Edward Lear
The limerick form was popularized by Edward Lear in his first Book of Nonsense (1845) and a later work (1872) on the same theme. Lear wrote 212 limericks, mostly nonsense verse. It was customary at the time for limericks to accompany an absurd illustration of the same subject, and for the final line of the limerick to be a kind of conclusion, usually a variant of the first line ending in the same word.
The following is an example of one of Edward Lear's limericks.
- There was a Young Person of Smyrna
- Whose grandmother threatened to burn her*;
- But she seized on the cat,
- and said 'Granny, burn that!
- You incongruous old woman of Smyrna!'
Lear's limericks were often typeset in three or four lines, according to the space available under the accompanying picture.
Read more about this topic: Limerick (poetry)
Famous quotes containing the words edward lear, edward and/or lear:
“On the Coast of Coromandel
Where the early pumpkins blow,
In the middle of the woods
Lived the Yonghy-Bonghy-Bo.
Two old chairs, and half a candle,—
One old jug without a handle,—
These were all his worldly goods:
In the middle of the woods,”
—Edward Lear (1812–1888)
“... the moment we try to fix our attention upon consciousness and to see what, distinctly, it is, it seems to vanish: it seems as if we had before us a mere emptiness. When we try to introspect the sensation of blue, all we can see is the blue; the other element is as if it were diaphanous. Yet it can be distinguished if we look attentively enough, and know that there is something to look for.”
—George Edward Moore (1873–1958)
“Does any here know me? This is not Lear.
Does Lear walk thus? speak thus? Where are his eyes?”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)