What is a Limerick?
What is a Limerick?
There was an old man from Crath
Who never had time for a bath.
He smelled very bad From his toes to his hat
That smelly old man from Crath.
There was a young lady from Perth
Who felt she was about to give birth
She pushed and she screamed
Till the baby's hair gleamed
That pregnant young lady from Perth.
The poems above are examples of limericks.
A limerick is an often humorous, five-line poem.
No one knows exactly where limericks, but many famous limericks come from Ireland. The poet Edward Lear was also known for his nonsensical limericks.
There Was an Old Man with a Beard by Edward Lear
There was an Old Man with a beard,
Who said, "It is just as I feared!—
Two Owls and a Hen, four Larks and a Wren,
Have all built their nests in my beard.
Traits of limericks include:
- Five lines - usually three long and two short
- A rhyme scheme - often AABBA
- Similar syllable counts in lines 1, 2, and 5 (often 8 or 9) and lines 3 and 4 (often 5 or 6)
- Similar beginnings and endings - The first line usually begins "There was a..." or "There once was..." and contains a name (or brief description) and a place - The last line is often funny
- Silly or humorous topics
If you read a limerick, you'll notice it typically follows the following pattern:
da DUM da da DUM da da DUM
da DUM da da DUM da da DUM
da DUM da da DUM
da DUM da da DUM
da DUM da da DUM da da DUM
Can you hear the beat in this limerick by Edward Lear?
There was a Young Lady of Norway,
Who casually sat in a doorway;
When the door squeezed her flat, she exclaimed "What of that?"
This courageous Young Lady of Norway.
Think you understand limericks? Go through the practice questions and complete the questions in the worksheets below to learn even more.
Related Worksheets: