Limerick

The true origin of the limerick is not known. Edward Lear (1812-1888) is often credited with making this form of poetry popular. Lear’s book, The Book of Nonsense (1846), is considered the first collection of such poems. Lear’s work is the typically irreverent sort of limericks that characterize the genre; an example can be read below.

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.

While the limerick is most often associated with Ireland - being named after Limerick - it is thought that this form of poetry actually originated during the Middle Ages in France. The abccb form was slightly different than the traditional Irish limerick. It wasn't until the early 1700s that this form made it to Ireland. Subsequently, it was both published for children in Mother Goose Melodies (1776), utilized by Shakespeare in Othello, The Tempest, and King Lear, and also adopted for drinking games at Irish pubs. 

The limerick's structure is straightforward and easy to diagram.

Rhyme Structure
The rhyme structure of the limerick is AABBA. The first, second, and fifth line rhyme with each other (Nantucket, bucket, chuck it), and the third and fourth share their own rhyme (grin, begin).

Form

The limerick form is anapestic trimeter. The anapestic rhythm of unstressed-unstressed-stressed creates the sing-song sound of the limerick, with the first, second, and fifth lines containing 3 anapests (trimeter) and the third and fourth line each containing 2 anapests (dimeter). The number of syllables per line varies.

Variations

There are a few variations on the standard 5-line form:

• Double limerick (10 lines)
• Extended limerick (6 lines)
• Reverse limerick (written as a reply)
• Beheaded limerick (nonsense verse)
• Tongue-twisters
• Limeraiku (three lines with a 5-7-5 syllable pattern)
• Truncated limerick (short last line)

(Image by Gordon Johnson from Pixabay)

Due to the limerick's rich history of both children's books and drinking games, this is a form of poetry that often crosses all genres. The limerick is probably most widely recognized for sexual humor, with many people able to easily recognize the first line of this clean example by Allie Pepper:

There once was a man from Nantucket
Whose limericks belonged in a bucket
He said with a grin
Before I begin -
If you don’t like my rhyme, you can chuck it.

Today, limericks are used to express political statements, sexual humor, children's rhymes, and nonsensical verse in the tradition of Edward Lear. If you are wanting to write a limerick, you can use this form of poetry to express any type of thought - but most often, it should be done in a humorous way.