March 5, 2014Limericks

Homework: Poetry test on Friday, March 7th!

Objective: I can identify the elements of a limerick.

Warm Up (in your composition book)

Copy your objective into you comp book. Look up the definition for LIMERICK in the red section of your Literature book. Copy the definition into your comp book.

Limerick

a short, humorous poem made up of five lines. It usually has a rhyme scheme aabba, created by two rhyming couplets followed by a fifth line that rhymes with the first couplet.

A silly young fellow named BenSwallowed his wrist watch, and thenHe coughed up the dateAnd the time on his plateApril first, twenty seconds past ten.

- Jack Prelutsky

A bugler named Dougal McDougalFound ingenious ways to be frugal. He learned how to sneeze In various keys, Thus saving the price of a bugle.

- Ogden Nash

How do you write a limerick?

Rhyme Pattern: The last words of the first, second, and fifth lines all rhyme with each other. We’ll call those rhyming words “A,” like “ Peru,” “shoe,” and “true” or “Tim,” “swim,” and “him”. And the last words of the third and fourth lines rhyme with each other. We’ll call those rhyming words “B,” like “night” and “fright” or “dock” and “rock”.

Rhythm Pattern: The first, second, and fifth lines all have this rhythm pattern: da DUM da da DUM da da DUM (notice there are 3 DUMS or beats). Say, “There once was a fellow named Tim” out loud. Now say, “da DUM da da DUM da da DUM” out loud. Notice that both have the same rhythm. The third and fourth lines have a different rhythm pattern: da DUM da da DUM (notice there are 2 DUMS or beats). Say, “He fell off the dock” out loud. Now say “da DUM da da DUM” out loud. Notice that both have the same rhythm.

1. There was an old man from Peru, (A) da DUM da da DUM da da DUM (3 DUMS) 2. who dreamed he was eating his shoe. (A) da DUM da da DUM da da DUM (3 DUMS)3. He awoke in the night (B)da DUM da da DUM (2 DUMS)4. with a terrible fright, (B)da da DUM da da DUM (2 DUMS)5. and found out that it was quite true. (A) da DUM da da DUM da da DUM (3 DUMS)

When you write a limerick, make sure that it has the same AABBA rhyme pattern. Make sure it also has the same 3 DUMS, 3 DUMS, 2 DUMS, 2 DUMS, 3 DUMS rhythm pattern, too. To be sure, recite the poem, substituting “da” for all unaccented or unstressed syllables and “DUM” for all accented or stressed syllables. If your poem doesn’t have a similar rhythm pattern, then you need to make some adjustments.

There once was a young girl named Jill. Who was scared by the sight of a drill. She brushed every day So her dentist would say, “Your teeth are so perfect; no bill.”

Your turn!

Think about the events that happened in your narrative poem. If you could make some sort of change anywhere in the poem, a funny twist in the plot, what would it be? Write a limerick that mentions a character from your narrative poem, and discusses something funny that happened to them.

Homework:

Poetry test on Friday, March 7th!