Limericks, which are short and silly, are poems of five lines each. The first two lines rhyme with each other, the second two lines rhyme with each other, and the last line rhymes with the first. The rhyme scheme, or pattern, can thus be viewed as AABBA.

Question

Limericks, which are short and silly, are poems of five lines each. The first two lines rhyme with each other, the second two lines rhyme with each other, and the last line rhymes with the first. The rhyme scheme, or pattern, can thus be viewed as AABBA.

The common limerick also follows a pattern of syllables, or beats: The first, second, and fifth lines have eight syllables each, and the third and fourth lines have five syllables each.

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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!'

(from ,begin underline,A Book of Nonsense,end underline, by Edward Lear)

Question
Based on the description of limericks, which is one thing about this poem that makes it a limerick?

Answer 1

One thing about this poem that makes it a limerick is its rhyme scheme. The poem follows the AABBA pattern, with the first two lines rhyming, the second two lines rhyming, and the last line rhyming with the first.