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 bullet Tanka

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Cinquain

Cinquain is a short, usually unrhymed poem consisting of twenty-two syllables distributed as 2, 4, 6, 8, 2,

in five lines. It was developed by the Imagist poet, Adelaide Crapsey. (For further information, please
scroll down for an article on Cinquain from the SP Quill Quarterly Magazine written by Deborah P
Kolodji.)

Another form, sometimes used by school teachers to teach grammar, is as follows:

Line 1: Noun

Line 2: Description of Noun

Line 3: Action

Line 4: Feeling or Effect

Line 5: Synonym of the initial noun.

Example:

angels
kind beyond words

they protect and forgive

and make feelings of blissfulness

cherubim

Copyright © 2003 Erin Holbrook

Knowing What Counts: The Cinquain

By Deborah P Kolodji

On October 8, 1914, a thirty-six year old woman died of chronic pulmonary tuberculosis in Rochester,
New York. One year later, Manas Press published her first (and only) book of poetry, Verse. This poet’s
name was Adelaide Crapsey, the inventor of the American Cinquain.

Crapsey was born in 1878, the third child of an Episcopal clergyman. She graduated from Vassar College,
returning to her high school boarding school, Kemper Hall, to teach literature and history. A few years
later, while teaching a course entitled, “Poetics: A Critical Study of Verse Forms” at Smith College, she
began a study of metrics which led to her invention of the cinquain as we know it.

In its simplest dictionary definition, a cinquain is a poem of five lines. Crapsey’s cinquain was more
specific, a poem of five lines with a specific syllable count of 2-4-6-8-2, usually iambic. The ideal cinquain
for Crapsey was one that worked up to a turn or climax, and then fell back. Similar to the “twist” that
often occurs in the final couplet of a sonnet, a cinquain’s “turn” usually occurs during the final, shorter
fifth line or immediately before it. Thus, the momentum of a cinquain grows with each subsequent line
as another two syllables, usually an ambic foot, is added bringing the poem to a climax at the fourth line,
falling back to a two syllable “punch line”.

Part of the imagist movement in the early twentieth century, Crapsey wrote her cinquains in precise,
natural language with minimal use of adjectives. Although influenced by her study of Asian poetry forms
and her translations of Japanese haiku, she titled her cinquains and was not opposed to the use of
literary devices such as alliteration and assonance.
At some point in the mid-twentieth century, elementary school teachers started using a modified
version of the cinquain as a grammar lesson. Instead of syllables, these poems emphasized grammar
forms as the criteria for each line. Although useful as a teaching tool, these “didactic” cinquains were
never widely published. Recently, there has been a renaissance of cinquain poetry on the internet, of
the syllable-patterned form that Crapsey developed. Modern cinquain writers have been refining the
form as they experiment, sometimes using resonance between the first and last lines to bring the poem
full circle. Many poets writing today’s cinquains draw from their experiences with haiku, effectively
using juxtaposition to divide the poem into two halves, which compliment each other with layered
meanings.

Cinquain poets have also been experimenting with cinquain variations – cinquain sequences
(polystanzaic poems made up of cinquain stanzas), crown cinquains (a five stanza cinquain sequence),
reverse cinquains (a cinquain with a reverse syllable pattern of 2-8-6-4-2), mirror cinquains (a two stanza
cinquain sequence of the pattern 2-4-6-8-2 2-8-6-4-2), and cinquain butterflies (a “merged mirror
cinquain” where the two stanzas of a mirror cinquain are merged together, one of the middle 2 syllable
lines is dropped, resulting in one nine line stanza of the form 2-4-6-8-2-8-6-4-2). Please note that a
cinquain butterfly is not a “cinquain” because it doesn’t have five lines, but it is a “butterfly” made up of
two cinquains that were merged together into one poem.

Now it is the reader’s turn to experiment. After some practice, the rhythm of a cinquain will begin to feel
natural. It is important not to force a poem into the cinquain form but to allow the form and the
discipline of its syllable count to grow the poem. Since there are only twenty-two syllables to work with,
it’s good practice to avoid the use of unnecessary words and make each syllable count. However, be
forewarned – writing cinquains can be addicting!

Printed in the SP Quill Quarterly Magazine, Spring 2005, Volume 6. All Rights Reserved. The following
examples were also published with this article.

Example #1:

Turquoise Thoughts

Hammered

silver bracelet,
desert sky turquoise stone -

city-bound but feels sagebrush in

her soul.

Copyright © 2005 Deborah P Kolodji

Example #2:

Cherry Blossoms

Cherry

blossoms float on

the afternoon breezes.

Petals fluttering down like snow

in spring.

