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Know the basic characteristics of a limerick. While there are slight variations in this style of poetry, they all fall within the same rhythmic umbrella. A true limerick has five lines; the first, second, and fifth rhyme with each other, and the third and fourth rhyme with each other. In addition to rhyme, consider:
Number of syllables. The first, second and fifth lines should have eight or nine syllables, while the third and fourth lines should have five or six.
Meter. A limerick has a certain “rhythm” created by how the syllables are stressed.
Anapaestic meter - two short syllables are followed by a long (stressed) one (duh-duh-DUM, duh-duh-DUM).
Amphibrachic meter - a long (stressed) syllable is sandwiched between two short ones (duh-DUM-duh, duh-DUM-duh). Example: There was a young lady of Wantage
Lines can begin on two, one, or occasionally no unstressed beats. Some prefer to continue the rhythm across from one line to the next, especially when a sentence carries across lines, but this is not essential.
Of course, writing and posting Limericks late at night, after consuming copious amounts of “adult beverages”, leads inevitably to miscounted syllables, sloppy rhymes, and the inability to follow any sort of compositional discipline. However, the intended result was folks having fun, so I count it as “mission accomplished”.