Womanly Qualms

By Ellis Parker Butler

Limerick
    When I go rowing on the lake,     I long to be a man;     I’ll give my Sunday frock to have     A callous heart like Dan.     I love the ripple of the waves     When gliding o’er the deep,     But when I see the cruel ours,     I close my eyes and weep;     For there are cat-fish in our lake,     And I am filled with dread,     Lest Don should strike a pussy-fish     Upon its tender head.     How would you like it if, some day     An air-ship passing by,     Should flap its cruel, thoughtless oars     And knock you in the eye?     My life would be one long regret     If, for my pleasure vain,     I caused a harmless little fish     An hour of needless pain.     And if Dan’s heavy oars should cause     One little fish to die,     I’d never, never dare to look     Smoked herring in the eye!

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Poem Details

Language: English
Keywords: Public Domain
Source: Public Domain Collection
Rights/Permissions: Public Domain
Analysis & Notes:
This poem presents a nuanced exploration of the speaker's conflicted desires and anxieties, as they navigate the complexities of masculinity and the natural world. The poem's formal structure, comprising six stanzas with a consistent rhyme scheme and meter, belies a more subtle emotional landscape. The use of personification, particularly in the comparison of the speaker's longing to be a man to Dan's callous heart, suggests a tension between the speaker's aspirations and their own emotional vulnerability. The shift in tone, from the speaker's initial desire to be a man to their subsequent anxiety about the impact of their actions on others, is marked by the introduction of more somber and introspective language, including the use of words like weep and regret. A precise observation is that the poem's exploration of the speaker's conflicted desires and anxieties is underscored by the recurring image of the fish, which serves as a symbol of both the natural world and the speaker's own vulnerability and empathy.

Understanding Limerick

A limerick is a five-line poem known for its jaunty rhythm, playful tone, and a punchline twist. It’s built for humor—often sly, sometimes downright silly.

Common characteristics of limericks:

  • Five Lines & Rhyme: The standard scheme is AABBA—the first, second, and fifth lines rhyme; the shorter third and fourth lines rhyme with each other.
  • Bouncy Meter: Typically anapestic (two short, one long beat). Lines 1, 2, and 5 are longer; lines 3 and 4 are shorter.
  • Tone & Humor: Lighthearted, mischievous, and built around a final gag or reversal.
  • Subject & Setup: Often starts with “There once was a … from …,” setting place and character before the comic turn.
  • Sound Play: Internal rhyme, alliteration, and rhythmic snap heighten the joke’s delivery.

The best limericks land like a good toast: quick, musical, and clinched by a memorable last line.