What is a limerick? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Limerick_(poetry)#History

1. What is a limerick?http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Limerick_(poetry)#History • A limerick is a five-line poem with a strict meter. • The rhyme scheme is usually A-A-B-B-A • What does that mean? • Lines 1&2 end with the same rhyme, lines 3&4 end with the same rhyme and the last line ends with the same rhyme as the first line.

2. How does a limerick sound? • Limericks usually use the amphibrach, a stressed syllable between two unstressed ones. • For example: There once was a man from Peru

3. Who created the Limerick? • This type of poem was first documented in England in 1989 • Edward Lear popularized the limerick although when he was writing these “nonsense” poems in 1845 and later 1872, they were not yet called limericks.

4. Examples of Limericks!!!A minor league pitcher, McDowellPitched an egg at a batter named Owl.They cried “Get a hit!”But it hatched in the mittAnd the umpire declared it a fowl.

5. There once was a man from PeruWho dreamed he was eating his shoeHe woke in the nightWith a terrible frightAnd found that it was perfectly true.

6. There once was an Old Person of RheimsWho was troubled with horrible dreams;So to keep her awake they fed her with cakeWhich amused that Old Person of RheimsThere once was an Old Lady who said, “HowShall I flee from this horrible Cow?I will sit on this stile,and continue to smile,Which may soften the heart of that Cow.”

7. So… what goes in a Limerick? • The first line traditionally introduces a person and location, usually ending with the name of the location. • A true limerick is supposed to have some kind of twist to it. • Often this twist lies in the last line. • Often limericks have other internal rhymes, alliteration (repetition of first consonant), or assonance (repetition of vowel sounds).

8. Your turn • Start by reviewing your mindmap or KWL chart • Then list names, places, images that interest you for tomorrow when you’ll have a chance to write limericks.