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Literature vocabulary · Genres and Forms

Limerick

Meaning in literature, with examples

nounAdvanced term

In literature, limerick means: A humorous five-line poem with an AABBA rhyme pattern and a characteristic rhythm.

In Turkish: limerick, beş dizelik gülmece şiiri

How it is used

Use for playful verse; the first, second and fifth lines are usually longer than the third and fourth.

Example sentences

  1. The class wrote a limerick about a baker who kept losing his bread.

    The comic character supplies material for the short humorous form.

  2. Her limerick lost its bounce when she added three words to the third line.

    Extra words disturb the expected shorter line and its rhythm.

Common collocations

  • write a limerick
  • a comic limerick
  • rhyme schemeThe pattern of rhymes at the ends of lines in a poem or stanza, shown with letters, for example ABAB, where lines with the same letter rhyme.
  • rhythmThe pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables, pauses and speed in a line of poetry or prose, which gives it a sense of movement.

More terms: Genres and Forms

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