WHAT IS A LIMERICK? • A limerick is a well-known type of poem. • No one knows for sure where the name
“limerick” comes from, but most people assume it is related to the county of Limerick, in Ireland.
• Limericks are short, they rhyme, and they have a bouncy rhythm that makes them fun and exciting.
• In this lesson, you will learn to write a limerick in just a few easy steps.
THE RULES OF LIMERICKS
• Limericks are five lines in length. • Lines 1, 2, and 5 rhyme with one another. • Lines 3 and 4 rhyme with each other. • Limericks have a distinctive rhythm. • Limericks adhere to formal poetic metric patterns
(in this case, iambic and anapestic) and have a required number of syllables per line.
• They are usually witty.
Poetic Meter (Rhythm of the Poem)
• IAMBIC ( x / ) : • light syllable (x) followed by a stressed (/).
• ANAPESTIC ( x x / ) : • two light syllables ( x x ) followed by a
stressed (/).
A Lines Lines 1, 2, and 5
• A Lines have three feet: two feet of anapestic and one foot of iambic.
a
Rhym
e Schem
e Syl
labl
es p
er L
ine
8 / X/ / X/ / Xone foot one foot one foot
anapestic anapestic iambic
B Lines Lines 3 and 4
• B Lines have two feet: one foot of anapestic and one foot of iambic.
Rhym
e Schem
e Syl
labl
es p
er L
ine
/ X/ / Xone foot one foot
b 5 iambic anapestic
a
a
a
b
b
Rhym
e Scheme Sy
llabl
es p
er L
ine
8
8
8
5
5
Limerick
/ X/ / X/ / X
/ X/ / X/ / X
/ X/ / X/ / X
/ X/ / X
/ X/ / X
A lines rhyme and B lines rhyme
• To help with your end rhymes, go online to http://www.rhymezone.com.
• Put the proper heading in the upper right-hand corner.
• It must be exactly like these examples – with your name, of course:
Williams, Amanda English 9H, I August 15, 2014
Nguyen, Gabriel English 9H, II August 15, 2014
For period 1 For period 2
Note: Always use Roman numerals for the period numbers.
• Write a limerick of introduction where you share something about yourself (skills, hobbies, interests, ambitions, personality traits, pet peeves, etc.).
• Include a picture and upload it to turnitin.com. Password: Hallway Period 1: 8274625 Period 2: 8274631
• Bring in a hard copy (your typed, computer-generated assignment) to class on Friday, August 15, 2014.
• Please note that the limericks will be posted on the board.
• Adhere to the strict rules discussed in this lesson (rhyme scheme, syllables per line, and poetic meter, etc.).
• As in all poetry, begin each line with a capital letter.
• Poetry is always single-spaced. • For this assignment only, center your photo and
your poem and use a 16-point font size. • See the next page for examples of the required
formatting.
I do love to play basketball. Like Kobe I give it my all.
My name is Jenine, A scoring machine,
On fast-breaks the fans I enthrall.
Designing is what I do best. My fashions surpass all the rest.
The colors I use, The glorious hues –
A future on catwalk’s my quest.
Bryant, Jenine English 9H, I
August 15, 2014
Silk, Velvet English 9H, II
August 15, 2014
Limerick of Introduction Limerick of Introduction
Questions?
• Email Ms. Hall: [email protected]
• I will only answer questions that are not presented in this lesson.