L is for Limerick

Today's A to Z letter is the letter "L." And you can't believe how happy I was to get the twelfth letter in the alphabet. Because L is for limerick, fun and easy poetic form, to read and write. Sure to put an OMG look on your face and or make you bust a gut. There are a few limericks I couldn't use as examples for their vulgarity. But if you want to read them, here's how to find it on Google. Type "nantucket," "limerick," "immortalia" and hit enter.

Now without further ado...

Limericks are a rather fun and raunchy poetic form. It appeared in early 18th century England. And became popularized by Edward Lear in the 19th century. Even William Shakespeare wrote limericks. They were also known as low or nonsense poems.

A limerick is five lines long and has a rhyme scheme of AABBA. What does that mean? Basically, lines 1-2 and 5 rhyme with each other. And lines 3-4 only rhyme with each other as well. So if the last word on the first line is ‘eight,’ then the last words on line two and five will rhyme with eight. For example, you would use words like ate, great, bait, late or even a name, Nate. Same thing applies to lines three and four. If the last word on line three is ‘like’ the ending rhyme word for the fourth line will be bike, hike, pike, etc.

Limericks also have a rhythm pattern, the heartbeat of a poem. And it goes da DUM da da DUM da da DUM, giving it a musical feel. Making lines 1-2 and 5 eight beats long, while lines 3-4 are six (sometimes five) syllables long (da da DUM da da DUM).

Most importantly, the first line of a limerick introduces the characters. And the setting of the poem.

Are you ready to try a limerick? Don’t be afraid, it’s really quite easy. Here are two examples and one I did myself back in college.:

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!”

-Edward Lear, Book of Nonsense 1, 1845

“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.”

-Anonymous, printed in the “Princeton Tiger” in  1902

Here’s mine from college. Although I didn’t follow the poetic format, I did capture the tone and setting of the limerick. Plus it was a real hoot in class.:

There once was a nun named Hailey.

Who got tired of praying daily.

In a dress so tight,

She snuck out one night.

And came back married to man named Bailey.

-Lidy Wilks, 2002-2003 (c)

Inspired to write a limerick yet? Did you know that you can write your own "Nantucket" limerick? Your first line is "There once was a man from Nantucket." Ready to share it in the comments? And remember, although limericks are also known for being X-rated, please keep it clean.