What is a limerick

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What is a limerick?

• Learning to Write Limericks!

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Limericks and Leprechauns
Irish legend has it that leprechauns, dwarfs
dressed all in green, have magical powers. If you
capture a leprechaun and keep your eye on him, he
cannot escape and must do your bidding. Every
leprechaun is supposed to possess a hidden pot of
gold to use as his ransom if captured. But watch
out! These wee ones are said to be very clever
and will try to trick you to gain their freedom
and keep their gold!
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Where do limericks come from?
Limericks are a form of poetry named after a town
in Ireland. Limerick being an Irish town.
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What are limericks?
A limerick is a five line poem written with one
couplet and one triplet. If a couplet is a
two-lined rhymed poem, a triplet would be a three
lined rhymed poem. The rhyme pattern is
A-A-B-B-A Lines 1, 2, and 5 containing three
beats and rhyming Lines 3 and 4 having two beats
and rhyming
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Examples of Limericks
The format below shows the special rhyme and
rhythm pattern of limericks which is described as
A-A-B-B-A There was once a wee creature named
Fred (A) Who was feeling quite cross when he
said (A) These clothes made of green (B) Are
all I have seen (B) Just this once might I
wear something red?! (A)
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Example 2
Read the following limerick aloud with me There
was an old man from Peru (A) Who dreamt he was
eating a shoe, (A) He awoke in the night
(B) In a terrible fright (B) To find that
his dream had come true! (A) --By Edward Lear
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Limerick 3
There once was a man dressed in red, With a beard
and white hair on his head But he had a big
belly That shook just like jelly And got him
stuck in a chimney, its said.
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Limerick 4
There was a young lady whose chin Resembled the
point of a pin So she made it sharp, And
purchase a harp, And played several tunes with
her chin. --By Edward Lear
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A Shaggy Dog

There was a small maiden name Maggie Whose dog
was enormous and shaggy, The front end of
him Looked vicious and grim- But the tail end was
friendly and waggy. --Author unknown
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A Wild Worm
W was a wild worm, All day he did nothing but
squirm, They sent him to school, But he broke
every rule, And left at the end of the
term. --Carolyn Wells
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Quiz on Limericks

• How many lines in a limerick?
• Which lines rhyme with line 1?
• Which lines rhyme with line 3?
• Which lines are shorter?
• Which Lines are longer?
• What rule of of capitalization applies to the
  limerick?
• What is the rhyme pattern?

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Fill-In Limericks
There was a _______ _______ from the East. Who
once _____ _____ _____ _____ beast. The ________
creature cried ____ _____ ____ ____ (must rhyme
with cried) And ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____
(rhyme with East.)
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More Fill-Ins
There was a _____ _____ from Salt Lake Who ____
____ ____ ____ chocolate cake, One day ____ ____
___ (These two lines _____ ______ _____
______ must rhyme.) And now _____ _____ _____
_____ _____ _____ (rhyme with cake)
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Writing Limericks
You are going to write two limericks of your
own. The first limerick must be about the snowman
picture on this page. The second limerick can be
on anything that you like.
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My Limerick
There is a school name Torey J Where students
love to learn and play Built in the round Without
a sound Working hard, day after day. ---By Ms.
Visicaro
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The End
This is the end of our limerick lesson. I hope
you learned a lot of new information on
limericks, where they come from, and how to write
them. For homework tonight you will write another
limerick on St. Patricks Day. Green Shamrock
paper will be passed out for this assignment. We
will be reading this limericks aloud at our St.
Patricks Day party.