Limericks were popularised by a man named Edward Lear who wrote two books composed of 212 limericks. He didn't name those books with a name related to limericks, and he didn't even classify the poems in them as limericks, but as nonsense literature. One of his books was published by the name of "book of nonsense", and the other one was named "More nonsense, pictures, rhymes, botany, etc."
Limerick example:
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!
When looking at this limerick example we can identify all the different features of limericks inside it. We can see that verses number 1,2 and 5 all rhyme with each other and have the same number of syllables (in this case 8), and verses 3 and 4 also rhyme with each other, having 5 syllables. When looking at the limerick rhyme scheme (specified in "features of Limericks", above) we can see this example clearly fulfils this structure, since verses 1,2,5 and 3,4 rhyme with each other. We can also analyse that the syllabification structure of Limericks can be found in this example since verses 1,2 and 5 all have the same number of syllables (which can range between 8-10 syllables). The same thing happens with verses 3 and 4 which have the same number of syllables which can range between 5-7 syllables. We can also see that the meter accomplishes the limerick structure since it has a meter of 3,3,2,2,3 as specified above. Personally, I think this is a very fun poem since it gives us (as most limericks do) a fun situation which is also unusual and exaggerated. This poem makes me feel strange since it makes me think about an actual man having four nests in his beard, which also makes me feel "humorous". Because of this, i really like limericks and I think they are a simple, funny and interesting form of poetry which would be a good topic for further investigation.
Reflection before writing the Limerick Poem:
I think that producing my own limerick will be simple, but not as easy as most people think since you need to keep a lot of things in mind, specially rhyme structure, which is the most complicated part for me. You also need to keep an eye on syllabification and I deduce that if you follow the syllabification structure, the meter will just be there by default, so that doesn't bother me. I think that finding a topic and getting truly inspired with that specific topic will be the hardest part of writing the limerick since one of the features of limericks is that it has to be funny and exaggerated, so I don't know how creative I will get in class, in order to write a good Limerick. I really think that the structure will give me some troubles but I am still very excited for starting to write up my poem, and see how it ends up.
My own Limerick:
There once were some twins from the states, Who ran round and round until late, When one caught his finger, With two logs of timber His twin couldn't help him escape.
Process Evidence:
Final Limerick Reflection From looking at my poem, we can identify the different features of limericks. We can see that lines 1,2 and 5 rhyme with each other (with the words states,late and escape) and verses 3 and 4 also rhyme with each other (using the terms finger and timber). When checking syllabification, we can see that it's correct since lines 1,2 and 5 have the same number of syllables (in this case 8 syllables) which range between 8 and 10, and lines 3 and 4 also have the same number of syllables, ranging between 5 and 7. When analysing the poem, we can identify that the meter is also correct, since it has a meter of 3,3,2,2,3 which is a part of limerick poetic structure.We can also look at the theme of the poem, which is funny and a little exaggerated, plus it has a good punchline at the end, when we see that his twin couldn't help him escape.
Writing this poem for me was easier than I thought it would be since it was not very hard to find the topic of the Limerick because I was very inspired the day we wrote it. In fact I was able to write two poems, and I chose the one I liked more (poem #2). When writing the first poem it was very difficult for me to find the rhyming words between the verses, and the syllabification didn't match up correctly, but when I completed it I didn't like it very much, plus the punchline wasn't good at all. Because of this I started to write up my second Limerick, which surprisingly for me, was very easy to compose, and the rhymes came out of my mind instantly, with the correct syllabification so I was very happy to see that I actually could write good poems.
In this case I feel that the structure helped me a lot since it didn't obstruct my creativity at all, but helped me develop my ideas in a faster way, and guided me throughout the whole creation process. Without this structure it would have been more difficult for me to get a good result since I work better under instructions, not when I'm left with a work and I'm told to write anything I want. With this structure I can easily verify that my poem is correct, maybe not perfect, but correct, and that is the result that I was wanting. I am very satisfied with the structure of the Limerick, and how it helped me to develop my ideas. I am also satisfied with my poem and I like it alot
Rhyme Scheme: A,A,B,B,A
Meter: 3,3,2,2,3
Syllabification: 8,8,5,5,8
Rhyme: 1,2,5 and 3,4
History:
Limerick example:
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!
