WHAT IS A LIMERICK?
Limericks are one of the most fun and well-known poetic forms. No one knows for sure where the name “limerick” comes from, but most people assume it is related to the county of Limerick, in Ireland.
The reason limericks are so much fun is because they are short, rhyming, funny, and have a bouncy rhythm that makes them easy to memorize. In this lesson, I’ll show you how you can write your own limericks in just a few easy steps.
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:
What I want you to notice when you read or recite a limerick is that the first two lines and the last line have three “beats” in them, while the third and fourth lines have two “beats.” In other words, the rhythm of a limerick looks like this:
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
If you emphasize the beats when you read, it comes out like this:
there WAS an old MAN of 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.
Limericks are one of the most fun and well-known poetic forms. No one knows for sure where the name “limerick” comes from, but most people assume it is related to the county of Limerick, in Ireland.
The reason limericks are so much fun is because they are short, rhyming, funny, and have a bouncy rhythm that makes them easy to memorize. In this lesson, I’ll show you how you can write your own limericks in just a few easy steps.
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.
- They have a distinctive rhythm
- They are usually funny.
What I want you to notice when you read or recite a limerick is that the first two lines and the last line have three “beats” in them, while the third and fourth lines have two “beats.” In other words, the rhythm of a limerick looks like this:
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
If you emphasize the beats when you read, it comes out like this:
there WAS an old MAN of 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.
SOME LIMERICK TRICKS
There are two more things that you will notice when you read limericks:
There once was a man from New York
Or
There was and old woman named Dave
Then go to your rhyming dictionary or simply your brain, and start looking for rhymes like “cork,” “fork,” “pork,” “stork,” or “cave,” “gave,” “wave,” and so on to find more words to complete your limerick.
Once you’ve found some rhyming words, you’ll want to start thinking about a funny ending for your poem. Try writing lines 1, 2, and 5 first, and then fill in lines 3 and 4 afterward.
YOUR TURN
Now it’s your turn to see if you can write a limerick of your own. Remember to follow these steps:
There are two more things that you will notice when you read limericks:
- The first line usually ends with a person’s first name or the name of a place.
- The last line is usually funny.
There once was a man from New York
Or
There was and old woman named Dave
Then go to your rhyming dictionary or simply your brain, and start looking for rhymes like “cork,” “fork,” “pork,” “stork,” or “cave,” “gave,” “wave,” and so on to find more words to complete your limerick.
Once you’ve found some rhyming words, you’ll want to start thinking about a funny ending for your poem. Try writing lines 1, 2, and 5 first, and then fill in lines 3 and 4 afterward.
YOUR TURN
Now it’s your turn to see if you can write a limerick of your own. Remember to follow these steps:
- Choose the name of a person or place and write the first line.
- Look for words that rhyme with your person or place name.
- Write line 2 and 5 to rhyme with the first line.
- Now write lines 3 and 4 with a different rhyme.