A limerick is a poem defined by its number of lines, distinct rhythm pattern, and rhyming scheme. Many people think limericks to be bawdy and risqué in their subject matter, but that is not necessarily so. They are, most often, though funny rather than serious, and their light rhythm lends itself easily to this. Limericks can be traced to England in the earlier part of the 18th century, and it was made popular by Edward Lear later in the 19th century in his Book of Nonsense. He did not, however, coin the name “limerick.” The name itself appears first in the New English Dictionary in 1898 and probably refers to the city of Limerick in Ireland.
Rhyme Scheme
The rhyme scheme is very particular in a limerick, and exceptions are not made to this pattern, although many have been known to draw out or twist a word to make it rhyme. Each limerick is made of five lines that follow a rhyming scheme of aabba. This means that the first two lines must rhyme, the second two lines must rhyme, and the fifth line must rhyme with the first two lines. This causes the singsong sound of the limerick.
Rhythm Scheme
The rhythm, or beat, of the poem is called anapestic. There are three feet in lines 1, 2, and 5; and there are two feet in lines 3 and 4. The anapestic beat means the beat will be weak, weak, strong. Therefore, lines 1, 2, 5 will sound like w w S w w S w w S w w. However, lines 3 and 4 will be w w S w w S w w. Unlike the rhyme pattern in limericks, there are some exceptions allowed in the rhythm of a limerick. For instance, at the beginning of a line, there may be a foot with only one weak beat before a strong beat. There still must be two weak beats between each strong beat within the line. Furthermore, there may be more than two weak beats at the end of each line. The beats must be identical to other lines in the poem that rhyme with that particular line.
Lines 1, 2, and 5: w w S w w S w w S w w
Lines 3 and 4: w w S w w S w w
Restriction on Rhyming Beats
It has been established that the lines 1, 2, and 5 rhyme, as well as lines 3 and 4. The weak beats at the end of those corresponding lines must be the same also. Traditionally rhymes may be called masculine or feminine, depending on the number of weak beats at the ends of the lines. Two weak beats are more common, and are known as feminine; one-weak-beat end lines are known as masculine lines. The combinations are also known as anapests in the case of wwS and iambic in the case of wS. Though through the years some have suggested that restrictions be placed on which lines be permitted one weak beat or two weak beats, this has never been upheld, as many respectable authors prior had already written poems going against the restrictions.
When using an adjective in a limerick, care must be taken not to insert an extra weak beat in the middle of a line. Either one or two weak beats are permitted at the beginning of a line, but two beats must occur between each strong beat within a line. Therefore, to insert an adjective in the phrase “There once was a young lady…” would put an extra weak stress in the midst of “once” and the first syllable of lady, ignoring one of the most important rules of the limerick. One could remove the “once,” or one could remove the adjective, choosing instead to indicate the youth of the lady at another time in the poem.
Below are some limericks with the beats shown as examples following the lines.
There was an Old Man with a beard, (w S ww S ww S)
Who said, 'It is just as I feared! (w S ww S ww S)
Two Owls and a Hen, (w S ww S)
Four Larks and a Wren, (w S ww S)
Have all built their nests in my beard!' (w S ww S ww S)
by Edward Lear
There's a ponderous pundit MacHugh (ww S ww S ww S)
Who wears goggles of ebony hue. (ww S ww S ww S)
As he mostly sees double (ww S ww S w)
To wear them why trouble? (ww S ww S)
I can't see the Joe Miller. Can you? (ww S ww S ww S)
By James Joyce
Judgment on Beats
Emphasis on beats can be subjective and can many times be played as the author wishes, as many words can have the beat either strong or weak, depending on the placement and whether the phrase is in iambic rhythm or whether it is in an anapest. This is especially true of a one-syllable word such as “of.” As a rule, most action verbs and most nouns are strong beats, and most other one-syllable words are weak beats. Again, this can be manipulated at the whim of the author if placed creatively enough. When a word contains two syllables, many times one will find that the entire word is weak. More often than not, however, one syllable is weak, the other strong. This is especially true, again, of nouns and action verbs. If one uses a three-syllable word, it is best to use a dictionary and place the stress on the dictionary’s recommendation. Such is true of four syllable words as well; but there are further rules concerning these. One can use the word if the strong beat is on the second or third syllable. If the accent is on the first or last syllable, you can consider the SwwS rule applicable to the word if the other syllable can take a secondary accent. If this is not the case, the word should be discarded and another word sought. There are unusual cases where the author can go against the dictionary’s recommendation in a two or three syllable word, but this is more rare than common.
Rhyming
Rhyming in a limerick is very important. Eye-rhymes, or words that look as if they rhyme, such as slaughter and laughter are not acceptable to use in a limerick. If a mispronunciation is common and would be well-known to a reader, an author may choose to distort the word to cause it to rhyme, but this must be common to all. Words that sound the same, but may not look the same, as in the case with words ending in “ed” and “t” can be used. Feminine rhyme is considered two-syllable rhyme, and, in this case, the stress must be on the first syllable. It is the last syllable of the word that must rhyme with the last syllable of the previous line (keeping aabba pattern in mind). It should be noted that the words should not be the same in sound, even if they are spelled differently. For example, the author should not use “pane” at the end of one of the lines and then use “pain” as one of the corresponding rhyming lines.
Basics on Style
Finally, a note on grammar. Rules should be followed in the case of limericks, except when speech is meant to be substandard due to the character of the speaker. All punctuation should be correct in the use of periods, commas, and semi-colons. Each new line of the poem, however, should be capitalized, even if it is not the beginning of a sentence. The language should appear natural other than, as above, when the character of the speaker is meant to be of a particular nature, manner, or ancestry.
Limericks have been in American since 1902, and they employ humor and cleverness in structure and rhyme to draw the reader into the poem. They are humorous and light, and many authors, including Gershon Legman and George Bernard Shaw, believe that they should nearly always be bawdy and risqué in subject matter. They are meant to entertain rather than teach or draw forth an emotion. Seldom do they contain hidden symbolism or ideologies. They rhyme, they dance, and they take the reader on a very short, fun, and whimsical jaunt through the poem that is called a “limerick.”
Links
Limericks: This site introduces the reader to the limerick, gives a little of its history, identifies the form of the limerick, and provides several examples given by several teachers who have submitted to the site.
Poetic Form: Limerick: This article gives a short lesson on the limerick and its form, addressing the stresses of the syllables in the lines.
The Laughing Limerick: This gives example as to the stresses in the lines of the limerick and how they should sound, as well as which lines should rhyme with which lines, and hints and suggestions on writing limericks. Examples of limericks are also provided.
M. Graziosi, The Limerick: This article, written by Marco Graziosi, appears on the Edward Lear home page, and Mr. Graziosi gives a very good history on the limerick and Edward Lear’s role in writing The Nonsense Book.
KCKPL YS How To Write A Limerick: These are instructions to walk the reader through writing a limerick. The form of the limerick is introduced and steps are suggested to form situations and characters for the limerick.