12 May is National Limerick Day and is the annual celebration of Edward Lear’s birthday (12 May 1812 – 29 January 1888).
Lear was an English artist, illustrator, poet and author, most commonly known for his literary nonsense in poetry, prose and limericks. Today is the celebration of the limerick poem which was popularised by Lear in his Book of Nonsense, published in 1846.
A limerick is a very short, humorous, nonsense poem that usually consists of five lines. The first two lines rhyme with the fifth line and the third and fourth line rhyme with each other. The limerick also has a particular rhythm, which is officially described as ‘anapestic trimeter’.
Here is an example of one of Lear’s limericks:
There was a Young Lady whose chin
Resembled the point of a pin;
So she had it made sharp,
And purchased a harp,
And played several tunes with her chin.
To celebrate today, sit down and write a few of your own limericks. Post them on social media, using #NationalLimerickDay.
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