Copyright © 2005 Marie Summers

Example #3:

Joshua Tree

hair spiked,

a crooked stance

in the hot desert sun -

dust in his face, he limps towards

the blue
Copyright © 2005 Deborah P Kolodji

Example #4:

Long Shadows

Maples

in the morning

sunlight cast long shadows

upon the snow like a roadmap

of limbs.

Copyright © 2005 Marie Summers

Example #5:

Resurrection

Early

summer heat wave…

Spring dies a searing death

only to rise from the ashes

next year.

Copyright © 2005 Andrea Da Costa

 Back to Top

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Cinquain

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Cinquain Definition

What is a cinquain? Here’s a quick and simple definition:

The word cinquain can refer to two different things. Historically, it referred to any stanza of five lines
written in any type of verse. More recently, cinquain has come to refer to particular types of five-line
poems that have precisely defined features, such as their meter or the number of syllables they contain
in each line. The most common of these specific types of cinquains is the American cinquain.

Some additional key details about cinquains:

Another name for a five-line stanza is a quintet, and five-line poems can also be called quintains.

The American cinquain was created by the American poet Adelaide Crapsey in the early 20th century.

A variant of the American cinquain, called the didactic cinquain, is often taught to children in school.

Cinquain Pronunciation

Here's how to pronounce cinquain: sin-kane

Cinquains as Five-Line Stanzas in Formal Verse

Five-line stanzas are particularly common in formal verse—verse that has both a strict meter and rhyme
scheme. They appear in many different languages, and are used for different purposes. Examples can be
found dating back to medieval French poetry. Here are some key details about cinquain's most common
appearances in formal verse:

The five-line stanza was particularly popular in English formal verse in the 16th and 17th centuries, when
iambic pentameter (a metrical form consisting of five iambs per line) was the most commonly-used
meter. Consequently, many of the most well-known examples of cinquains are written in iambic
pentameter, though poets also used other meters in cinquains.

Limericks are a common form of humorous poetry that typically consists of a single, rhyming cinquain
written in iambic meter.

Cinquains tend to follow fairly straightforward rhyme schemes such as ABAAB, ABABB, or AABBA.

The number of cinquains in a given poem can vary. An entire poem can be a single cinquain, or a poem
might have many cinquain stanzas.

American Cinquains

In the early twentieth century the American poet Adelaide Crapsey, inspired by the five-line Japanese
poetic form of tanka, began to write five-line poems that followed a distinct form. This poetic form soon
came to be known as an American cinquain (though it's also sometimes referred to as a Crapseian
cinquain, after its creator).

The American cinquain is an unrhymed, five-line poetic form defined by the number of syllables in each
line—the first line has two syllables, the second has four, the third six, the fourth eight, and the fifth two
(2-4-6-8-2). They are typically written using iambs. Adelaide Crapsey's "November Night" is a good
example:
Listen...

With faint dry sound,

Like steps of passing ghosts,

The leaves, frost-crisp'd, break from the trees

And fall.

Some scholars define the line length of American cinquains by counting iambs or stressed syllables,
rather than by counting total syllables. By this sort of counting, the proper line length of an American
cinquain would be 1-2-3-4-1, since it would contain one iamb in the first line, two in the second line, and
so on. The right way to count the line length is ultimately a matter of interpretation, though, since
Crapsey never specified the rules of the form she invented.

Variations on American Cinquains

American cinquains have inspired a number of variations, which are most often written by amateur
poets.

Reverse cinquain: An American cinquain in reverse order, so the syllables in its lines follow the pattern
of 2-8-6-4-2.

Mirror cinquain: An American cinquain followed by a reverse cinquain.

Butterfly cinquain: An American cinquain is merged with a reverse cinquain, such that the final two
syllable line of the American cinquain is the first line of the reverse cinquain. The result is a nine line
poem with the syllable-per-line pattern of 2-4-6-8-2-8-6-4-2.

Crown cinquain: Five American cinquains written to form a single five-stanza poem.

Garland cinquain: Six American cinquains, in which the lines of the final stanza are taken from the first
five, with line one of the final stanza using line one of the first stanza, line two of the final stanza using
line two of the second stanza, etc.

Didactic Cinquains
The didactic cinquain is a simplification of the American cinquain. This variation is used primarily in
classrooms for teaching poetry to children. Didactic cinquains dictate both the number of words per line
and the types of words used in each line.

Line length: The number of words in each line and follows the pattern 1-2-3-4-1 (so that the first line has
one word, the second has two, and so on).

Types of words used on each line: The first line is a noun, the second line is composed of adjectives that
describe the noun in the first line, the third line has an action, the fourth line contains a longer
description, and the fifth line is a noun that relates to the noun in the first line.

