Limericks are one of the most fun and well-known poetic forms. Even though they have existed for hundreds of years, no one knows for sure where the name comes from, but most people assume it is related to the county of Limerick in Ireland. Limericks were made famous by Edward Lear, a famous author who wrote "A Book of Nonsense" in 1888. This entire book was filled with silly limericks.
A limerick is a five-line poem written with one couplet and one triplet. If a couplet were a two-line rhymed poem, then a triplet would be a three-line rhymed poem. This means that limericks have a rhyme scheme of AABBA which means that lines 1, 2, and 5 rhyme while lines 3 and 4 rhyme. In addition, the first, second and fifth line of a limerick have the same number of syllables, typically 8 or 9 of them. The third and fourth line also have the same number of syllables but they are shorter in length as it usually only about 5 to 6 syllables long.
Limericks are also often funny and nonsensical. They often contain hyperbole, onomatopoeia, idioms, puns, and other figurative devices. The first line typically starts with "There was once a..." or "There was a..." to introduce a person or place, although it is not compulsory to start with those. The last line of a good limerick contains the 'punch line', which makes the entire poem funny.
There are many different types of limericks. Some are written for children, others are written for romance, politics or history while there are others that are offensive in nature. They can be written about any topic although it is usually related to human characteristics, morals and customs. Over time, some variations of limericks have also developed. Some examples include the double limerick, expanded limerick, clerihew, limeraiku and gimerick.
