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 ...

"There was a Young Lady whose bonnet,

Came untied when the birds sat upon it;

But she said: 'I don't care!

All the birds in the air

Are welcome to sit on my bonnet!'"

~ Edward Lear 1846

a vintage black and white cartoon featuring a ban with a beard with animals living in it — Illustration from A Book of Nonsense by Edward Lear 1846 public domain image

Image Credit

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

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...

There was an Old Man of Kilkenny,

Who never had more than a penny;

He spent all that money,

In onions and honey,

That wayward Old Man of Kilkenny.

~ Edward Lear 1846

Here's another example of Lear's work.

There was a Young Lady whose chin,

Resembled the point of a pin;

So she had it made sharp,

And purchased a harp,

And played several tunes with her chin.

~ Edward Lear

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.

a weir on a river beside a bridge — The River Maigue near Bruree County Limerick

Image Credit

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

"I sell the best brandy and sherry

To make my good customers merry.

But at times their finances,

Run short, as it chances,

And then I feel very sad, very."

~Seán O Tuama, 18th century Irish poet

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...

"O Tuomy! You boast yourself handy

At selling good ale and bright brandy.

But the fact is your liquor,

Makes everyone sicker,

I tell you that, I, your friend Andy."

"Both your poems and pints by favour,

Are alike wholly wanting in flavour:

Because it's your pleasure

You give us short measure,

And your ale has a ditch water flavour."

~ Aindrias Mac Craith, 18th century Irish poet.

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.

Limerick Writing Worksheets

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 ...

There was a young schoolboy of Rye,
Who was baked by mistake in a pie.
To his mother’s disgust,
He emerged through the crust,
And exclaimed, with a yawn, Where am I?

Courtesy of The Irish Gift House

Here's another clean limerick...

"The limerick packs laughs anatomical

Into space that is quite economical.

But the good ones I've seen

So seldom are clean

And the clean ones so seldom are comical."

~ Leonard Feinberg, The Secret of Humor, 1978.

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

"There once was an old man of Lyme

Who married three wives at a time.

When asked, “Why a third?”

He replied, “One's absurd!

And bigamy, sir, is a crime.”

~ William Cosmo Monkhouse (1840 - 1901)

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

Celtic border and symbols with lines and text

Limerick Writing Worksheet

Famous Limericks Over The Years

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

"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, Nantookit"

~ Old American Limerick

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

“Hickory dickory dock.

The mouse ran up the clock.

The clock struck one,

And down he run.

Hickory dickory dock.”

~ Andrew Lang, The Nursery Rhyme Book, 1897

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.

Limerick Writing Workbook

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...

"There was an old dame in Kentucky

Who at writing was quite a rookie,

She dreamed up a blog

While out for a jog

And now she is ever so lucky."

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 ...

"There was an old man called McCarney

Who was born in the small town of Blarney

He never stopped talking

Even when he was walking

How we wish he was born in Killarney."

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.

a graphic with green text and green shamrocks and bunting in green, white and orange

Writing Limericks is Fun

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.

Limerick Writing Worksheets To Save

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!

Slán agus beannacht,

(Goodbye and blessings)

Mairéad -Irish American Mom

Pronunciation - slawn ah-gus ban-ock-th

Mairéad - rhymes with parade

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

Castle on an island in a lake — Lough Oughter County Cavan

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T.M. Johnson

July 07, 2018 at 9:02 pm

Ah, the limerick, IAM. What delightful "doggerel" 'tis. Interesting that while Edward Lear is best known for his limericks, his were perhaps the least creative. I have in my library a delightful book on the subject: The Lure of the Limerick: An Uninhibited History by William Baring-Gould (Clarkson N. Potter, Inc., 1967). The book includes limericks from A-Z, the limerick laundered, and as the limerick lends itself to smutty graffiti: the limerick "unlaundered" (which, I venture to say is a large percentage of them):

The limerick is furtive and mean;
You must keep her in close quarantine,
Or she sneaks to the slums
And promptly becomes
Disorderly, drunk and obscene

In keeping with the subject matter the book includes the "bawdy" artwork of Andre Domin and Aubrey Beardsley.

As a young lad the structure of the form had such appeal, I recited the following at a "show and tell" session in the early elementary grades and if memory serves was rewarded for the performance by a handwritten note to be delivered to my mother:

A grand old bird is the pelican;
His beak holds more than his belican.
He can hold in his beak
Enough food for a week,
But I'm darned to see how the helican.

And my grandson has mastered the following:

There was an old man from Peru
Who dreamed he was eating his shoe.
He awoke with a fright
In the middle of the night
And found it was perfectly true.

Perhaps I should have chosen that one all those many years ago. TMJ

What Is A Limerick?

Table of Contents

An Introduction to Limerick Verses