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 Fact“Orange” became the term for
a fruit in the 13th century.
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.