Limericks

A limerick is easy to write
To do one won't take you all night
Find three words that rhyme,
Two more will do fine,
And presto, you've written one right!

The first, second and last lines rhyme. The third and fourth line rhyme.

Here are the basic rules for writing a limerick:

• A limerick must have five lines.
• The last word of the first, second, and fifth line rhyme with each other and have a rhythm like - DA DUM DA DA DUM DA DA DUM. (DUM=accented syllables, DA=unaccented syllables)
• The last word of the third and fourth lines rhyme with each other and have a rhythm like - DA DUM DA DA DUM.

A flea and a fly in a flue

Were caught, so what could they do?

Said the fly, "Let us flee."

"Let us fly," said the flea.

So they flew through a flaw in the flue.

-Anonymous

You will soon hear the distinctive beat pattern of all limericks. The rhythm is just as important in a limerick as the rhyme. Try completing this limerick.

There once was a pauper named Meg

Who accidentally broke her _______.

She slipped on the ______.

Not once, but thrice

Take no pity on her, I __________.

 Limerick Activities

Read some limericks written by some children

More limericks written by some more children

Even more limericks written by some more children

Read the verse of Ogden Nash

Limericks by Edward Lear

Be Like Mr. Lear and Make Your Own Limerick

Great Pictures to Help You Write a Limerick

Crazy Limerick Machine

Use a rhyming dictionary to find rhymes for your limerick