Here's an example:

Ocean

Blue, powerful

Waves crashing ashore

Teeming with sea creatures

Life

Cinquain Examples

The following examples cover both the general and specific definitions of cinquain. The general
definition refers to any five-line stanza, while the specific definition primarily refers to a particular type
of five-line poem called the American cinquain.

Examples of Cinquains as Any Five-Line Stanza

The examples below show the vast variety of poems written using five-line stanzas.

Donne's "Hymn to God, My God, In My Sickness"

This example of a cinquain written in formal verse is from a poem by the 17th century poet John Donne.
In this poem, Donne uses iambic pentameter and an ABABB rhyme scheme.
We think that Paradise and Calvary,

Christ's cross and Adam's tree, stood in one place ;

Look, Lord, and find both Adams met in me ;

As the first Adam's sweat surrounds my face,

May the last Adam's blood my soul embrace.

Lear's "There was an Old Man in a boat"

The poet Edward Lear is famous for his limericks—short, humorous poems consisting of five lines that
usually describe an eccentric figure experiencing misfortune. This limerick is a well-known classic that
follows the formula.

There was an Old Man in a boat,

Who said, 'I'm afloat, I'm afloat!'

When they said, 'No! you ain't!'

He was ready to faint,

That unhappy Old Man in a boat.

Poe's "To Helen"

This is the first stanza of a poem by Edgar Alan Poe that is written in cinquains and follows the rhyme
scheme ABABB. The first four lines of this stanza are in iambic tetrameter, (four iambs per line) while the
fifth is iambic trimeter (three iambs per line).

Helen, thy beauty is to me

Like those Nicean barks of yore,

That gently, o’er a perfumed sea,

The weary, way-worn wanderer bore

To his own native shore.

A Tanka by Hiroko Seki's

Here is an example of the traditional Japanese five-line poem known as tanka, a form which inspired
Adelaide Crapsley to create the American cinquain. Each of the lines of a tanka has a prescribed number
of syllables following the typical pattern of 5-7-5-7-7 (so that the first line has five syllables, the second
has seven, and so forth). This particular tanka was written by the Japanese poet Hiroko Seki:

In castle ruins

the tappings of a hand-drum

so clearly echo,

that in Komachi's dancing

even the moon seemed to smile.

American Cinquains

Crapsey's "Triad"

Adelaide Crapsey invented the American cinquain, which in modern times is often referred to simply as
a cinquain. It is a non-rhyming, five-line poem with two syllables in the first line, four in the second, six in
the third, eight in the fourth, and two in the fifth. Her poem "Triad" adheres to this form. The meter is
iambic—each line is organized by two-syllable groupings, an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed
one (be-fore).

These be

Three silent things:

The falling snow. . the hour

Before the dawn. . the mouth of one

Just dead.

A Didactic Cinquain
This is an example of a didactic cinquain, a variation on the American cinquain in which line length is
determined by the number of words in each line, instead of the number of syllables. The Didactic
cinquain follows the pattern 1-2-3-4-1 (so that the first line has one word, the second has two, and so
forth).

Rain

Light, soft

Hanging, drifting, suspended

Making the world ghostly

Mist

This example follows the standard formula for this form, in which the first and last lines are related
nouns, the second line is made up of adjectives describing the noun in the first line, the third line has an
action, and the fourth line contains a longer description.

Why Do Writers Choose to Write Cinquains?

Adelaide Crapsey invented the American cinquain because she was inspired by traditional forms of
Japanese poetry (such as the tanka) and she wanted to work within the restrictions that their strict
metrical conventions imposed on poetic expression. The result is a form of poetry that is short,
meditative, imagistic, and above all delicate—a quality regarded as beautiful in and of itself.

The limerick, by contrast, could hardly be more different than the tanka or American cinquain,
exemplifying how varied the uses of the cinquain can be. Limericks lack all the eloquence and gravity of
American cinquains. Instead, limericks are intended to be recited as jokes, and their less-strict meter
enables writers to use the form to weave short narratives.

Ultimately, the vast differences between different sorts of five-line poems shows that the style of a
poem is influenced more by the meter than by than the number of lines.

Other Helpful Cinquain Resources

The Wikipedia Page on Cinquain: A somewhat technical explanation, including various helpful examples.

The dictionary definition of Cinquain: A basic definition that includes a bit on the etymology of cinquain
(it comes from the French word for five).

A helpful guide to understanding the importance of Adelaide Crapsey's writing to the way people think
about cinquains.

Three poems, written in Haiku, Tanka, and American Cinquain on the same subject (some black swans).

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How to Write a Cinquain Poem

What is a Cinquain?

