Lines In A Limerick
A limerick is a brief, humorous poem that follows a strict form: five lines with an AABBA rhyme scheme. The style is known for its lighthearted tone and often absurd or surprising punchlines. Limericks consist of a single stanza, an AABBA rhyme scheme, exactly five lines, a rhyme on the first, second and fifth lines, and a second rhyme on the third and fourth lines.
The standard form of a limerick is a stanza of five lines, with the first, second and fifth rhyming with one another and having three feet of three syllables each; and the shorter third and fourth lines also rhyming with each other, but having only two feet of three syllables. A limerick is a five-line cute poem with a distinctive rhythm. The rhyming scheme is AABBA with the longer first, second and fifth lines rhyming and the shorter third and fourth lines rhyming with each other.
For the examples of the limerick provided below, and for some of the background information, we are indebted to W. S. Baring-Goulds brilliant book, The Lure of the Limerick, which we heartily recommend if the following titillating examples whet your appetite for more.
Limerick Rules & Examples: What is a limerick? How many syllables in a limerick? Learn here. In this guide, you'll find 400 limerick examples for all ages that follow the classic AABBA rhyme scheme. Learn and laugh here.
limerick, a popular form of short, humorous verse that is often nonsensical and frequently ribald. It consists of five lines, rhyming aabba. The dominant meter is anapestic, with two metrical feet (or stresses) in the third and fourth lines and three feet in the others.
10 limerick examples from Edward Lear and classic anonymous poems. Learn the AABBA rhyme scheme, the triple meter rhythm, and how to write a limerick with a good punchline. A fixed light-verse form of five generally anapestic lines rhyming AABBA.
Edward Lear, who popularized the form, fused the third and fourth lines into a single line with internal rhyme.
