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(See p. 18 in Poems From All Over)

Title:	The title is the first line of the limerick.
Theme:	Nonsensical, playing with rhyme.
Mood:	Light-hearted, humorous.

Discussion

Although limericks are classed as nonsense rhymes, they do have an element of meaning to the words. Here the speaker is commenting on his beard, which is probably long and bushy, and saying that even birds would be able to build a nest in it, which is of course a nonsensical, exaggerated idea to stress the length and size of the beard. The humour and delight lies in the rhythm and the rhyme.

Lear was both an artist and a poet and he always drew a picture in typical style to illustrate his limericks (see below). Lear was the author, poet and illustrator of A Book of Nonsense, published in 1923, in which this poem apears.

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.”

Analysis

Poem	Comment
Note the rhyme and rhythm by reading the poem out loud in an exaggerated way.	The first line establishes the context and subject. Most of Lear’s limericks begin with just such a statement, e.g. “There was an Old Man in a boat”; “There was a Young Lady of Ryde”; “There was an Old Man with a nose”; “There was an Old Man on a hill”; “There was an Old Man in a tree”.The second line usually begins with Whom/Who/Whose followed by an idea that expands that of the first line.

Contextual question

What in your opinion is nonsensical about this limerick? (3)

(3)

Enrichment activityTake one of the first lines of other limericks given in the comment box above and complete the limerick in your own way. Then find a copy of the original limerick and compare it with yours.