Edward Lear
Was on the gear
It’s plain for all to see
A pussy and owl
That incredible fowl
How could he write such poetry?
What drugs he had
Or was he mad?
That’s a madness I’d like to be
So, I say my dears
We need more Edward Lears
To save us from this insanity.
Victorian-era Edward Lear,
musician, artist and limerickeer;
He drew and illustrated parrots of London’s Zoo.
Pictures for his famed“Book of Nonsense” Lear created too.
I sometimes wonder who was there
the day Shakespeare finished writing King Lear.
Was he at home with his Annie?
Or was he drunk off his fanny
in the Tabard Inn, stroking the dark lady's hair?
Engiish-born Edward Lear
loved nursery rhyme we do hear
They inspired him to invent the limerick
which still makes online poetry sites tick
Archie Bunker broke the mold,
All thanks to Norman Lear
And we should all be grateful
For his brilliant career.
It took a lot of guts to raise
The level of TV
From strictly fluff to shows that dealt
With stark reality.
Of course, injecting humor helped
When bigots were involved
And even after watching, no one’s
Problems were resolved.
Yet subjects were discussed which made
The audience applaud,
From Archie, Edith, Sanford
To the Jeffersons and Maude.
To younger folk, his contributions
Might not be so clear,
But every sitcom owes a debt
To gutsy Norman Lear.
Cat said it's purrfect
Owl said it's a hoot
And so ...
The Owl and the Pussycat went to sea!
Engiish-born Edward Lear
both poet/artist we do hear
Known best as the limerick king
but art really made him sing
Artist&limerickteer Edward Lear
brought a smile&good cheer
Mostly he wrote nonsense verse
to keep the pennies dropimg into his purse
NOT AS LEAR KNEW IT
There was a young man from near here
Tried to emulate Edward Lear.
The syllable count
Was the right amount
But alas when the end was near
He had too many lines I fear
26th June 2021
Bite size poem No. 14 contest
Sponsor - Line Gauthier
Thomas Aquinas ,a 13th century Italian friar first recorded use of the anapestic meter in the AABBA form with prayers in Latin until Edward Lear used theform for humourous verse.The title Limerick is more uncertain but might have aconnection to the Irish town of that name
ORIGINS
There once lived a friar,Thomas of Aquino
in latin,did his poetry flow
In a prayer anapestic
this form was to stick
until Lear gave AABBA ,a go
ALONG THESE LINES
There was a young man from France
who led his friends a fine dance
Some thought him a prude
others said he was rude
Looking at him quite askance
King Lear’s Voice
Nothing out of nothing
William Shakespeare
A king of true tragedy
No unconditional love.
No never and nothing
Machiavellian
His descent into madness
Dead to Heaven above.
Gary Bateman, Copyright © All Rights Reserved
October 10, 2018 (Double Dactyl)
you only
pass this
way
once
take
your time
make it rhyme
King Lear
not too fast
make it last
don’t fast
slowly
consume it
don’t swallow
wallow
in it
lightly
sight fully
brightly
fright fully
right fully
from right to left
or left to fight
from the past to here
cheer
not
fear
King Lear
An actor auditioning for Lear
Spoke his lines in a manner *****,
As he’d loudly explain
Where the rain falls in Spain,
For he’d read the wrong play it’d appear.
One hundred four long years ago
He never knew his fame would grow
He started a trend
That would never end
The bane of all poets, you know!
He called it a limerick, you see
It was as simple as could be
Just a touch of cheek
With a little tweak
The last line is what holds the key.
All you have to do is begin
I’ll pick up my paper and pen
Write a silly quip
It’s been a long trip
I’ll write one for you with a grin!
“There was an old lady you see
Came to poetry late, said she
She tried and she tried
Then put pen aside…
Alas, that old lady was Me!”
There was a man who wrote nonsense all the critics pictured with comments All they could ever do was Lear for things falling out were ***** being pricked by their own conscience
Sub Categories
Looking for the formal definition, structure, and history of this poetry form? Visit the Poetry Dictionary entry below. Then return to explore how PoetrySoup members bring the form to life through their own poems.