How to Celebrate National Limerick Day By Writing a Limerick of Your Own
May 12 is the birthday of limerick originator Edward Lear and has become known and celebrated as National Limerick Day in his honor. To celebrate properly, you should come up with your own witty limerick.
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Instructions
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Understand the structure of a limerick. A Limerick has five lines. The last word of lines one, two and five rhyme, and the last word of lines three and four rhyme.
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Use stressed and unstressed syllables to create a pattern to the rhyme. Stressed syllables are those with emphasis when you speak them, while unstressed rhymes are not emphasized. For example, in the line "There once was a man from Berlin," the stressed syllables are "once," "man," and "lin" in the word "Berlin." So the pattern would be unstressed ("There"), stressed ("once"), unstressed, unstressed ("was a"), stressed ("man"), unstressed, unstressed ("from Ber"), stressed ("lin"). A limerick's first two lines use three stressed words, the next two use two, and the last can use two or three. Read this example aloud and repeat to learn where the stressed words are:
There once was a lady from Niger,
Who went for a ride on a tiger.
They came back from the ride
With the lady inside,
And a smile on the face of the tiger. -
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Pick a story and tell it, or describe a funny scenario about anyone or anything. Write out some words that are connected to the situation and see what rhymes work with those words. A limerick is meant to be fun, so come up with as many hidden meanings and puns are you can.
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Look at examples and read them aloud to hear the pattern and rhymes. There are many books and online sources to choose from. Some Edward Lear examples can be found at the Poetry-online website. For kids, you might try the Giggle Poetry website. See Resources.
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Tips & Warnings
Most topics of Limerick poetry as mentioned are humorous and tell a story about a person or location. Be sure to read a few to get a better idea before you try your hand at one to make sure you understand the rules and styles available.
References
Resources
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Comments
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Happy National Limerick Day! Here's one I just cranked out. Follow the linked "how to" and write one of your own! It's fun! There once was a girl with on a quest. Her words and her rhymes were the best. Some stories were tragic. While others were magic. And her limericks were written in jest.
