What is the most famous limerick?

Edward Lear wrote many iconic limericks. Among the most famous of these is the opening poem from A Book of Nonsense: 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!

Are limericks usually dirty?

Gershon Legman, who compiled the largest and most scholarly anthology, held that the true limerick as a folk form is always obscene, and cites similar opinions by Arnold Bennett and George Bernard Shaw, describing the clean limerick as a “periodic fad and object of magazine contests, rarely rising above mediocrity”.

What are some examples of limericks?

75 Limericks

• Limericks I cannot compose, With noxious smells in my nose.
• There was a young woman named Bright,
• There was an odd fellow named Gus,
• There once was a fly on the wall,
• There once was a man from Tibet,
• There was a young woman named Bright,
• I need a front door for my hall,
• There once was a boy named Dan,

What is a good limerick?

A limerick is a humorous poem consisting of five lines. The first, second, and fifth lines must have seven to ten syllables while rhyming and having the same verbal rhythm. The third and fourth lines should only have five to seven syllables; they too must rhyme with each other and have the same rhythm.

Did Shakespeare write limericks?

But did the Bard invent the limerick? Probably not. Typically, Shakespeare wrote his plays and sonnets in flawless, iambic meter (da-DAH-da-DAH-da-DAH). Almost never in his works do we come across the anapestic meter characteristic of limericks (da-da-DAH-da-da-DAH-da-da-DAH).

Why are limericks called limericks?

The origin of the limerick is unknown, but it has been suggested that the name derives from the chorus of an 18th-century Irish soldiers’ song, “Will You Come Up to Limerick?” To this were added impromptu verses crowded with improbable incident and subtle innuendo.

What are limericks usually about?

A limerick is a poem that consists of five lines in a single stanza with a rhyme scheme of AABBA. Most limericks are intended to be humorous, and many are considered bawdy, suggestive, or downright indecent. The subject of limericks is generally trivial or silly in nature.

What are limericks kids?

What are limericks? Limericks are 5-line poems with a specific rhyme pattern: AABBA, with each line having a specific number of syllables: 8 – 8 – 5 – 5 – 8. Limericks are often funny and are always guaranteed to make you smile, so kids usually really go for them.

Who is one of the most famous writers of limerick?

Edward Lear is probably the most famous, or at least the most prolific, limerick writer. He is credited with popularizing the form. His pieces are pretty much pure nonsense, while other poets often create “bawdy” limericks.

Why is it called a limerick?

What do limericks have to do with Ireland?

Limerick is the only place in Ireland to give its name to a form of poetry or indeed any other literary form. And not just any literary form! As a result, the city and county of Limerick have a link to a global poetic community made up of millions of people from Canada to Australia and from Scotland to India.

What was the dirty limerick that was read by the audience?

He informed the audience that all the words that were just too dreadfully vile to speak aloud would be replaced by “la-dee-da”, and they could fill in the words in their own heads. And then he read the winning dirty limerick—and it went like this: La la-dee-da la-dee-da da.

Is this a dirty limerick about the size of sex?

This limerick isn’t particularly dirty, although it does involve the size of the male sex organ. What recommends it is that the punch line is not only in Latin, but it is a well-known legal precept that applies to the factual situation presented in the limerick. Here goes: Who had very small organs of sex. “De minimis non curat lex.”

What are some good limericks to leave on Your Answering Machine?

When I started writing limericks and leaving them as the outgoing message on my answering machine, my mom responded with this old standard. Who kept a dead whore in his cave. I’m a bit of a shit. But think of the money I save.” This one is my own invention, though I blush to admit it. A2A. Yayyy, another limericks question!

Is this the largest collection of limericks ever published?

My dear Sir or Madam, I picked up a book in the clearance section some years ago, simply entitled The Limerick, along with the boastful claim, “This is the largest collection of limericks ever published, erotic or otherwise. Of the 1700 printed here, none are otherwise.” Of course I purchased it.