# W. R. Moorhouse explained — Poetry

> Chapter companion for Poetry by Ring Lardner.

## What happens

A brief limerick-style verse about W. R. Moorhouse, an insurance man from Chicago, contrasting his love for trap shooting with the speaker's preference for craps, humorously noting that both end the same way.

## Themes in this chapter

### Humor and Satire

The chapter uses a limerick to poke fun at W. R. Moorhouse's hobby and the narrator's own gambling, ending with a self-deprecating punchline.

### Work and Profession

W. R. Moorhouse is identified by his profession as an insurance man in Chicago, grounding the humor in his occupational identity.

## Character check-ins

### Unknown Narrator

The speaker who contrasts his own gambling habits with Moorhouse's trap shooting.

## Key lines

> When this party comes out to play, The pigeons thank God they're but clay

When Moorhouse goes trap shooting, the clay pigeons are lucky they aren't real birds.

_The line humorously suggests that Moorhouse is such a good shot that real pigeons would be in danger._

> He loves to shoot traps, But I'd rather shoot craps, Though I always come out the same way.

Moorhouse enjoys trap shooting, but the narrator prefers gambling with dice, though both activities end with the same result.

_The narrator draws a parallel between the two pastimes, implying that neither is particularly profitable or successful for him._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_19_se/chapters/w-r-moorhouse
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_19_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_19_se/chapters