What Is A Limerick?

Have you ever wondered what is a limerick? How did limericks, those short, five-line rhyming ditties come to be named after one of Ireland's counties?

I recently completed a post taking readers on a photographic tour of County Limerick, and as I was creating this piece I started wondering about the origins of these infamous little "Irish" poems.

Are they really Irish?

How did the name limerick come to describe these comical verses?

What has County Limerick got to do with these ditties?

Table of Contents

An Introduction to Limerick Verses

These questions were spinning around in my head as I wrote about County Limerick, so I thought it was a perfect time to explore the history and development of the limerick, Ireland's most popular form of poetry.

Who doesn't love a well composed limerick? They can be utilised as a form of comedic outlet, and for anyone who loves satire, then the limerick is a perfect way to pen your satiric intent.

At the end of this post, I've also included a free resource for parents, grandparents or teachers who would like to inspire their kids to turn a hand to writing their own limericks.

Or if you've no kids to encourage to write, perhaps you would simply like to write a few limericks yourself. Save and print away, if that's the case.

But before we take to writing our own limericks, let's first learn a bit about the history of this poetry form.....

What Is A Limerick?

A Limerick is a short, five-line verse that follows a strict rhythm and rhyming pattern. The first, second and fifth lines rhyme with each other and have three phrases of three syllables each.

The third and fourth lines also rhyme with each other, but are shorter, having two phrases of three syllables.

This traditional rhyming scheme is what makes a limerick unique, and true to form. Remember the pattern is  AABBA.

In traditional format the first line introduces a person and/or a place. The main character's name or the place name in question usually appears at the very end of the first line, establishing the rhyme for the second and fifth lines.

Let's get a little technical as we describe these limerick rhyming patterns.

Limericks are written using anapestic meter. This is when two unstressed syllables are followed by a stressed, third syllable. In lines one, two, and five of a limerick you will find three anapests, while the third and fourth lines feature two anapests. And remember all this time you are following the rhyme scheme of aabba.

Early limericks usually utilized repetition of the first line as the fifth linerhym, but overtime greater emphasis has been placed on a unique, punch-line packing finale for these little ditties.

Think of limericks as humorous poems, but this does not mean free reign in their creation.

Always stick to their straightforward structure and the strict compositional elements outlined above. 

They often start with the phrase "there was a young fellow," or "there was a young lady" from....

And remember the subject of the first line is usually repeated in the last line.

Who Made Limericks Famous?

Edward Lear was an English artist, illustrator, writer and poet of the 19th century. In 1846 he published his Book of Nonsense, a compilation of short limerick poems. Here is one example of his witty verses ...

The limerick was popularized through Lear's book and Victorian England adopted the format, creating their own little ditties for entertainment.

Here's another example of Lear's work...

Here's another example of Lear's work.

Other famous 19th century authors also enjoyed writing limericks including Ogden Nash, Isaac Asimov and the American writer Mark Twain. James Joyce, Rudyard Kipling, and Lewis Carroll also penned a few of these Irish rhymes.

Although Lear spread the word about limericks far and wide, he was not the original creator of this art form.

As the name suggests the first writers of these ditties were Irish.

Who Wrote The First Limericks?

The river Maigue flows near the town of Croom, home to Seán O Tuama, a local publican and poet. His good friend and customer was Aindrias Mac Craith, another member of the Maigue poets.

Now Seán wrote a little poem one evening about himself as an inn-keeper.

Now, Seán's good friend Aindrias took exception to this poem, assuming it was directed at him and his growing tab at the alehouse.

And so, like any good poet, he picked up his quill, and penned the following retort...

We don't know how long this Irish grudge lasted between the two men, but when he died in 1775, Seán was keenly mourned by Aindrias.

And that's how limericks were born, out of a grudge over alehouse debts, which I suppose makes them truly Irish.

You can read all about the Poets of the Maigue, in this book by Mannix Joyce. Thanks to Limerick library for making it available online.

Keeping Limericks Clean

Now many a limerick has been written since the Maigue poets first wrote their friendly or not so friendly jibes.

However, over the years many, many limericks have been written that don't meet editorial standards for this little corner of the world wide web.

The old man of Nantucket rhymes with an infamous Irish curse (find out why the Irish love to curse).

Here we strive to keep the written word wholesome, and there's many a limerick that's far from wholesome.

This little limerick sums up the humorous side of these little ditties ...

Here's another clean limerick...

Here's a good one displaying the humor and skill of good limerick writing ...

And that's all I'm going to say about the ribald humor that finds expression through this Irish verse form.

Famous Limericks Over The Years

Here's one of the most famous limerick's in the world ....

Here's one you may not realize is based on the limerick, but it's one of the most famous English nursery rhymes.

The number of syllables in each line is a little shorter than usual, but the AABBA rhyming pattern is based on a limerick.

And so you see, the limerick truly is a versatile little verse format.

Write Your Own Limericks

And so, why not take a hand to composing your own little limericks.

I remember getting limerick writing homework as a child. I dare say the nuns got quite a chuckle from some of our Dublin poetry back in the day.

Here's my recent attempt at a limerick to describe my blogging endeavors...

Now I'm not known for my jogging abilities, but I desperately needed a rhyme for blog, so I adhered to the old Irish words of wisdom.... never let the truth get in the way of a good story.

Here's another recent composition ...

We could get carried away writing limericks.

However, I believe it is a great way to introduce kids to poetry, rhyming and rhythm, and many teachers utilize limericks in the classroom to this very day.

Free Limerick Writing Worksheets To Save and Print

For anyone who would like a lesson plan about limericks I created a free printable for saving and printing.

It includes some Irish themed framed templates for any hopeful limerick writers to record their poetry.

Feel free to share this link with friends, family and any teachers or homeschooling parents who may find these sheets helpful.

If you're interested in taking a tour of County Limerick check out my photographic tour including information on the River Shannon, King John's Castle, the Hunt Musuem. There are plenty of travel tips included too.

Happy limerick writing to all!

Here are some county tours around Ireland which you may like to check out ....