When looking at this limerick example we can identify all the different features of limericks inside it. We can see that verses number 1,2 and 5 all rhyme with each other and have the same number of syllables (in this case 8), and verses 3 and 4 also rhyme with each other, having 5 syllables. When looking at the limerick rhyme scheme (specified in "features of Limericks", above) we can see this example clearly fulfils this structure, since verses 1,2,5 and 3,4 rhyme with each other. We can also analyse that the syllabification structure of Limericks can be found in this example since verses 1,2 and 5 all have the same number of syllables (which can range between 8-10 syllables). The same thing happens with verses 3 and 4 which have the same number of syllables which can range between 5-7 syllables. We can also see that the meter accomplishes the limerick structure since it has a meter of 3,3,2,2,3 as specified above.
Personally, I think this is a very fun poem since it gives us (as most limericks do) a fun situation which is also unusual and exaggerated. This poem makes me feel strange since it makes me think about an actual man having four nests in his beard, which also makes me feel "humorous". Because of this, i really like limericks and I think they are a simple, funny and interesting form of poetry which would be a good topic for further investigation.
Reflection before writing the Limerick Poem:
I think that producing my own limerick will be simple, but not as easy as most people think since you need to keep a lot of things in mind, specially rhyme structure, which is the most complicated part for me. You also need to keep an eye on syllabification and I deduce that if you follow the syllabification structure, the meter will just be there by default, so that doesn't bother me. I think that finding a topic and getting truly inspired with that specific topic will be the hardest part of writing the limerick since one of the features of limericks is that it has to be funny and exaggerated, so I don't know how creative I will get in class, in order to write a good Limerick. I really think that the structure will give me some troubles but I am still very excited for starting to write up my poem, and see how it ends up.
My own Limerick:
There once were some twins from the states,
Who ran round and round until late,
When one caught his finger,
With two logs of timber
His twin couldn't help him escape.
Process Evidence:
Final Limerick Reflection
From looking at my poem, we can identify the different features of limericks. We can see that lines 1,2 and 5 rhyme with each other (with the words states,late and escape) and verses 3 and 4 also rhyme with each other (using the terms finger and timber). When checking syllabification, we can see that it's correct since lines 1,2 and 5 have the same number of syllables (in this case 8 syllables) which range between 8 and 10, and lines 3 and 4 also have the same number of syllables, ranging between 5 and 7. When analysing the poem, we can identify that the meter is also correct, since it has a meter of 3,3,2,2,3 which is a part of limerick poetic structure.We can also look at the theme of the poem, which is funny and a little exaggerated, plus it has a good punchline at the end, when we see that his twin couldn't help him escape.
Writing this poem for me was easier than I thought it would be since it was not very hard to find the topic of the Limerick because I was very inspired the day we wrote it. In fact I was able to write two poems, and I chose the one I liked more (poem #2). When writing the first poem it was very difficult for me to find the rhyming words between the verses, and the syllabification didn't match up correctly, but when I completed it I didn't like it very much, plus the punchline wasn't good at all. Because of this I started to write up my second Limerick, which surprisingly for me, was very easy to compose, and the rhymes came out of my mind instantly, with the correct syllabification so I was very happy to see that I actually could write good poems.
In this case I feel that the structure helped me a lot since it didn't obstruct my creativity at all, but helped me develop my ideas in a faster way, and guided me throughout the whole creation process. Without this structure it would have been more difficult for me to get a good result since I work better under instructions, not when I'm left with a work and I'm told to write anything I want. With this structure I can easily verify that my poem is correct, maybe not perfect, but correct, and that is the result that I was wanting. I am very satisfied with the structure of the Limerick, and how it helped me to develop my ideas. I am also satisfied with my poem and I like it alot