# Richard Beamish explained — Poetry

> Chapter companion for Poetry by Ring Lardner.

## What happens

A brief limerick about Richard Beamish, managing editor of the Philadelphia Press, who finds humor in the Cheese-Cutters' demand for a seven-hour workday while he himself struggles to complete his work in twenty-four hours.

## Themes in this chapter

### Humor and Satire

The limerick uses wit and exaggeration to contrast the Cheese-Cutters' demand for a shorter workday with the editor's own long hours.

### Work and Profession

The chapter highlights the demanding nature of editorial work, juxtaposed with labor activism for reduced hours.

## Character check-ins

### Unknown Narrator

The narrator presents a humorous limerick about Richard Beamish.

## Key lines

> Dick laughs till his bosom is sore, When he reads of the Cheese-Cutters’ roar For a seven-hour day. “Keeps me hustling,” he’ll say, “To get through in a scant twenty-four.”

Richard Beamish finds it hilarious that the Cheese-Cutters are demanding a seven-hour workday, as he himself is busy working nearly twenty-four hours a day.

_The limerick satirizes the disparity between labor demands and the reality of a managing editor's workload._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_19_se/chapters/richard-beamish
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_19_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_19_se/chapters