,
That it killed that Old Man of Madras.


Scheme ABCCA
Poetic Form Tetractys  (40%)
Cinquain  (20%)
Metre 11111110 11101101 101111 101011 111111110
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 159
Words 33
Sentences 2
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 5
Lines Amount 5
Letters per line (avg) 24
Words per line (avg) 6
Letters per stanza (avg) 119
Words per stanza (avg) 31
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 08, 2023

9 sec read
44

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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