A weekly grammar tip created by Academic Center Peer Writing Tutors.
by Trish Wayne
A limerick is a short, witty poem of five lines that tells a funny story. The three long lines (the triplet) must rhyme with each other and the two shorter lines (the couplet) must also rhyme with each other. Limericks follow an AABBA rhyme scheme. For example:
There once was a lady from
Niger (A)
Who smiled as she rode on a tiger (A)
They came back from the ride (B)
With the lady inside (B)
And a smile on the face of the tiger. (A)
The meter of the triplet is eight or nine syllables while the couplet ranges between five and six syllables.
The first line usually introduces a person and a location:
Ex.: There was an old man from Nantucket (9)
The second line presents the character’s situation:
Ex.: Who kept all his cash in a bucket (9)
The third and fourth lines reveal something dramatic or ridiculous about the
situation:
Ex.: His daughter, named Nan, (5)
Ex.: Ran off with a man, (5)
Finally, the last line adds the twist to the scenario:
Ex.: And as for the bucket, Nantucket. (9)
Though the origin of the word ‘limerick’ is unknown, it is possible that
this poetic form descended from nonsense poetry that ended with “… come all
the way up to Limerick,” the Irish city.
Limericks are a fun way to honor your friends and coworkers. Below are a
some limericks written in the Academic Center.
| There once was a bold tutor at work Who tutored my paper with a smirk It took all my command Not to strangle the man And I left and then I went berserk! -Candice Chovanec Melzow |
There once was a boy in my class Whose attitude was very crass. He always told bad jokes, And stole the teacher’s smokes Hence, the sixth grade he couldn’t pass. -Kelly Trungale |
| There once was a lad named Dave who was very very brave. People thought he was foxy. He liked to study philosophy And went to live in a cave. -Summer Leibensperger |
There once was a tutor named Trish Who loved to eat knish. She planned out a meal And made a big deal About her delicious knish dish. -Dinah Crockett |
| Known by the name of Maestro Though others called him Ernesto In his daily ledger He signed the name Edgar And wrote Armando’s Manifesto -Academic Center staff |
Articles
How to Write a Limerick by Bruce Lansky from PoetryTeachers.com.
Limericks by the League of American Poets.
Help with Rhymes
RhymeZone: Find rhymes, synonyms, definitions, and more.
Poetry.com:
Contains a rhyming dictionary and thesaurus.
Miscellaneous
Limerick: Visit Limerick, Ireland's official website.
Grammatically Correct is a grammar tip of the week created by Academic Center Peer Writing Tutors at the University of Houston-Victoria in Victoria, Texas.
Comments about this newsletter should be directed to Summer Leibensperger, leibenspergers@uhv.edu.
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