Adelaide Crapsey, American poet and creator of the modern cinquain

Adelaide Crapsey, American poet and creator of the modern cinquain

A cinquain – which, by the way, is pronounced “sin-cane,” not “sin-kwane” – is a form of poetry that is
very popular because of its simplicity. It was created by American poet Adelaide Crapsey about 100
years ago, and is similar to Japanese poetic forms, such as haiku and tanka.

Cinquains are just five lines long, with only a few words on each line, making them easy to write. The
first and last lines have just two syllables, while the middle lines have more, so they end up with a
diamond-like shape, similar to the poetic form called the diamante.
Though they are just five lines long, the best cinquains tell a small story. Instead of just having
descriptive words, they may also have an action (something happening), a feeling caused by the action,
and a conclusion or ending.

You can learn to write cinquains by following these few simple steps:

Decide what you would like to write about.

Brainstorm words and phrases that have to do with your idea.

Think about what story you want to tell.

Write your words and phrases in an order that tells your story, being sure to count the syllables as you
go.

The Rules of a Cinquain

There are actually many different ways to write a cinquain, so I’m just going to teach you how to write a
traditional cinquain, as it was defined by the poet who invented it. These are the rules:

Cinquains are five lines long.

They have 2 syllables in the first line, 4 in the second, 6 in the third, 8 in the fourth line, and just 2 in the
last line.

Cinquains do not need to rhyme, but you can include rhymes if you want to.

That’s it. Just three simple rules.

If you want to, you can even memorize the syllable count by remembering this five-digit number: 24682.
Repeat after me: 24682, 24682, 24682. Now you’ve got it.

Getting Started

First, you need to select a topic. That is, you need to choose something to write your cinquain about.
Here are a few easy places to get ideas:
Write about your favorite thing

Write about something you don’t like

Write about something you see around you

Write about something that happens to you

Since I like ice cream, I think I’ll write a cinquain about ice cream. This is convenient since the words “ice
cream” have two syllables, so I can probably use this phrase as the first line of my cinquain. If your
favorite thing is pizza, soccer, your cat, etc., you could also use “soccer,” “pizza,” or “my cat” as the first
line of your cinquain.

Brainstorming ideas

Once you know what you are going to write about, you need to brainstorm ideas about your topic. Think
of as many things as you can and write them down on a piece of paper. It’s okay to write your ideas on
one piece of paper and then write your poem on another piece of paper.

For example, I know several things about ice cream, so I’ve put them down here:

It is cold.

It is yummy.

It is sweet.

I like eating it.

These are just four ideas, but they are not yet a poem. To turn these ideas into a cinquain poem, we
need to say them in a way that we have five lines with the right number of syllables on each line.

Counting Your Syllables

I recommend your count your syllables with your fingers as you write each line. If a line has too many
syllables or not enough syllables, see if you can change some of the words to get the right number of
syllables.
Once you get the syllable count right, make sure the poem says what you want it to say. You may need
to go back and change it some more so that it tells the story you want it to.

Once your cinquain is finished, read it again, counting the syllables on your fingers to make sure you got
everything right.

Ice Cream Cinquain

Here’s a cinquain that I wrote about ice cream, using the ideas that I brainstormed earlier:

Ice Cream

Ice cream.

Cold and yummy.

I love its sweet richness

as it finds its way into my

tummy.

You might notice a few things about this poem. It tells a little story. There is an action in which I eat the
ice cream and it swallow it. There is a feeling expressed where I tell that I love it. And I even rhymed
“yummy” with “tummy.”

Messy Room Cinquain

Let’s try another one. This time, let’s write a cinquain about having a messy room. First, we need to
brainstorm ideas. Here are a few I came up with:

Dirty laundry

Toys all over the place

Mom says “clean it up”

The hamper is overflowing

I’d rather watch TV than clean my room

I don’t mind my own mess

I don’t have to use all of these ideas, but writing more ideas than I am going to actually use give me lots
to choose from when I start writing the poem.

Now that I’ve got my ideas, I’ll rearrange these into a five-line story with a 24682 syllable pattern, like
this:

My Messy Room

My room

is such a mess.

Toys all over the place.

Mom says, “Clean up!” But I like it

like this.

Telling a Story with Your Cinquain

I mentioned earlier that the best cinquains tell a story. An easy way to do this is to start with your
subject on the first line, describe it on the second, put an action on the third line, a feeling on the fourth
line, and a conclusion on the last line, like this:

Title

Subject

Description
Action

Feeling

Conclusion

You don’t have to follow this pattern exactly. For example, in the Messy Room cinquain, you’ll see that
my description is on lines 2 and 3, and both the action and the feeling are on line 4. But this should give
you a general pattern for telling a story.

What Are You Going to Write?

