The Limerick

The limerick is a fixed form of poetry. It is usually humorous, often nonsensical. The lines are short, swift, and catchy. The limerick is made up of five lines, all basically anapestic in meter (short, short, long). The first, second, and fifth lines usually have three beats (or feet), while the third and fourth line have two. The first, second, and fifth lines have the same end rhyme, while the third and fourth lines rhyme, thus forming a couplet. There are variations to this pattern.

Here is an example from my own pen:

A Limerick for October

I can hardly wait for October
For then the German beer flows over
And I sit and I sip
Holding mug to my lips
At the inn called Aye Bee Sober.

The form is simple; thus, it is easy to make up limericks on the spot, and it often turns into a reciting sport, some made up and some remembered. They are fun to play with, but they lend themselves to bawdiness. For anyone who wishes to get the full feel of the limerick (including much bawdiness), I suggest The Lure of the Limerick by William S. Baring-Gould, Clarkson N. Potter, Inc./Publisher, New York. Eighth Printing, February, 1970.

I close with an anonymous limerick I found in Perrine’s Sound and Sense, p. 234, Tenth Edition.

An Epicure Dining at Crewe

An epicure dining at Crewe
Found a rather large mouse in his stew,
Said the waiter, “Don’t shout
And wave it about
Or the rest will be wanting one too."

Have you tried your hand at writing limericks? If so—or if you want to try it now—why not share with the rest of us in the comments?

L. Luis Lopez, Ph.D., has published three books of poetry, Musings of a Barrio Sack Boy, (winner of a Writer's Digest award in poetry) A Painting of Sand, and Each Month I Sing (winner of the American Book Award 2008). He is a professor at Mesa State College in Grand Junction, Colorado. You may contact him at llopez9203@aol.com. http://www.lluislopez.com/