Analysis of Limerick:There was an Old Person of Chester

Edward Lear 1812 (Holloway) – 1888 (Sanremo)



There was an Old Person of Chester,
Whom several small children did pester;
They threw some large stones,
Which broke most of his bones,
And displeased that Old Person of Chester.


Scheme AABBA
Poetic Form Limerick 
Metre 111110110 110110110 11111 111111 0011110110
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 183
Words 33
Sentences 2
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 5
Lines Amount 5
Letters per line (avg) 29
Words per line (avg) 6
Letters per stanza (avg) 144
Words per stanza (avg) 31
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

9 sec read
96

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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