Now it’s your turn to try writing your own cinquain. Here are a few things to remember as you write:

Cinquain poems can be written about anything

They are five lines long

The syllable pattern is 2, 4, 6, 8, 2

Brainstorm ideas first

Count the syllables on your fingers

“Center” your poem on the page

Rhyme if you want to

Have fun!

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Writing a Cinquain Poem

Writing a Cinquain Poem

The following comes from Brave Writer's Playing With Poetry online class taught by our very own
Susanne Barrett.

A Cinquain is a five-lined poem (hence the name!) and is a favorite poetic form for many kids because,
as one of our Brave Writer students pointed out: “They are easy and fun to write and they don’t require
a whole lot of words!” They also reinforce some basic grammatical parts of speech.

Format for Writing a Cinquain

Line 1: One word (a noun, the subject of the poem)

Line 2: Two words (adjectives that describe the subject in line 1)

Line 3: Three words (-ing action verbs–participles–that relate to the subject in line 1)

Line 4: Four words (a phrase or sentence that relates feelings about the subject in line 1)

Line 5: One word (a synonym for the subject in line 1 or a word that sums it up)

Alternative Line 5 for older poets: Five words (a phrase or sentence that further relates feelings about
the subject in line 1)

Sometimes each line is centered to create a diamond or tree-like shape.

Here’s a Cinquain off the top of my head

Poetry

Clever, crafty

Writing, composing, describing

Best words, best order

Verse
For older and/or more practiced students, the precise syllables for the cinquain should be observed,
following the directions above for relating to the subject of the poem in the first line:

Line 1: two syllables

Line 2: four syllables

Line 3: six syllables

Line 4: eight syllables

Line 5: two syllables (alternative line: ten syllables)

Students may capitalize all the words, none of the words, the first words of each line, or just certain
words. And each poem may be capitalized differently, depending on its subject matter, diction (word
choice), etc. Just see which way feels the best to you for each poem. Also, slight variations of syllables
are okay.

Here’s another Cinquain poem by Dawn Slanker

Dog

Loyal, Brave

Loving, Playing, Guarding

Best friend of man

Pet

So read Cinquain poems for a Poetry Teatime. And maybe write a few of your own!

Writing a Cinquain Poem

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Poetry 101: What Is a Limerick in Poetry? Limerick Definition with Examples

Written by MasterClass

Last updated: Jul 2, 2019 • 2 min read

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You may have once heard a famous tale of a man from Nantucket. The tale is five lines long, contains
rhymes, and, in some versions, contains details that aren’t printable. If you’ve heard this poetic tale,
then you know what a limerick is.

Jump To Section

What Is a Limerick?

How Is a Limerick Used in Poetry?

Examples of Limericks in Poetry

Variations on Limericks in Poetry

Learn more about Billy Collins's MasterClass

Billy Collins Teaches Reading and Writing Poetry

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What Is a Limerick?

A limerick is a five-line poem that consists of a single stanza, an AABBA rhyme scheme, and whose
subject is a short, pithy tale or description. Most limericks are comedic, some are downright crude, and
nearly all are trivial in nature.

The etymology of the word “limerick” has inspired some debate. Historians agree it is a reference to the
Irish city and county of Limerick, but the poems trace back to England, not Ireland. As such, many
believe that the word refers to an old tune, “Won't You Come to Limerick?” that featured the same
meter and rhyme scheme.

How Is a Limerick Used in Poetry?

Limericks follow a very strict composition structure. All traditional limericks:

Consist of a single stanza

Consist of exactly five lines

Employ one rhyme on the first, second, and fifth lines

Employ a second rhyme on the third and fourth lines

Due to their short and simple structure, limericks are a popular form among amateur poets. Among
established professionals, Edward Lear owns particular fame as a composer of limericks. Born in England
in 1812, Lear became associated with a genre termed “literary nonsense.” Embracing the
characterization, he published a volume of limericks entitled A Book of Nonsense in 1846. The book
contained 117 limericks, most of them intentionally silly. Take “Limerick No. 91”:
There was a Young Lady of Russia, Who screamed so that no one could hush her; Her screams were
extreme, No one heard such a scream, As was screamed by that lady of Russia.

The AABBA rhyme scheme of this poem is evident—to the point that Lear uses the same word to
conclude Line 1 and Line 5, which was a favored technique. The subject matter is trivial, an attribute that
Lear appears to intentionally mine for material, as evidenced by his dogged repetition of the word
“scream.”

Billy Collins Teaches Reading and Writing Poetry

Judy Blume Teaches Writing

Malcolm Gladwell Teaches Writing

David Mamet Teaches Dramatic Writing

Examples of Limericks in Poetry

Edward Lear wrote many iconic limericks. Among the most famous of these is the opening poem from A
Book of Nonsense:

There was an Old Man with a beard, Who said, 'It is just as I feared! Two Owls and a Hen, Four Larks and
a Wren, Have all built their nests in my beard!'

