~It’s National Poetry Month!~

 

There Once was a Poet in Limerick…

No one knows who invented the Limerick, but the name suggests it originated in the Irish city of the same name. English poet Edward Lear popularized the form in the 19th century and is largely responsible for the form’s continued popularity. Limericks are sometimes nonsensical, sometimes set up like jokes with a punchline, and should always inspire a chuckle.

Key Features of the Limerick

Content: Humorous, sometimes raunchy, sometimes aimed at a celebrity or public figure

Form: Consists of five lines

Rhyme: aabba

Syllables: Syllables are not usually strictly counted, but line length pattern goes: long, long, short, short, long.

Example

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.

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An Original Limerick

Old Eugene

There once was a fool named Old Eugene
Who wouldn’t stay home for the quarantine.
He said “Damn you all,
I’m going to the mall.
I’m almost out of my Ovaltine!”

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Want to Learn More? Start Here:

Limericks – Writer’s Digest
Limerick – Wikipedia

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— Write your own Limerick and share in the comments! —