Limericks

Limerick Day

12 May 2009

Limerick Day celebrates the birthday of Writer Edward Lear (1812-1888) who is well known for his limericks in his "Book of Nonsense".

What is a limerick?

A limerick is a five-line poem written with one couplet and one triplet.

(A couplet is a two-line rhymed poem and a triplet is a three-line.)

What are the typical characteristics of Limericks?

Limericks are a funny and nonsense poem.
They have five lines.
They have a rhyme scheme of A, A, B, B, A (lines 1, 2, and 5 rhyme; lines 3 and 4 rhyme).
The syllabification is 8, 8, 5, 5, 8.

Many limericks start with:

'There once was a ___ from _____"

Examples of Limericks 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!'

There was an Old Man in a tree,
Who was horribly bored by a Bee;
When they said, 'Does it buzz?'
He replied, 'Yes, it does!'
'It's a regular brute of a Bee!'

There was a Young Lady of Dorking,
Who bought a large bonnet for walking;
But its colour and size,
So bedazzled her eyes,
That she very soon went back to Dorking.

There was a Young Lady whose eyes,
Were unique as to colour and size;
When she opened them wide,
People all turned aside,
And started away in surprise.

Limerick by an unknown

There was a young man of Bengal
Who was asked to a fancy dress ball
He murmured: I'll risk it
I'll go as a biscuit
But the dog ate him up in the hall

Teaching Resources

Teachng Ideas
www.teachingideas.co.uk

Powerpoint
Read 4 limericks and choose words to complete the limerick. (Bridgend LEA)
www.ngfl-cymru.org.uk (ppt)

How to Write a Limerick by Bruce Lansky
www.gigglepoetry.com

Edward Lear's Nonsense Work
www.nonsenselit.org/Lear/

Write an instant Limerick - online form
http://ettcweb.lr.k12.nj.us

A collection of Limericks for Kids
www.freewebs.com/grahamlester/kids.htm

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