ArtsAutosBooksBusinessEducationEntertainmentFamilyFashionFoodGamesGenderHealthHolidaysHomeHubPagesPersonal FinancePetsPoliticsReligionSportsTechnologyTravel

Limerick Poetry, Poems

Updated on February 6, 2018
DzyMsLizzy profile image

Words, wordplay, reading, and writing have been favorites of Liz's since early childhood. She enjoys exploring science and science fiction.

Limerick Form

Of the many poetic styles, the easiest to learn and play with is the Limerick. It consists of a 5-line poem in which the first two lines rhyme, then the middle two, and the final line rhymes back to the first two. It's a format referred to as "aa-bb-a"

Generally speaking, Limericks have a set pattern of syllables, as well: between 7 and 10 in the first pair of lines; 5 to 7 in the second pair, and back to the 7 to 10 in the final line. As you can see, the fact that there is a range of 'allowable' syllables makes for an easy-to-construct poem.

It is not strict as long as it is consistent within the poem. As you can see in the first example below, there are 8 syllables in the each of the first two lines, but in the second pair, there are 6 and 5 syllables, respectively, while the final line matches the 8-syllable pattern of the first pair. What is important, as with most poetry, is the flow.

Limericks are traditionally irreverent, bawdy or just plain silly verses. Their chief attribute is entertainment, and they are easy to recall, making them perfect for kids and the silliness that kids so enjoy. Here is a classic one, whose author is lost in antiquity:

There was an old man of Blackheath,

Who sat on his set of false teeth.

He jumped up with a start

And cried, "Bless my heart!"

"I've bitten myself underneath!"


Most likely, everyone will find this famous nursery rhyme familiar--it dates from 1774 or thereabouts. I bet you did not realize it fits the Limerick format:

Hickory Dickory Dock

The mouse run up the clock

The clock struck one

and down he run*.

Hickory Dickory Dock.


*I've quoted the original style, hence the apparent grammatical error. Yes, I know nowadays, we'd say '...ran up the clock...'

Brief History

This poetic format is said to originate from a particular pub in the city of Limerick, Ireland.

Sometimes it was a parlor game, in which everyone would take turns sing-songing a Limerick extemporaneously invented.

The example above with the nursery rhyme is one of the earlier forms, dating from somewhere around the middle of the 18th century. It was a bit later that they began to tend toward the bawdy/tawdry/naughty side of the road. This is more fitting with the pub scene, in my estimation, so I'm not sure at all of that being the actual origin.

Research online leads to a number of contradictory suggestions Most agree, however, that the form was popularized in the 19th century by Edward Lear with his Book of Nonsense published in 1845 being probably the most well-known.


Edward Lear

Familiar with This Topic?

Have you every heard of Limericks before?

See results

A Different Style of Limerick

Although this format is normally reserved for silliness, that is not to say that they cannot be serious, as well. Here are two that I've written as memorial pieces.

Note that the first one does not quite stick to the hard-and-fast syllable count; I was going more for the flow and the thought, while the second one presented in that pair was written in a happy state of mind, prior to losing the kitty.

The poet within

Have you ever written a Limerick?

See results

Silliness

Here's one I wrote recently; it rather composed itself as I was trying to drift off to sleep.

There was a young woman of Leeds,

Who planted a package of seeds.

They came up in a week;

Then the neighbors heard, "EEK!"

For all that had sprouted were weeds!


Simple, eh? Ok, now it's your turn! Turn on those creative, goofy, funny juices, and let's see some new Limericks sprout out all over thie site. You can post any you come up with in the comments, if you wish, (I promise not to steal them!), or make a new article of your own.

Just keep them within the general guidelines for appropriate content; that is to say, the original 'naughty' forms are probably 'not okay,' but be as silly as you like.

© 2010 Liz Elias

working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)