LIMERICKS A limerick is a five-line poem written with one couplet and one triplet. If a couplet is a two-line rhymed poem, then a triplet would be a three-line rhymed poem. The rhyme pattern is a a b b a with lines 1, 2 and 5 containing 3 beats and rhyming, and lines 3 and 4 having two beats and rhyming. Some people say that the limerick was invented by soldiers returning from France to the Irish town of Limerick in the 1700's.
Limericks are meant to be funny. They often contain hyperbole, onomatopoeia, idioms, puns, and other figurative devices. The last line of a good limerick contains the PUNCH LINE or "heart of the joke." As you work with limericks, remember to have pun, I mean FUN! Say the following limericks out loud and clap to the rhythm.
A flea and a fly in a flue Were caught, so what could they do? Said the fly, "Let us flee." "Let us fly," said the flea. So they flew through a flaw in the flue.
-Anonymous
Limerick: Rhyming and syllable pattern: A (7, 8 or 9 syllables*) A (7, 8 or 9) B (5 or 6) B (5 or 6) A (7, 8 or 9) *Note: If the first line is seven (7) syllables, the second and fifth lines require the same meter (seven syllables each, too); if the third line is five (5), the fourth line must be five (5), too. If you don't understand, please ask. Thanks. The first two and last lines can be 7, 8, or 9 syllables. the third and fourth lines can be 5 or 6 syllables. There once was a gray schnauzer named Spark . 9 syllables Quite talkative, he so liked to bark. 9 syllables Sometimes running he found 6 syllables His feet all off the ground 6 syllables Especially on larks in the park 9 syllables There once was a girl who loved rhyme; She felt her writing was sublime. Indeed quite a poet, Though some didn't know it, She'd be rich if each paid a dime.
8 syllables 8 syllables 6 syllables 6 syllables 8 syllables
There was a mean clown in the circus. For fun he would push us and jerk us. He would hit us with pies That left cream in our eyes. His act never once failed to irk us.
9 syllables 9 syllables 6 syllables 6 syllables 9 syllables
You will soon hear the distinctive beat pattern of all limericks. The rhythm is just as important in a limerick as the rhyme. Try completing this limerick. There once was a pauper named Meg Who accidentally broke her _______. She slipped on the ______. Not once, but thrice Take no pity on her, I __________.
Lyrical Lesson: Limericks 1. Practice the rhythm of limericks by clapping you hands or snapping your fingers. 2. Think of some funny names, places, or situations. 3. Using the a a b b a 5-line form, write an original limerick. 4. How would you illustrate the page if your poem was published in a book of limericks? What types of art would you use?
1 THERE WAS AN OLD MAN OF CALCUTTA, 2 WHO PERPETUALLY ATE BREAD & BUTTER 3 TILL A GREAT BIT OF MUFFIN 4 ON WHICH HE WAS STUFFING, 5 CHOKED THAT HORRID OLD MAN OF CALCUTTA.
1 THERE WAS AN OLD MAN OF NEW YORK, 2 WHO MURDERED HIMSELF WITH A FORK; 3 BUT NOBODY CRIED 4 THOUGH HE VERY SOON DIED 5 FOR THAT SILLY OLD MAN OF NEW YORK.
1There was an old man on the Border, 2Who lived in the utmost disorder; 3 He danced with the cat, 4 And made tea in his hat, 5 Which vexed all the folks on the Border. 1 There was an Old Man with a beard , 2 Who said, "It is just as I feared! -3 Two Owls and a Hen, 4 Four Larks and a Wren, 5 Have all built their nests in my beard.
1There was an old person of Nice, 2Whose associates were usually Geese. 3 They walked out together, 4 In all sorts of weather. 5 That affable person of Nice!
1 There was an Old Man of Berlin, 2 Whose form was uncommonly thin; 3 Till he once, by mistake, 4 Was mixed up in a cake, 5 So they baked that Old Man of Berlin.
1There was an old man of ThermopylĂŚ, 2Who never did anything properly; 3 But they said, "If you choose, 4 To boil eggs in your shoes, 5 You shall never remain in ThermopylĂŚ."
1 There was an Old Person of Spain, 2 Who hated all trouble and pain; 3 So he sate on a chair, 4 With his feet in the air, 5 That umbrageous Old Person of Spain.
1 There was a Young Lady of Ryde, 2 Whose shoe-strings were seldom untied; 3 She purchased some clogs, 4 And some small spotty dogs, 5 And frequently walked about Ryde.
1 There was a Young Lady of Russia, 2 Who screamed so that no one could hush her; 3 Her screams were extreme, 4 No one heard such a scream, 5 As was screamed by that Lady of Russia.
1 There was an Old Man with a nose, 2 Who said, "If you choose to suppose, 3 That my nose is too long, 4 You are certainly wrong!" 5 That remarkable Man with a nose. 1 There was a Young Lady whose bonnet, 2 Came untied when the birds sate upon it; 3 But she said, "I don't care! 4 All the birds in the air 5 Are welcome to sit on my bonnet!" 1 There was an Old Man with a flute, 2 A sarpint ran into his boot; 3 But he played day and night, 4 Till the sarpint took flight, 5 And avoided that man with a flute. 1 There was an Old Man of Kilkenny, 2 Who never had more than a penny; 3 He spent all that money, 4 In onions and honey, 5 That wayward Old Man of Kilkenny.
1 There was an Old Man, who said, "Well! 2 Will NOBODY answer this bell? 3 I have pulled day and night, 4 Till my hair has grown white, 5 But nobody answers this bell!" 1 There was an Old Person of Cheadle, 2 Was put in the stocks by the beadle; 3 For stealing some pigs, 4 Some coats, and some wigs, 5 That horrible Person of Cheadle. 1 There was an Old Man, on whose nose, 2 Most birds of the air could repose; 3 But they all flew away, 4 At the closing of day, 5 Which relieved that Old Man and his nose. 1 There was a Young Lady of Clare, 2 Who was sadly pursued by a bear; 3 When she found she was tired, 4 She abruptly expired, 5 That unfortunate Lady of Clare.