May 12 is Limerick Day – Poetry or Childish Rhymes?

Limerick Day celebrates the birthday of writer Edward Lear (1812-1888). It also, of course, celebrates Limerick poems. Limericks were popularized by Lear in 1846 in his “Book of Nonsense”.

This day is a time to enjoy and get your fill of Limerick poems.

A Limerick is a humorous verse or poem. It is five lines longs. The first two lines rhyme with the fifth line, all of which have eight syllables. The third and fourth lines rhyme and have six syllables. Because it is intended to be humorous, it may have a twist” in the storyline, or contain rhymes that are intentionally tortured.

For example, read this sample limerick which demonstrates the syllabic and rhyme pattern.

There was a large lady from Perth
Who wanted to travel the earth
But her wish was in vain
For the door of the plane
Was not wide enough for her girth.

Variants of the form of poetry referred to as Limerick poems can be traced back to the fourteenth century English history. Limericks were used in Nursery Rhymes and other poems for children. But as limericks were short, relatively easy to compose, and often bawdy or sexual in nature they were often repeated by beggars or the working classes in the British pubs and taverns of the fifteenth, sixteenth and seventh centuries. Creating limericks was a popular drinking game; the poets who created these limericks were often drunkards!

Is the Limerick a form of poetry or are limericks just childish rhymes?

Admittedly the content of Limericks can often verge on the indecent, the dirty, or even the obscene, but they make people laugh! Limericks are easy to remember! Limericks are short, and no great talent is necessary to compose one – Limericks are a form of poetry that everyone feels happy to try (especially when inebriated!). Limericks as a form of poetry has survived the test of time dating back for centuries! And whilst the poetic and literary skills of Shakespeare are not necessary for the composition of a limerick, Shakespeare himself did in fact write limericks which can be found in two of his greatest plays – Othello and King Lear.

Celebrate Limerick Day in style by writing a Limerick or two of your own. Or, sit down and read a few humorous Limericks. They are guaranteed to make you smile. Even better, celebrate Limerick day by trying to speak in limericks, or at least in rhyme for the rest of the day. Confuse, amuse, or at least confound your friends and co-workers.