Today is Limerick Day. It celebrates the birthday of Edward Lear (1812 – 1888). Lear made limericks popular in his 1846 publication “A Book of Nonsense”

What is a limerick?

A limerick is a five-line poem written with one couplet and one triplet.

A couplet is a two-line rhymed poem and a triplet is a three-line.

What are the typical characteristics of Limericks?

• Limericks are a funny and nonsense poem.
• They have five lines.
• They have a rhyme scheme of A, A, B, B, A (lines 1, 2 and 5 rhyme; lines 3 and 4 rhyme).
• The syllabification is 8, 8, 5, 5, 8.

Did you know? Limerick is also a large city in Ireland.

What a limerick is in a crunch
Is a bit like a loony’s light lunch
Though it briefly delights
It’s just four nutty bites
Swallowed down with a ludicrous punch

By Graham Lester

Other Links:

• Teaching Ideas
• How to write a Limerick by Bruce Lansky
• Edward Lear’s Nonsense Work
• Write an instant limerick (online form)
• A collection of limericks for kids
• Teacher Planet Limerick Day Theme Page

Do you have a favourite Limerick? Share it with us in the comments below.