What is a good limerick?

A limerick is a humorous poem consisting of five lines. The first, second, and fifth lines must have seven to ten syllables while rhyming and having the same verbal rhythm. The third and fourth lines should only have five to seven syllables; they too must rhyme with each other and have the same rhythm.

How do you start a limerick?

Remember to follow these steps:

1. Choose the name of a person or place and write the first line.
2. Look in a rhyming dictionary for words that rhyme with your person or place name.
3. Write line 2 and 5 to rhyme with the first line.
4. Now write lines 3 and 4 with a different rhyme.

What is the oldest limerick?

It’s hard to say with absolute certainty, but we have evidence to suggest that Saint Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) wrote the first limerick sometime in the 13th century. His five-line rhyming verse, penned in medieval Latin, survives in the archives and appears to be the oldest example of this form.

What is a type of limerick?

limerick, a popular form of short, humorous verse that is often nonsensical and frequently ribald. It consists of five lines, rhyming aabba, and the dominant metre is anapestic, with two metrical feet in the third and fourth lines and three feet in the others.

What are limericks usually about?

A limerick is a poem that consists of five lines in a single stanza with a rhyme scheme of AABBA. Most limericks are intended to be humorous, and many are considered bawdy, suggestive, or downright indecent. The subject of limericks is generally trivial or silly in nature.

Is there a syllable count for limericks?

The standard form of a limerick is a stanza of five lines, with the first, second and fifth rhyming with one another and having three feet of three syllables each; and the shorter third and fourth lines also rhyming with each other, but having only two feet of three syllables.

Do limericks have to rhyme?

A limerick consists of five lines arranged in one stanza. The third and fourth lines must rhyme. The rhythm of a limerick is anapestic, which means two unstressed syllables are followed by a third stressed syllable. The first, second, and final line each have three anapests—da dum da da dum da da dum.

Do limericks have to start with there once was a?

How to write a limerick: The first, second and fifth lines rhyme with each other and have the same number of syllables (typically 8 or 9). Limericks often start with the line “There once was a…” or “There was a…” She knew she would never go far.

What is the most common form of a Limerick?

Expanded Limerick Definition: The most common form of the limerick is a stanza of five lines, in which the first, second and fifth lines rhyme with each another and have three feet of three syllables each, while the third and fourth lines rhyme with each other, but are shorter, having only two feet of three syllables.

Why are Limerick poems so popular?

While relatively short little poems, they provide an enormous amount of entertainment and fun for the entire family! The beauty of the limerick is that anyone can write them. They’re on the edge by nature and tend to leave listeners shaking their heads or blushing.

What is an AABBA Limerick?

A limerick is a humorous poem consisting of five lines. They consist of a single stanza, an AABBA rhyme scheme, exactly five lines, a rhyme on the first, second, and fifth lines, and a second rhyme on the third and fourth lines.

What was the first Limerick written in meter?

1591—Robert Herrick writes a lovely limerick about a glow-worm. 1615—The great anonymous poem about madness, “Tom O’Bedlam’s Song,” is written in limerick meter. 1626—The first texts containing the French terms mere l’oye or mere oye (Mother Goose).

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