One of Lear’s funnier attempts is “Limerick No. 80” from that same volume:

There was an Old Man who said, 'Hush! I perceive a young bird in this bush!' When they said, 'Is it
small?' He replied, 'Not at all! It is four times as big as the bush!'

And of course, there is the famed tale of the man from Nantucket. The printable version, published by
Dayton Voorhees in 1902, reads:

There once was a man from Nantucket Who kept all his cash in a bucket. But his daughter, named Nan,
Ran away with a man And as for the bucket, Nantucket.
Variations on Limericks in Poetry

Limericks often appear as nursery rhymes. Perhaps the most widely recited of these is “Hickory Dickory
Dock”:

Hickory, dickory, dock. The mouse ran up the clock. The clock struck one, The mouse ran down, Hickory,
dickory, dock.

The silly, trivial nature of limerick lyrics makes them a natural fit for children’s poetry. That said, adults
also enjoy bursts of levity. The existence of these two audiences—adults and children—has helped
cement the limerick’s place in popular culture for well over a century.

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Literary Devices

Definition and Examples of Literary Terms

Limerick

Definition of Limerick

Limerick is a comic verse, containing five anapestic (unstressed/unstressed/stressed) lines, in which the
first, second, and fifth lines are longer, rhyme together, and follow three metrical feet. The third and
fourth lines rhyme together, are shorter, and follow two metrical feet. However, sometimes it may vary,
and amphibrachic (unstressed/stressed/unstressed) form can replace anapestic. In fact, it is a bawdy,
humorous, or nonsensical verse written in the form of five anapests, with an aabba rhyme scheme. Since
it has a special structure and format, it is called fixed or closed form of poetry.
Limerick and Villanelle

Though both of these are types of poem having fixed structures, both are different in their forms.
Villanelle consists of 19 lines with refraining rhyming sounds appearing in the first and the third lines,
while the final quatrain has a closing couplet. A limerick has five lines, having anapestic form with the
first, second, and fifth lines rhyming together, but the third and fourth lines are different and rhyme
together.

Examples of limerick in Literature

We can find the use of limericks in eighteenth century verse. They are associated with Edward Lear, who
first published this verse form in his book A Book of Nonsense in the year 1846. Later, this form became
popular, and many poets, including Alfred Lord Tennyson, Shakespeare, Rudyard Kipling, Dante Gabriel
Rossetti, Ogden Nash, H. G. Wells, W. H. Auden, T. S. Eliot, James Joyce, and Lewis Carroll, tried their
hands in this form of poetry. Here we have a few examples of limerick from literature:

Example #1: To Miss Vera Beringer (By Lewis Carroll)

“There was a young lady of station

‘I love man’ was her sole exclamation;

But when men cried: ‘You flatter,’

She replied, ‘Oh! no matter

Isle of Man is the true explanation.'”

This limerick contains five lines with a rhyme scheme of aabba. Here we can notice the first, second, and
fifth lines rhyme together, with three feet; whereas the third and fourth lines contain two feet and
rhyme together.

Example #2: There was an Old Man with a Beard (By Edward Lear)

“There was an Old Man with a beard,

Who said, ‘It is just as I feared!

Two Owls and a Hen,

Four Larks and a Wren,

Have all built their nests in my beard!”

Edward Lear was considered to be the father of limericks. This is one of the very good examples of
limerick poems, following its typical format with the first, second, and fifth lines rhyming together, and
longer in length; while the remaining two are shorter, and give a faster read. Lear has referred to this
form as nonsense.

Example #3: There was a small boy of Quebec (By Rudyard Kipling)

“There was a small boy of Quebec

Who was buried in snow to his neck

When they said, ‘Are you friz?’

He replied, ‘Yes, I is —

But we don’t call this cold in Quebec.'”

Notice Kipling has penned a good limerick with irrelevant zaniness and weirdness. The first four lines
look funny, while the final line creates a curious and special mood in this poem.

Example #4: Othello (By William Shakespeare)

“And let me the canakin clink, clink;

And let me the canakin clink

A soldier’s a man;

A life’s but a span;

Why, then, let a soldier drink.”

It is quite interesting that the earliest written limericks were linked with drinking. We can guess that
people would have drinks and sang bawdy, funny songs or poems. Similarly, William Shakespeare has
employed this form in a drinking song of Stephano to create nonsensical and humorous effects.

Example #5: A Man Hired by John Smith & Co (By Mark Twain)

“A man hired by John Smith and Co.

Loudly declared that he’d tho.

