Limerick Basics
This many lines make up a limerick.
What is 5?
These types of traveling performers may have helped spread limericks in Ireland.
What are bards?
Edward Lear’s limericks often began with this phrase.
What is “There was an old man…”?
The first, second, and fifth lines of a limerick rhyme, and are usually this length.
What is long (8–9 syllables)?
Limericks are considered this type of poetry because they are short and expressive.
What is lyric poetry?
The rhyme scheme of a limerick is usually written this way.
What is AABBA?
This century saw the limerick become popular in English literature.
What is the 19th century?
Many limericks feature characters from these three groups: age, gender, or this.
What is place/nationality?
The third and fourth lines of a limerick rhyme, and are usually this length.
What is short (5–6 syllables)?
This Irish literary tradition connects limericks to storytelling, music, and folk humor.
What is oral tradition?
The meter of a limerick often alternates between this many syllables per line.
What is 8 and 5?
He published The Book of Nonsense in 1846, making limericks wildly popular.
Who is Edward Lear?
Lear’s limericks were illustrated with these, adding visual humor.
What are drawings?
Limericks often play with this sound-based literary device, beyond rhyme.
What is alliteration?
Modern limericks are often used in this setting, to entertain with silly rhymes.
What is classrooms/children’s books?
This Irish city gave the poetic form its name.
What is Limerick?
Limericks were sometimes chanted in groups, followed by this Irish refrain.
What is "Will you come up to Limerick?"
One limerick tradition is that the last line does this, instead of adding new meaning.
What is repeats or restates the first?
The humorous “punch” at the end of a limerick is similar to this feature in jokes.
What is a punchline?
Many limericks are “nonsense verse,” a genre also mastered by this British author of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.
Who is Lewis Carroll?
Limericks often use this type of humor, meaning exaggerated and sometimes silly.
What is nonsense?
Limericks share roots with this type of humorous folk poetry, also known for silly rhymes.
What is nursery rhyme verse?
The form of limerick humor often relies on this literary device, also used in puns.
What is wordplay?
A limerick’s rhythm is often based on this type of metrical foot, with 3 syllables (da-da-DUM).
What is an anapest?
Today, limericks are sometimes used in competitions of this type, where poets improvise funny verses.
What are poetry slams?