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Limericks
KS3 > Poetry > An introduction to poetry > Limericks
How it works
The examples of limericks are given so that students can work out
the rules of rhyme, rhythm etc. It is then suggested they write their
own.
Try this!
To make sure they have grasped the concept, and have a bit of fun at
the same time, show them examples of limericks that subvert the
form for comic effect. Get them to work out what rules have been
broken. You could put them on OHP/PowerPoint and reveal them
line by line, asking students to predict the next line as you go along.
This builds up lots of anticipation and gets a few laughs when the poet
‘gets it wrong’.
You may have examples of your own, but here are a few to start
with. (All taken from: Wikipedia – Limerick (poetry).
There was a young bard from Japan
Whose limericks never would scan.
When asked why this was,
He said 'It's because
I always try to get as many words in the last line as I possibly can.’ (attrib. Arthur
Sullivan)
A limerick fan from Australia
Regarded his work as a failure:
His verses were fine
Until the fourth line.
Another young poet in China
Had a feeling for rhythm much finer
His limericks tend
to come to an end
Suddenly.
There was a young man of St. Bees,
Who was stung in the arm by a wasp.
They asked, 'Does it hurt?'
He replied, 'No, it doesn't,
I’m glad it wasn’t a Hornet!' (attrib. WS Gilbert)
Then they can write their own poems in both forms
Julie Hopkins
© 2006 www.teachit.co.uk
limericks - 5951
Poetry
Read the poems, then underline the words which rhyme. Can you see a pattern?
Tap out the rhythm. Can you see a pattern there?
There was an old man who made bold,
To affirm that the weather was cold,
So he ran up and down
In his grandmother’s gown –
Which was woollen and not very old.
There was a young schoolboy named Bert,
Who suffered a terrible hurt,
In the course of their lunch
His best friend threw a punch,
And he bled down the front of his shirt.
There was a young boy with a cat
Which he wore on his head like a hat,
The cat in despair
Pulled out chunks of his hair,
So he swapped it instead for a rat.
There was a young man on a bike,
Who could ride it as fast as you like.
But when the police
Said, “This practice must cease!”
He decided instead he would hike.
There was a young girl name of Milly,
Whose comments were ever so silly.
On a road that was flat
She cried, “Oh, look at that –
This is all so terribly hilly!”
A greedy young man who liked cheese,
Stood in some right up to his knees.
His mother said, “No,
You big fat so-and-so,
Stop eating it now will you please!”
A man with a worm in his ear,
Trembled and quivered with fear.
The doc got it out
With a stick strong and stout,
“You baby!” he said with a jeer.
In a class numbered 7X3,
It was always a mystery to see,
That though most of the time
They could think of a rhyme,
When asked to they couldn’t. Tee hee!
This free resource is available at www.teachit.co.uk
Copyright © 2000 Teachit
When you have worked out
the patterns of rhyme and
rhythm, use them to write
your own limerick.
Limericks