How to Write a Limerick: 9 Steps (with Pictures)

2024 Author: Samantha Chapman | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 09:13

Limerick is a short, comic and almost musical composition that often borders on the absurd or obscene, typical of English culture. It was popularized by Edward Lear (which is why his birthday, May 12, is Limerick Day), but one of the most famous children's writers, Gianni Rodari, has also written several. Writing them takes a little practice, but soon you won't be able to help but create witty and wacky rhymes.

Steps

Part 1 of 2: Dialing a Limerick

Step 1. Study the basic characteristics of limerick

There are several variations in the style, but the rhythm is always the same. A true limerick has five lines; the first, second and fifth are rhymed with each other, like the third and fourth. Also, still talking about rhymes, remember:

• Number of syllables. The first, second and fifth lines should have eight or nine syllables, while the third and fourth lines should have five or six.

• Metric. Limerick has a certain "rhythm" created by how the syllables are stressed.

  • Anapesto - two short syllables followed by a long and stressed one (ta-ta TAA, ta-ta-TAA). Here is an example (note that the accent naturally falls on the syllables in italics): There was a certain lord in Cal cu tta.
  • Amphibraco - a long, stressed syllable between two short ones (ta-Ta-ta, ta-TA-ta). Example: There was a day in wan tage.
  • Verses can begin with two, one, or even no stressed syllable. Some prefer to continue the rhythm from one verse to the other, especially if a sentence straddles two lines, but it is not essential.

  

  Step 2. Choose the final part of your first verse

  Knowing this will help you mentally organize the rhymes. The final part of the opening verse should usually be a geographic location. Take Co mo. The first syllable is stressed, and the result is a short syllable at the end of the verse. Another example: Ca mo gli. The second syllable of Camogli is stressed. This will create two very different limericks.

  • Choose a common sound, not too complicated, so that you have more rhymes at your disposal.

    You don't have to choose a place! Or it doesn't have to be a city - Once upon a time there was a girl in a shoe, it's a more vivid image of a girl living in a very ordinary city

  

  Step 3. Think of several words that rhyme with the final part of your first verse

  Get inspired by rhymes to write the story and the fun part of your limerick. After all, a good limerick is consistent and smart. Let's go back to Como and Camogli.

  • Since Como is stressed on the first syllable, you will need to rhymes with both syllables. The first things that come to mind: dome, chrome, gnome, pommel.
  • Since Camogli is stressed on the second syllable you will have to find rhymes only with the final one. Examples: rocks, wives, sheets, wallets, he. Write your list.

  

  Step 4. Make associations with rhyming words

  The two examples we are using are already creating a world. For the city of the lake, with words like dome and gnome, you could write a limerick about a city adventure. And for that of the sea, with the combination of rocks, wives and sheets, you could imagine a fun vacation.

  Go through the list you created and think of some stories you could come up with. The association must be very broad. Sometimes, the less sense it makes, the more fun limerick is. So, as long as you can picture the scene in your head, your limerick will be a hit

  

  Step 5. Choose a story that appeals to you

  Decide who is the person you will introduce in the first verse. What are its characteristics? Do you focus on his job, his social status, his age, his health or a moment in his life?

  • For Como limerick, you could try the word sir. Links will be wasted!
  • For the limerick of Camogli, think of the word old, with all that goes with it.

  Part 2 of 2: Putting It Together

  

  Step 1. Make the first verse musical and follow the tempo

  The choice of words will determine the type of metric you will use; don't worry, you will hear if it works or not. Let's continue with our two examples:

  • Example 1: sir and Como. Lord is stressed on the second syllable. Como is accented on the first. This means that we will need a long syllable at the beginning, and we will have room for a short syllable between sir and Como. So we could have: A very small gentleman from Como.
  • Example 2, old and Camogli: Vecchio is accented on the second syllable. Combined with a Camogli, it leaves us two syllables in the middle, with the second stressed: There was an old man from the sea in Camogli.

  

  Step 2. Choose a situation or action to start your character with

  It's the beginning of your story or joke. Use one of the rhymed words on your list to complete the second verse

  • Example 1: "A very small gentleman from Como once climbed to the top of the Duomo. This is the beginning of a fabulous limerick.
  • Example 2: There was an old seafarer in Camogli whose boat hit the rocks. Notice how the rhyme of verse two fits the subject of verse 1.

  

  Step 3. Think of a 'twist' or 'twist' in your story

  As you think about the rhymes for the third and fourth lines, leave the bar for the last. The fun part of limerick comes in the fourth verse, but it gives its best in the fifth.

  

  Step 4. Prepare the story for the punchline

  Go back to the word list and find one that can tie everything together. This is the hardest part. Don't be discouraged if your first limericks aren't fun. Remember it's a matter of taste, and it all takes some training. And sometimes it's just a matter of finding the right word to start your rhymes.

  • Here is the evolution of the Como example: "A very small gentleman from Como once climbed to the top of the Duomo, and when he was at the top he was as tall as before, that tiny gentleman from Como". This is a limerick written by Gianni Rodari.
  • Here is the one in Camogli: There was an old man of the sea in Camogli whose boat hit the rocks, the big blow to the rock damaged the head of the bizarre sea in Camogli. This instead is a translation of a limerick by Edward Lear.

  Advice

  • Use the alphabet. It will allow you to get an unlimited number of rhymes. For example, take the word "Wiki" and use the "iki" part to search for rhymes following the alphabet: abacuses, ancients, bacchus, strings, circles …
  • There are many online resources to search for rhymes that can help you. You can search for whole words or just syllables.
  • Choose animals, plants or people as protagonists. Don't start with something too abstract.
  • If you are stuck, read other written limericks; each of them gives a unique and special "feeling". You may not know some will break your writer's block.
  • Clap your hands when you read the limerick aloud. It will help you find and 'feel' the metric, and check that it has the right rhythm.
  • Read the limericks of Edward Lear and Gianni Rodari.
  • Love poems are harder to write. Limericks are jokes, not love poems.
  • When you've got the basics, try internal rhymes, alliterations, or assonances to make your poem even more special.