The Next Hundred Lears: Limericks After Lear Book Two

Edward Lear is remembered, and rightly so, as the Father of the Limerick. Were it not for him, this little five line verse form may never have become such a beloved, ubiquitous part of our literary and popular culture.

Yet the very thing that makes the limerick so appealing held no appeal for Edward Lear. The final line of his verses brought no twist, and sought no giggle. It was a summing up, and nothing more.

But Lear had opened Victorian eyes to the possibilities inherent in the limerick: ...