Our one-stop guide to all things Limericks

By Luke Chapman | Activities, Family, Kids, Parents, Teachers, Top Tips, Writing Tips

Limericks are an exciting and fun form of poetry with specific rules to follow. Check out our guide to write your own laughable limericks.

A limerick is often a humorous verse with a strong beat. They make people laugh. Limericks are fun to learn and help develop vocabulary, sentence structure and let you use your imagination!

Rules - 

Limericks consist of 5 lines. The first line normally begins with ‘There was a . . .’ and ends with a name, person or place.

The last line normally has an unusual or far-fetched ending. As for the poem structure it’s simple!

Lines 1, 2 and 5 have 7-10 syllables and rhyme, and lines 3 and 4 have 5 to 7 syllables and rhyme.

Fact - 

The most well-known limerick writer is Edward Lear, writer of ‘The Owl and the Pussycat’.

Example - 

Read this fun Limerick which WON our Young Writer Limerick competition from Autumn Rose aged 11 at Fourfields CP School:

There once was a boy called Greg
Who smelt like a donkey’s leg
The smell put girls off him
Cos it made them start coughing
Even though on their noses were pegs!

Fact - 

Limericks originate from the town called Limerick in Ireland!

Have fun -

Have some fun writing your own whacky limericks! Send them to us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram as we love to see them. Why not have a laugh and read our personalised Young Writers limericks below.