Example of a Limerick Poem

For an example of a limerick poem, just search the Internet for “Nantucket.” After all the tourist and municipal websites, you’re sure to find a wealth of dirty limericks based on the little island in New England. It probably wouldn’t take that much effort to find examples of dirty limericks based on just about any place, as limericks have a reputation for being bawdy, crude or downright obscene. In fact, the limerick has often been criticized or even rejected as a form of poetry because of its roots in low culture.

The History of the Limerick Poem

The name, limerick, comes from the Irish county and town of Limerick, where this type of poem started out as a game in which participants would take turns composing lines or verses following the given rhyme scheme and meter. This game included the singing of a refrain which ended with the line, “Come all the way up to Limerick” (or “Will you come up to Limerick?”). It appears as though the nineteenth century was when the masses began turning into poets in pubs and parlors all over Ireland and England. They’d have a few pints and then start composing, which would easily explain the lewd, uncouth nature of the limerick.Although they didn’t become popular until the 1800s, some forms and variants of limerick poems have existed since possibly as early as the fourteenth or fifteenth century. Believe it or not, the earliest forms of limericks were nursery rhymes. It only took a couple hundred years for the general public to turn a few sweet, innocent kids’ songs into that vulgar man from Nantucket.Clean limericks dating from the 1800s and early 1900s appear to be the exception rather than the rule. They were the results of magazine and newspaper contests and should are not considered “true” limericks by folklore experts who contend that this type of poetry is inherently obscene. However, the limerick was popularized by Edward Lear, whose Book of Nonsense contained several limericks, all perfectly clean.

The Form of the Limerick Poem

Limericks follow an AABBA rhyme scheme, which means that they have five lines. The first two lines and the last line all rhyme with each other. The third and fourth lines also rhyme with each other but not with lines one, two and five. Study this example of a limerick poem:    I bought a green dress in Manhattan. (A)    It was beautifully made of satin. (A)    But after a while, (B)    It went out of style, (B)    Just like that dead language, Latin. (A)You will also notice that the B lines are shorter than the A lines. In general, lines one, two and five have six to ten syllables whereas lines three and four only have four to seven. This is due to the fact that the A lines have three strong beats while the B lines only have two. Look at the limerick again:    I boùght a green drèss in Manhàttan. (A)    It was beaùtifully màde of sàtin. (A)    But àfter a whìle, (B)    It wènt out of st`yle, (B)    Jùst like that dèad language, Làtin. (A)

Examples of Limerick Poems by Edward Lear

Lear wrote over 200 limerick poems covering all manner of silly subjects and featuring many cities, which was an extremely popular way to begin a limerick – introducing a character along with his home town (There once was a man from Nantucket). Here are just a few of them: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.There was an Old Lady of Chertsey,Who made a remarkable curtsey;She twirled round and round,Till she sunk underground,Which distressed all the people of Chertsey.There was an Old Man in a boat,Who said, “I’m afloat, I’m afloat!”When they said, “No! you ain’t!”He was ready to faint,That unhappy Old Man in a boat.Now it’s your turn to come up with your own example of a limerick poem. You just need three words that rhyme, two more that rhyme separately, and lines to go along with them. Give it a try! And just remember, if a drunk can do it, so can you!