Poetry   >>   Limerick Rules    Examples
Limerick Rules
What is a Limerick?
- A humorous, bawdy, child-like rhyme
 
Rules
- A limerick must be exactly 5 lines
 - The lines must follow the AABBA rhyme scheme
 - The 1st & 2nd lines must rhyme
 - The 3rd & 4th lines must rhyme
 - The 5th line must rhyme with the 1st
 
- The A lines have more words and syllables than the B lines
 - The 1st, 2nd, & 5th lines usually have 7–9 syllables
 - The 3rd & 4th lines usually have 5–7 syllables
 
Cite This Source
Fun FactFlower has 2 syllables.
Flour only has 1 syllable!
 Poetry   >>   Limerick Rules    Examples
Examples
Old Man Limerick
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!”
Young Lady Limerick
There once was a young lady named bright.
Whose speed was much faster than light.
She set out one day,
In a relative way,
And returned on the previous night.