Although they do allow some leeway for the creative mind, the farther you stray from these guidelines, the less limerick-like your finished poem will be. Second, its rhyme scheme: A limerick always has an AABBA rhyme scheme, meaning that the first, second, and fifth lines end in a shared rhyme, as do the third and fourth.
Some authors flirt with the format by swapping those letters around, but at best, these are variations on the limerick structure. Since The Saturday Evening Post is a family magazine, please refrain from mentally conjuring or, more importantly, commenting on the more vulgar version of this classic limerick:.
There once was a man from Nantucket Who kept all his cash in a bucket. But his daughter, named Nan, Ran away with a man And as for the bucket, Nantucket. Although the number of syllables contained in each line varies from one limerick to another, a good guideline is to have syllables in lines 1, 2, and 5, and syllables in lines 3 and 4.
Above all else, though, the lengths should be consistent among rhyming lines. Limericks generally use an anapestic metric foot , which is the snooty-English-teacher way of saying it uses a repeating rhythm of two unstressed syllables followed by a stressed syllable.
In a limerick, the first, second, and fifth lines each hold three stressed syllables, and the third and fourth lines each contain two stressed syllables. Clear as mud? Notice which syllables have harder beats than the rest:.
This consistency, along with the rhyme scheme, is what holds a good limerick together. The final and loosest rule of limerick writing is its silly subject matter. Humor and wordplay almost always work their way into a good limerick. So who made themselves the Kings and Queens of Poetry and invented all these rules? The name limerick was first formally recorded as the name of the five-line poem just two years before the beginning of the 20th century, when it appeared in the New English Dictionary.
But the format itself is much older. Edward Lear is often, and incorrectly, called the father of the limerick for his appropriately titled collection of illustrated short poems, A B ook of Nonsense. Undoubtedly, Lear was essential in popularizing the form. However, the actual invention of the limerick lies yet further back in time.
These merrymakers were known to improvise limericks as a sporting event in the form of poetic insults. Here we have a sample zinger from one of the minstrels, translated to English by James Clarence Mangan:. I sell the best Brandy and Sherry To make all my customers merry, But at times their finances Run short as it chances, And then I feel very sad, very. Searching any earlier in the poetry history books leads us deeper into ambiguity and speculation. A talkative man from Seattle would spend his days speaking to cattle.
I did this so the poem would make more sense. Remember to follow these steps:. If not, see if you can rewrite some words to get the rhythm right.
Have fun! Click here to download a limerick writing worksheet. What is a Limerick? The Rules of Limericks Limericks, like all poetic forms, have a set of rules that you need to follow.
The rules for a limerick are fairly simple: They are five lines long. Lines 1, 2, and 5 rhyme with one another. Lines 3 and 4 rhyme with each other. Let me give you an example: There was a young fellow named Hall Who fell in the spring in the fall. This allows you to make your own words in a limerick, just like Shakespeare did.
However, ensure that the words you make have an implicit meaning. The first line of a limerick establishes the setting and character s of the poem. The first line of your limerick should be such that the reader immediately recognizes what or who the story is about. For example, there once was a man from Nantucket. As mentioned above, a limerick has a rhyme scheme of AABBA, wherein the first, second, and fifth lines should rhyme and the third and fourth lines should rhyme.
You must ensure that you follow the right rhyming scheme when writing a limerick. For instance, if you write the first line as above, the second line should have an event or feature in a word that rhymes with Nantucket , such as bucket , garnet , junket , etc. Now, leave the third and fourth lines and straight away go to the fifth line. This is the final line, which is usually funny and has a punch line or a twist.
You can go for a word that rhymes with bucket , like Nantucket , puppet , cutlet , couplet , etc. After this, you can work on your third and fourth lines, which are relatively easy to write. So, your final limerick can be something like this:. This is a famous Limerick, whose first line is often used as the opening line for a lot of limericks. Every limerick has a bouncy musical tune to it in order to suit its light subject matter.
You will know the tune of your limerick once you read it aloud. Limerick has three beats in its first, second, and fifth lines and two beats in its third and fourth lines. A lot of nursery rhymes are limericks since they have a bouncy rhythm, which makes it easy to remember and recite them. If you want to get better in the art of writing limericks, make sure you write limericks on a regular basis. You will find writing limericks a tad hard at first with all the rhyming, rhythm, and amusing elements.
However, with practice, your limericks can turn out to be funnier and wittier. So, now you can get started with writing your own limericks with all the rules and tricks mentioned above.
You can take a look at some of the limerick examples given in this article for their rhyming and rhythm.
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