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Limericks.....are simple, funny, short rhymes
The pattern of the rhyme is A - A - B - B - A with the A lines containing 3 beats and rhyming and the B lines having two beats and rhyming.
There was an old man from Peru, (A)
da DUM da da DUM da da DUM (3 beats)
who dreamed he was eating his shoe. (A)
da DUM da da DUM da da DUM (3 beats)
He awoke in the night (B)
da DUM da da DUM (2 beats)
with a terrible fright, (B)
da da DUM da da DUM (2 beata)
and found out that it was quite true. (A)
da DUM da da DUM da da DUM (3 beats)
Ideas for new limericks can come from almost anywhere. For example, your city, state, country, or name. If your name is Tim or Jim, you could write something like this:
A Clumsy Young Fellow Named Tim
1. There once was a fellow named Tim (A)
2. whose dad never taught him to swim. (A)
3. He fell off a dock (B)
4. and sunk like a rock. (B)
5. And that was the end of him. (A)
OK, now that you know what the rhythm and rhyme patterns of a limerick are, you’re ready to write one. Here are six simple steps to writing a limerick:
Step 1 : A name
“There once was a young girl named Jill.”
Step 2: List words that rhymes with that name “ hill, drill, pill, skill, bill, will, and ill”
Step 3 : Write the second line using one of the rhyming words.
“Who freaked at the sight of a drill.”
Step 4: Now think of an interesting story. What could happen to someone scared of a drill?
Step 5: Write the 3rd and 4th line
“She brushed every day.”
“So, her dentist would say,”
Step 6: Now you need to go back to the list of “A” rhyming words to find one that can end the poem.
“Your teeth are quite perfect. No bill.”
Here’s the poem we just wrote:
There once was a young girl named Jill.Who was scared by the sight of a drill.She brushed every daySo her dentist would say,“Your teeth are so perfect; no bill.”
Now try it yourself!
So send us your limericks.
And enter our limerick competition in the competition section.
