Wheeler English | ||||||||||
Lines & Rhymes: Limerick |
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A limerick is often silly and humorous. That's its point. A limerick is a five-line poem. The first, second, and fifth lines rhyme and have three beats. The third and fourth lines rhyme and have two beats. The rhythm is usually anapestic (two unaccented syllables followed by an accented one). Edward Lear (1812-1888) is often credited with inventing the limerick. He liked to draw and paint, and was Queen Victoria's drawing teacher. In 1846 he wrote and illustrated a book of poems called A Book of Nonsense. Another theory is that soldiers returning from France brought it to the Irish town of Limerick in 1700, and still a third credits Mother Goose Melodies for Children, published in 1700. |
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Some Lear limericks: There
was an Old Lady whose folly
There
was an Old Man with a beard,
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some more limericks: There
was an old man from Peru, A
diner, while dining at Crewe
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There was a young lady of Niger |
The bottle of perfume that Willie sent |
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