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A humorous poem about a crooked man who lives with a crooked cat and a crooked mouse in a crooked house. The poem is from the Dorling Kindersley Book of Nursery Rhymes and has a source citation.
Sep 19, 1970 · A charming but ruthless criminal tries to escape from a remote Arizona prison with his cellmates' help. The film features Kirk Douglas, Henry Fonda, Hume Cronyn and Burgess Meredith in a witty and cynical script by David Newman and Robert Benton.
- Joseph L. Mankiewicz
- 65
- 3 min
"There Was a Crooked Man" is an English nursery rhyme. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 1826. Origin. The rhyme was first recorded in print by James Orchard Halliwell in 1842: There was a crooked man and he went a crooked mile, He found a crooked sixpence against a crooked stile; He bought a crooked cat, which caught a crooked mouse,
- 1842
- Unknown
- Summary
- Meaning
- Structure
- Detailed Analysis
- Literary Devices
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‘There Was a Crooked Man’ by Mother Goose is a short, upbeat poem that uses repetitionto speak on a series of “crooked” sights. The four-line poem begins by describing a “crooked man” who “walked a crooked mile”. While walking, he came upon a “sixpence” that was, as one might expect, also crooked. The next lines depict a “crooked cat” and mouse as ...
It is not entirely clear where this poem came from, what it is about, or if any of the possible interpretations are the truth. However, one of the most commonly cited explanations is that the song was inspired by the irregular houses and angles of the town of Lavenham. Another interpretation says that the song comes from the period of King Charles ...
‘There Was a Crooked Man’ by Mother Goose is a four-line nursery rhyme that follows a simple rhyme scheme of AABB. These lines are also very similar in length, ranging from twelve to thirteen syllables each.This adds a catchy musicality that aids memorability, which is a key feature in nursery rhymes (such musicality is further helped by the meter,...
Lines 1-2
The opening line of ‘There Was a Crooked Man‘ immediately introduces the character for which the rhyme is known: a crooked man. This man’s crookedness could be physical or metaphorical, representing corruption or wickedness. However, the poem leaves his true nature ambiguousin the following lines The man walked a “crooked mile,” the speakeradds. This could be in reference to the way he walked, the sights he passed, or the way the road moved. Additionally, this is one of the phrases cited as e...
Lines 3-4
In the second half of the poem, the word “crooked” is used three more times. There are further examples of alliteration as well with phrases like “crooked cat” and “caught a crooked”. The man, having found the sixpence coin, presumably used to buy “a cooked cat”. At this point, it is very clear that the pleasure of the words, the way they sound together, and the outlandish images they produce, is the main goal of the text. These are all attributes of nonsense verse, a genreof poetry to which...
The poem “There Was a Crooked Man” by Mother Goose, while short and seemingly simple, utilizes a couple of literary devices: 1. Repetition:This is the most prominent device. The poem emphasizes the central theme of unconventionality or nonconformity by repeating the word “crooked” five times. 2. Alliteration:The repetition of consonant sounds, as s...
Learn about the origins, meaning, and structure of the popular nursery rhyme 'There Was a Crooked Man' by Mother Goose. Explore the possible interpretations of the poem's imagery and repetition, and how it relates to the town of Lavenham or the period of King Charles I.
- Female
- Poetry Analyst And Editor
Feb 23, 2024 · Learn about the history and interpretation of the popular rhyme "There Was a Crooked Man" that describes a man and his crooked possessions. Find out how the rhyme reflects the human condition and the imperfections of life.
- Jacob Uitti
- 2 min
- Senior Writer
There Was a Crooked Man... is a 1970 American Western film directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz and starring Kirk Douglas and Henry Fonda. It was the only western made by Mankiewicz. It was written by David Newman and Robert Benton, their first script after Bonnie and Clyde.
R. YouTube Movies & TV. 180M subscribers. Subscribed. 53. In this dark Western with an all-star cast, the supposedly incorruptible warden of an Arizona penitentiary proves as corruptible as any...
