| themes & topics | LIMERICK |
WHAT IS A LIMERICK?
Always short, often nonsensical, and sometimes ribald, the limerick is a type of humorous light verse of unknown origin.It is popular rather than literary and has even been used in advertising. The most famous collection of limericks is Edward Lear’s Book of Nonsense (1846)
HOW TO WRITE A LIMERICK?
Keep in mind the limerick form and pattern :
a) Write 5 short lines.
b)The rhyme scheme of most limericks is usually aabba, as in the following example :
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An
Old Man from Peru
There was an old man from Peru, Who dreamed he was eating his shoe. He woke in a fright In the middle of the night And found it was perfectly true.
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Un Vieux Péruvien Il y avait un vieux péruvien Mangeant en rêve son mocassin Il se réveille tout ébaubi Rempli d'effroi en pleine nuit Et trouve que c'était bien vrai, tiens. **Traduction Patrick Lecordier
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c) Choose any subject and try to make it sound humorous; do not hezitate to make it nonsensical and even endow it with subtle ribaldry. Your limericks can also allude to the harsh realities of life and depict in a metaphoric way something not funny at all,like the above starving poor old man from Peru.
d) If you want to make it perfect, you should remember that a limerick obeys the metrical foot da da DUM (called an anapest). A good limerick normally contains three metrical feet in lines one, two and five, and two metrical feet in lines three and four. You must stick to this metre in the composition of your limerick.(1)
| 1 | da da DUM da da DUM da da DUM | 3 anapests | Said an APE as he SWUNG by his TAIL, |
| 2 | da da DUM da da DUM da da DUM | 3 anapests | To his OFF-spring both FE-male and MALE; |
| 3 | da da DUM da da DUM | 2 anapests | "From your OFF-spring, my DEARS, |
| 4 | da da DUM da da DUM | 2 anapests | In a COUPLE of YEARS, |
| 5 | da da DUM da da DUM da da DUM | 3 anapests | May e-VOLVE a pro-FESS-or at YALE |
(1) NB In French, every line must have eight syllables (octosyllable)
SOME EXAMPLES OF LIMERICKS
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An old man with a beard There
was an old man with a beard Who
said, "it"s just as I feared : Two
howls and a hen, Four
larks and a wren Have
all built their nests in my beard!" - Edward Lear (1812-1888) - Book of Nonsense |
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In
the above limerick, you can notice that the same word is duplicated at the end of the first
and last line (a regular feature of Lear 's verse)
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A Beauty
As
a beauty I am not a star.
There
are others more handsome by far,
But
my face I don't mind it
For
I am behind it It's the people in front get the jar.
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An old party of Lyme There was an old party of
Lyme Who married three wives at one time When asked "Why the third? He
replied "One's absurd, And bigamy, Sir, is a crime."
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A fly and a flee A
fly and a flee in a flue Were
imprisoned, so what could they do? Said
the fly :"Let us flee"
"Let
us fly", said the flea So they flew through a flaw in the flue.
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Ce limerick montre bien
le goût des anglais pour
l'absurde et les tongue twisters.
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The Duchess of Kent Kent Oh,
pity the Duchess of Kent! Her cunt is so dreadfully bent, The poor wench doth stammer.
"I
need a sledgehammer To pound a man into my vent".
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Oh
pitié pour la duchesse d'Evian!
Elle
a le con tellement déviant,
Que
la pauv'garce se turlupine:
"Il
me faudrait une barre à mine Pour foutre un mec dans mon soufflant". **Traductions de Françoise et Guy Casaril
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On trouve ce limerick
dans l'Oeuvre de Dieu, La Part du Diable de Irving. D'après
Irving, ce limerick entre dans la catégorie des... "limericks
d'organes". Il aurait été publié pour la première fois dans son
texte
original anglais en 1939.
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Handover There was a Scots Guard in Hong Kong Who found the parade rather long While the band played a lilt The wind lifted his kilt And the awe-stricken throng admired his dong - Gabriel Knotts-Powel
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Après
avoir lu ce limerick, on ne doute plus que les écossais ne portent rien sous le
kilt.
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The Pelican A wonderful bird is the pelican His mouth can hold more than his belican He can take in his beak Enough food for a wek week I'm damned if I know how the helican
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Le chinois
Je suis riche de presque rien: Un petit câlin du matin, Une érection matinale, Une tiédeur vaginale.... Mon vrai trésor est dans tes mains! - ST JUST
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The Chinese I am rich of almost nothing: A little cuddle in the morning, A matutinal erectness, A vaginal softness … My real treasure is in your handling!
**Traduction de Patrick Lecordier NB Merci à ST JUST d'avoir envoyé ce limerick. |
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The Young Girl Of Madras
There was a young girl of Madras
Who had the most beautiful ass
But not as you'd think
Round, firm and pink
But it was grey, with long ears, eating grass.
NB Merci à Sylvain Barrier d'avoir envoyé ce limerick. |
WHERE CAN I FIND MORE LIMERICKS?
See L. Reed, The Complete Limerick Book (1925); C. P. Aiken, A Seizure of Limericks (1964); V. B. Holland, An Explosion of Limericks (1967); W. S. Baring-Gould, The Lure of the Limerick (1967); Rose Anne Huart, Patricia Knott, Jean Pouvelle, L'Anglais Sans Haine en 40 Limericks Croustillants (1997); Edward Lear, A Book of Nonsense (1946)
If you want to comment upon a limerick or send your favourite limerick,click here
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