There Once Was Some Verse From Nantucket: A Look At The Limerick

It’s a classical poetry form,
in which rhythm and rhyme must conform,
  but it gets no respect
  which you’d clearly expect
until its indecent reform.

The limerick’s past is unknown,
but in this geographical zone
  it’s a popular style
  from the Emerald Isle
which often results in a groan.

They were written as nursery rhymes
which parents would read at bedtime.
  The children delighted
  in limericks recited
which they thought were completely sublime.

There was an Old Man, Edward Lear,
who popularized this form here.
But he often combined the third and fourth lines
and his subjects were hardly austere.

The first two and fifth lines have three beats
the third and fourth tend to retreat.
  They only have two
  yes indeed this line too
and this last one the limerick completes.

The rhythm is oft anapestic:
(a dash that’s preceded by two ticks)
  a tick means it’s short
  and a dash—longer sort
of notation for marking syllabics.

The rhyme scheme is written out: aabba,
with a rhythm that is sure to grab ya.
  I think that it rhymes
  with (from discotheque times)
the Swedish pop singers named Abba.

Oftentimes limericks will be ribald—
about sex or something else quibbled
  but don’t turn right away
  from this casual play
of some words on a bar napkin scribbled.

The limerick gained favour in pubs
and other less savoury hubs
  of working class leisure
  where facetiae’s treasured
and not in some fancy-pants club.

On this site you will find a few samples
of limericks in quantity ample,
  but the ones here are clean,
  instead of obscene.
Look below for a perfect example:

There once was a man from Nantucket
who kept all his cash in a bucket.
  His daughter named Nan,
  ran away with a man,
And as for the bucket, Nan took it.

Limerick authors are often anonymous.
Attribution? Completely antonymous!
  Unnamed author above
  and that fits hand-in-glove
with something that’s just as synonymous.

There’s a thread on our poetry forum
to discuss with the rest of the quorum
  the subject of limericks
  with just a few mouse clicks
but please help maintain the decorum.

There once was a man name of Jough
(ah, but that’d be telling, wouldn’t it?)

Jough Dempsey would like to direct
your attention to his poetry project.
  That last line doesn’t scan,
  if you’d like though you can
read more limericks at Poetry X.

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