Edward Lear and the Limerick
Posted: Wednesday, December 09, 2009
by Carolyn Tytler
How pleasant to know Mr. Lear,
Who has written such volumes of stuff.
Some think him ill-tempered and queer,
But a few find him pleasant enough.
Edward Lear
Edward Lear was born in London, England in 1812. He was the twentieth of twenty-one children of Ann and Jeremiah Lear. He was raised by his eldest sister, also named Ann, who was twenty-one years his senior.
He also suffered from frequent bouts of depression which he called "the morbids".
Because of his frail health, Edward went to school only briefly. His sisters, Ann and Sarah. taught him to read, write, draw, paint and play the piano at home.
When he was thirteen, his father went to debtor's prison, and Edward was forced to make his own living. He started to give art lessons and was soon able to sell his own work. His obvious talent helped his gain quick recognition and he was hired by the London Zoological Society to do illustrations of birds.
In 1832, the Earl of Denby invited Lear to stay at his estate. Lear's first book of poems, "A Book of Nonsense" (1845), was written for the amusement of the Denby grandchildren.
Lear wrote later works in 1861 and 1871 on the same theme, composing 212 limericks in all. Although they were mostly nonsense verses, his poems are notable for their unique inventiveness and ludicrous fantasy.
A limerick may be recognized by these features:
* It is a nonsense verse.
* It has five lines.
* The rhyme scheme is AA BB A. ( Lines 1,3 and 5 rhyme. Lines 3 and 4 rhyme.)
* The meter is 3,3,2,2,3.
* The first, second and fifth lines have 8 syllables; the third and fourth lines have 5.
An example of a typical Lear limerick:
There was an Old Man with a beard,
Who said, 'It is just as I feared!
Two Owls and a Hen,
Four Larks and a Wren,
Have all built their nests in my beard.
Lear travelled widely throughout his life, earning his living largely through drawing and landscape painting. He eventually settled in a villa in Sanremo, Italy where he had few companions and was reported to live a lonely and isolated life.
He was very devoted to his pet cat, Foss, who died in 1887. The feline was buried with solemnity in the garden of Villa Tennyson, as Lear had named his residence. Edward Lear himself passed away from heart disease in 1888. His funeral was reported to have been a sad ritual, attended only by his physician's wife.
However, his imagination, his humor and the poetic form he favored, the limerick, have survived to amuse and entertain both children and adults for many generations after his demise.
There was an old Derry down Derry,
Who loved to see little folks merry,
So he made them a book
And with laughter they shook,
At the fun of that Derry down Derry.
Edward Lear
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