limerick there once was a man from nantucket

The limerick, paradoxically, has no such intentions.Ī limerick does not struggle to be relevant any more than a fish struggles to walk. Their very presence as a literary form is a bold middle finger in the middle of an ocean of genres and forms that are all trying desperately to be relevant. Limericks hold a unique place in literature as they exist almost exclusively for entertainment. The last line, however, reuses the same word after introducing a character called “Nan” to share the concluding moment of the plot in an amusingly circular way.Īs would be expected of a limerick, there’s not much to take away from the poem. In the first line, it explicitly refers to the place, as expected. The most creative aspect of this poem is in the use of the word “Nantucket.” The remaining third and fourth lines are used specifically to start the twist, which is still a fairly typical way of doing things even now. This, of course, establishes that the second line will need to end with Nantucket and, as the limerick was written back when the last line and first line of limericks tended to mirror each other, actually sets up more than half of the poem by itself. In this case, the character is an unnamed man and the location is Nantucket. What Is an Example of a Limerick?Īs with most limericks, the poem begins with the setting and character. The comedy of a limerick is usually tied to a twist in the poem’s narrative. In the earliest limericks, this line would essentially be reused as the end line, but this practice has since fallen out of favor. The first line commonly establishes a person and a place. It has been argued that true limericks, as a folk form, must be obscene by their very nature and that their willingness to tread on taboo topics is critical to the form. Limericks nearly always convey a comedic little narrative. Modern limericks do not always stick to the prescribed meters, but the rhyme scheme has persisted to this day as the defining feature of the poem, structurally. While the meter in the shorter lines can vary, it typically sticks to anapests.Īn anapest consists of two unstressed syllables followed by a stressed syllable, ensuring that the poem will be punctuated by punchy and mildly jarring variations in sound. The longer lines are typically written in anapestic trimeter while the third and fourth lines only feature two feet instead. The third and fourth lines feature the second rhyme sound and are typically shorter than the rest of the poem. Limericks have a fairly strict rhyme scheme (AABBA) in which the first, second, and fifth lines rhyme with each other. Scattered popularity over the last few centuriesĪlmost always comedic, strictly meant for entertainment What Are the Basic Properties of a Limerick? Rhyme Structure They are usually presented with an appealing little bit of rhyme.ĭespite their lighthearted nature, limericks actually represent an interesting challenge since the poet needs to fit a snippet of narrative and a dash of comedy into just five lines, often while respecting meter. Limericks are a favorite of children since they typically pack the punch expected from a one-liner. Typically, these limericks are hyper-sexualized.īelow are 3 of the most well-known versions of the limerick, starting with the original dirty one.8 What Are the Most Important Types of Poems? What Is a Limerick? Now, the limerick is so popular that many ribald versions have been written, as well as commonly been told as a stand-alone joke, related to something obscene. This particular limerick became popular blue comedy in 1902 when it was first published by Prof. This town is one of the settings from the famous book ‘Moby Dick’, and in the 19th century, it was the whaling capital of the world.

It is often used for rhyming as the name fits a number of words. Nantucket is in fact a real place, based in Massachusetts, USA. In this article, we are going to be discussing the limerick ‘there once was a girl from Nantucket’, which has since grown into several versions. Whether this is true or not, they have certainly been vulgarised today.

Some believe that limericks were originally made to be naughty. The first publication of limericks began in the 18th century, but didn’t really gain any popularity until the 19th century. The specific origin of the limerick is unknown, likely spoken between ancestral friends long before ever being written down.

Limerick there once was a man from nantucket