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Limerick

Form
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

A five-line light verse with an AABBA rhyme scheme and anapestic rhythm (∪ ∪ —); it is known for its humour, often featuring a person, place, or event in a playful or absurd vignette.

Detailed Definition
Limerick is a humorous five-line poem with an AABBA rhyme scheme and anapestic meter (typically three feet in lines 1,2,5 and two in 3,4), known for its bawdy wit and punchline twist; popularized in 19th-century England, it exemplifies light verse’s playfulness and rhythmic snap.
Example
Example in poetry:
Limerick: A humorous five-line poem with AABBA rhyme and anapestic meter; example: “There once was a poet from Kent / Whose verses were terribly bent. / He rhymed ‘orange’ with ‘door hinge’— / Made critics all cringe— / Now he’s banned from the literary tent.”
Additional Notes
Limerick: A humorous five-line poem with anapestic meter and rhyme scheme AABBA; lines 1, 2, and 5 are longer (trimeter), 3 and 4 shorter (dimeter); often bawdy or nonsensical.
Also Known As
Five-line humorous verse AABBA poem Comic quintain Irish verse
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