Analysis of Limerick:There was an Old Man of Calcutta

Edward Lear 1812 (Holloway) – 1888 (Sanremo)



There was an Old Man of Calcutta,
Who perpetually ate bread and butter,
Till a great bit of muffin,
On which he was stuffing,
Choked that horrid Old Man of Calcutta


Scheme ABCDA
Poetic Form Tetractys  (40%)
Cinquain  (20%)
Metre 11111110 10100011010 1011110 111110 111011110
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 168
Words 33
Sentences 1
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 5
Lines Amount 5
Letters per line (avg) 26
Words per line (avg) 6
Letters per stanza (avg) 130
Words per stanza (avg) 31
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

9 sec read
85

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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