LIMERICKS

A limerick is a short form of poetry which demonstrates a particular syllabic and rhyme pattern and which is known for its humor.

Read this sample limerick:

There was a large lady from Perth

Who wanted to travel the earth

But her wish was in vain
For the door of the plane
Was not wide enough for her girth.

Note that the first, second and fifth lines each have eight syllables, and rhyme with each other, while the middle lines have only six syllables and a separate rhyme.

The first line usually ends with a character or place name. (Note: If the place name is longer than one syllable the lines may expand to nine instead of eight syllables.)

The second line then rhymes with the place name. Because the limerick is meant to be humorous, the rhymes may be silly - for example: Sydney; kidney; didn' he.

The first two lines of a limerick introduce the character.

There was a young man from Sydney
Who only would eat steak and kidney.

Next comes the problem of the character, presented in two short lines:

When the kidney ran out,
Though he started to shout,

Finally, the limerick finishes with a resolution (ending), which should make the reader laugh.

He had to go hungry, didn' he?

Try this process to write limericks of your own. You will also find there are other ways of beginning your limerick:

A man with a very large nose . . .
While travelling one day in Peru . . .
I was startled one day by a hen . . .

Here are some more examples:
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!

There was an old man from Peru
Who dreamt he was eating his shoe.
He awoke in a fright
In the middle of the night
And found it was perfectly true.

There was a young lady of Lucca
Whose lovers completely forsook her;