Men that he saw

Dumping dirt near his door

The drivers, therefore, didn’t do.”

As we know, Mark Twain is also popular for writing limericks. Here, he has used a funny and whimsical
limerick poem, with a concluding punch line.

Function of Limerick

Poets use limericks as literary or poetic forms to convey and create funny and humorous images. The
purpose of using this form is to replace everyday expression with unusual alternative to express emotion
and a particular mood by adding eccentricity and weirdness. We can find its usage in literature to
describe humor or light subject matter, as the first four lines create a joke, and it ends on a punch line. It
also is used frequently in nursery rhymes to make kids love reading.

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Limericks

© Contributed by Leanne Guenther

[Introduction] [Printable Worksheets] [Example]

Poetry projects for kids: LimericksIntroduction:

A limerick is a silly poem with five lines. They are often funny or nonsensical. Limericks were made
famous by Edward Lear, a famous author who wrote the "Book of Nonsense" in the 1800's. This was an
entire book of silly limericks.

How to write a limerick:

The first, second and fifth lines rhyme with each other and have the same number of syllables (typically
8 or 9).

The third and fourth lines rhyme with each other and have the same number of syllables (typically 5 or
6)

Limericks often start with the line "There once was a..." or "There was a..."

Example of an 8,8,5,5,8 syllable limerick:

STAR

by Kaitlyn Guenther

There once was a wonderful star

Who thought she would go very far

Until she fell down

And looked like a clown

She knew she would never go far.

Printable Worksheets:
Worksheet 1: Information about limericks and space to write your own limerick.

Examples:

Limericks by Edward Lear:

There was a Young Lady of Ryde

There was a Young Lady whose Bonnet

There was an Old Man in a Boat

There was an Old Man in a Tree

There was an Old Man of Kilkenny

There was an Old Man of Marseilles

There was an Old Man of Quebec

There was an Old Man who Supposed

There was an Old Man with a Beard

There was an Old Man with a Flute

Limericks by Kaitlyn Guenther

Kaitlyn was 12 or 13 when she wrote these, so the syllables might be a bit off, but they're close.

Easter Bunny

Jumping Monkey

Star

Valentine's Day Limerick

White Tailed Deer

Limericks by Leanne Guenther

Limerick: Daddy
Limerick: St. Patrick's Day 1 St. Patrick's Day 2 St. Patrick's Day 3

Limerick: Turkey

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Literary Devices

Literary Devices, Terms, and Elements

SHOW LITERARY DEVICE LIST

LIMERICK

Definition of Limerick

A limerick is a poetic form comprised of one stanza with five lines and a rhyme scheme of AABBA that
usually is humorous. The humor can be clean, though it often verges on the obscene. The first, second,
and fifth lines of limerick examples often contain three anapestic feet while the third and fourth lines
are shorter, with just two anapestic feet. However, there is a great deal of variation in the exact meter
of limericks; the main feature is a rolling sound produced by the pattern of two unstressed syllables
between every stressed syllable.
The origin of the word limerick is debated, though it is generally understood to be a reference to the city
of Limerick in Ireland. There was an 18th century nonsense verse game that predated the limerick form
that included the line, “Won’t you come to Limerick?” The definition of limerick was popularized by
Edward Lear in the 19th century.

Common Examples of Limerick

There are a few famous limerick examples that have entered the public consciousness. The first one is a
well-known children’s rhyme:

Hickory dickory dock.

The mouse ran up the clock.

The clock struck one,

And down he run.

Hickory dickory dock.

The next poem is the first known example of a limerick starting with the line “There once was a man
from Nantucket.” It was published in 1902 in a humor magazine at Princeton University. There are
countless copycat poems, many of them containing dirty jokes, that use this line:

There once was a man from Nantucket

Who kept all his cash in a bucket.

But his daughter, named Nan,

Ran away with a man,

And as for the bucket, Nantucket.

♦♦♦

Significance of Limerick in Literature

The following poem was published in a newspaper in New Brunswick, Canada in 1880 that was noted to
be to the tune of “Won’t you come to Limerick?” This was the first example of the word limerick being
connected to this particular poetic form:

There was a young rustic named Mallory,

who drew but a very small salary.

When he went to the show,

his purse made him go

to a seat in the uppermost gallery.

Though the limerick form has been popular among poets for the purpose of humor and wit, it has never
been considered a form worthy of serious or profound poetic insights. Many literary theorists and
writers look down on limerick as a relatively mediocre pursuit. However, there are examples of limericks
even in William Shakespeare plays, and some famous limericks have very clever turns of phrase. Thus,
though it is not a serious form, some limericks display excellent word play and utilize literary devices
such as assonance, consonance, and internal rhyme to create more aural unity.

