Look At The Limerick Structure

The Limerick-

Irish soldiers on returning from war to their home town of Limerick began reciting a line of poetry to kill the time. One by one each soldier added a line to the verse which they affectionately called The Limerick.

Edward Lear introduced the Limerick to English Poetry .

The basic rule is that lines 1, 2 and 5 rhyme, while lines 3 and 4 rhyme

Example

Old Man With a Beard -

Edward Lear

There was an Old Man with a beard,
Who said, 'It is just as I feared!
Two Owls and a Hen,
Four Larks and a Wren,
Have all built their nests in my beard!'

My Examples

Denise
By Paul Mc Cann

There was a young girl called Denise ,
She lived all her life on the streets .
In need of a prayer .
Her pockets were bare .
She died in the arms of a priest

Gone To The Dogs

By Paul Mc Cann

There was a young lad out on bail
He went to the dogs at Moss Vale.
If you'd saw what he done
with the money he won,
you'd say he was safer in jail

Hands And Heels

By Paul McCann

There was a young jockey called Mick .
Who never liked using the stick.
He would slowly bide time
Til the finishing line
Before giving his mount a flick .

Hooks And Cooks
By Paul Mc Cann

There once was a cod on a hook ,
Caught by a hungry Captains Cook .
The good Captain and all the crew ,
They sat down to cod liver stew ,
And the cod at last lost the hook .

A Cold Woman

By Paul McCann

There once was a woman of ice .
She never knew how to be nice .
She spent all of her life ,
on the edge of a knife ,
cutting herself off from advice .

Great Expectations –

By Paul Mc Cann

Well now there once was a young boy called Pip,
who by chance had the misfortune to slip,
right into some bad social relations,
until he acquired great expectations
and ended up with a stiff upper lip.

The best advice to writng a good Limerick is to keep it simple ., but follow the rules and guidlines as set from the mists of time .
Our origins as Poets began with structures and poets today are still following these guidelines.

The End