limerick

Everyday

1. A limerick is a short, funny poem of five lines, with lines 1, 2 and 5 rhyming together and lines 3 and 4 rhyming together (AABBA). tree →
2. (place) Limerick is a city and county in Ireland. tree →

In the lessons

In English and poetry lessons, pupils read Edward Lear's limericks and write their own, often starting «There once was a…». They practise rhyme scheme (AABBA) and rhythm: longer lines 1, 2, 5 and shorter lines 3, 4. In geography, Limerick is a city on the River Shannon in Ireland. Phrases: «write a limerick», «a silly limerick», «rhyme scheme AABBA».

Examples

• There once was a cat from Peru, / who dreamed he was eating a shoe. / He woke with a fright, / in the middle of the night, / and found that his dream had come true. tree →
• Edward Lear wrote many limericks. tree →
• A limerick has five lines. tree →
• The rhyme scheme of a limerick is AABBA. tree →
• Our class wrote limericks about our pets. tree →
• Limerick is a city in Ireland on the River Shannon. tree →

Note

Small l for the poem, capital L for the city. Limericks are meant to be silly; some grown-up ones are rude, so school ones are chosen carefully. Count: 5 lines, 3 long and 2 short.