Examples of Limerick in Literature

Example #1

IAGO: Some wine, ho! [Sings] And let me the canakin clink, clink;

And let me the canakin clink

A soldier’s a man;

A life’s but a span;

Why, then, let a soldier drink. Some wine, boys!

(Othello by William Shakespeare)

Though the popularity of the limerick form did not begin until a few hundred years after Shakespeare’s
death, there are still examples of short poems in his plays which have all the key aspects of a limerick.
When we find examples of limericks in Shakespeare plays, it’s a sign that the character has either gone
mad (like Ophelia in Hamlet) or is a bit drunk, like in the case of Iago above.
Example #2

There was an Old Man with a beard,

Who said, “It is just as I feared!

Two Owls and a Hen,

Four Larks and a Wren,

Have all built their nests in my beard!”

(By Edward Lear)

Edward Lear is the most noted writer of limericks, and is credited with the rise of their popularity in the
19th century. As expected, the material discussed in this limerick is light-hearted and follows the rhyme
scheme and rolling meter of the form.

Example #3

There was an old man with a beard,

A funny old man with a beard

He had a big beard

A great big old beard

That amusing old man with a beard.

(By John Clarke)

After Edward Lear wrote so many well-known limerick examples, many people used the form to parody
Lear’s verse. In this example, John Clarke repeats the same first line as in Lear’s poem in Example #2, but
makes his own limerick even more ridiculous by simply repeating the word “beard” at the end of each
line to mimic the expected rhyme scheme.
Example #4

A flea and a fly 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.

(By Ogden Nash)

The humorist Ogden Nash is also known for a number of famous limericks. In the above example, Nash
combines alliteration of the “fl” sound and homophone examples such as “flee” and “flea” and “flue”
and “flew” to make his poem comical.

Example #5

A wonderful bird is the pelican,

His bill will hold more than his belican,

He can take in his beak

Enough food for a week

But I’m damned if I see how the helican!

(By Dixon Lanier Merritt)

Often attributed to Ogden Nash, the above example is one of the most beloved limericks of all time.
Dixon Lanier Merritt’s limerick uses all the important features of rhyme scheme and meter, as well as
word play with the neologisms “belican” (belly can) and “helican” (hell he can).

Example #6
A dozen, a gross, and a score

Plus three times the square root of four

Divided by seven

Plus five times eleven

Is nine squared and not a bit more.

(By Leigh Mercer)

The above limerick example is an amazing combination of word play and mathematics. Leigh Mercer
was famous for his skill with word play and is best known for the palindrome he created, “A man, a plan,
a canal — Panama!” The above limerick is equally impressive, however. Mercer created a mathematical
equation that is not only true but also able to be written out in perfect limerick form.

Example #7

This limerick goes in reverse

Unless I’m remiss

The neat thing is this:

If you start from the bottom-most verse

This limerick’s not any worse.

(By Zach Weiner)

Zach Weiner is a well-known comic artist who composed the above limerick that can be read both
forwards and backwards. At first glance it seems like an “anti-limerick” because it distorts and plays on
the limerick form. However, when read from bottom to top the limerick has all the correct features of
the form.

♦♦♦

Test Your Knowledge of Limerick

1. Which of the following statements is the best limerick definition?

A. A poem with five lines originating in Japan with a pattern of “on” (similar to syllables) of 5-7-5-7-7.

B. A poem with three lines originating in Japan with a pattern of “on” of 5-7-5.

C. A poem with five lines originating in England with a rhyme scheme of AABBA with humorous content.

Answer to Question #1 Show

2. Which of the following statements is not true of limericks?

A. Limericks generally have three metric feet in the first, second, and fifth lines, and two metric feet in
the third and fourth lines.

B. Limericks often natural imagery and a transition midway through after which there is a profound
commentary on the the meaning of life.

C. Limericks often involve bawdy humor and display word play and wit.

Answer to Question #2 Show

3. Which of the following quotes from Shakespeare plays is not an example of limerick?

A.

Full fathom five thy father lies;

Of his bones are coral made;

Those are pearls that were his eyes:

Nothing of him that doth fade,

But doth suffer a sea-change

Into something rich and strange.

Sea-nymphs hourly ring his knell:

Ding-dong.

Hark! now I hear them—Ding-dong, bell.

(The Tempest)
B.

Swithold footed thrice the old;

He met the night-mare, and her nine-fold;

Bid her alight,

And her troth plight,

And, aroint thee, witch, aroint thee!

(King Lear)

C.

Quoth she, before you tumbled me,

You promised me to wed.

So would I ha’ done,

by yonder sun,

An thou hadst not come to my bed.

(Hamlet)

Answer to Question #3 Show

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