Limerick Challenge
September 26 - October 9, 2023
What is a Limerick poem? According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, Limerick is a noun from Ireland, and its first known use in poem form was in 1895. Its definition is below.
a light or humorous verse form of five chiefly anapestic verses of which lines 1, 2, and 5 are of three feet and lines 3 and 4 are of two feet with a rhyme scheme of aabba
Kids definition:
a humorous poem five lines long in which the first, second, and fifth lines have one rhyme and the third and fourth another
Anapestic noun
a metrical foot consisting of two short syllables followed by one long syllable or of two unstressed syllables followed by one stressed syllable (such as unaware)
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I love a good Limerick. I do not know many people who don't like a good Limerick. A limerick can be bawdy and randy or just plain innocent fun. Either way, they always bring a good laugh.
So what I want you to do is to write me a Limerick. I challenge every Vocal Creator who reads this to Limerick me to death. I want to read so many Limericks that I won't want to read another for a year or more.
Everyone who enters can submit as many Limericks as they would like. I'll pick five of my favorite Limericks to feature from all the entries in an October 9, 2023 article. All Limericks must be submitted by October 8, 2023.
Each Limerick submission should mention the challenge in the subtitle. Each one should be posted under Poets section. Then post the link to the Limerick in the comments. I will pick from only the Limericks posted in the comments. The five Limericks I pick, their creators will each get a $1 tip from me.
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Old man Haggerty happened upon a cat
He asked the cat where it was about
Because the cat was wearing a bowtie and a hat
The cat was slow to reply
But when he did, he said he was going to dine on a rat
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If you need more inspiration, below are three Limericks I found on Vocal that I thought were funny and well-written. Give them a read, and if you like them, leave them a comment or heart.
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Wikipedia has several examples of Limericks that you may find inspiring.
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Or these from Parade may inspire you more.
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Then there are the examples on Britannica site.
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As always, thank you for reading my nonsense. I hope to see some great entries for this challenge.
This unofficial challenge is in no way associated with Vocal. This is a challenge I have unofficially set for my fellow Creators.
Comments (18)
I am going to start writing some. Lot's of ideas crawling now.
I made some spooky limericks a while ago, I think before this challenge popped up. Being unable to edit them and mention the challenge in them, would they be allowed for entry, or would it be best to make something new?
Here’s mine: https://vocal.media/poets/cuffing-season-l62c0z2h
I just had an idea for a limerick but the deadline is in four days and I've not even written it. If I don't make the deadline, is it okay if I still mention your challenge in my piece?
This us one of mine from Vocal's limerick challenge a few months back. https://vocal.media/poets/lace-and-satin
Oh my. Your timing is impeccable. I wrote a last minute alien challenge entry last night, and was notified of your challenge by Kelli this morning. Hope you like it. https://vocal.media/poets/lesson-learned-wo22100zn
Oooo, I love limericks! They're always so funny! I've only written one so far. Let's see if Mr Brain comes up with anything. Out of all the unofficial challenges in Vocal, yours is the only one that Mr Brain had an idea for and it was Diarrhea, lol.
Vocal support corrected my subtitle for me so now I can enter this one all "legal-like" and stuff: https://vocal.media/poets/here-we-go-again-pa1qq00q3
Oops.... https://vocal.media/poets/the-disorienting-express
Probably the last one for a little while: https://vocal.media/poets/i-is-what-i-is
And another... https://vocal.media/poets/insert-relevant-proper-noun-here
Ok, here's one with the right subtitle. :) https://vocal.media/poets/somebody-stop-me
Judey Kalchik and Donna Renee told me about your awesome challenge so I’ll submit two of mine: https://vocal.media/poets/selfless-sv2ke0ifi https://vocal.media/poets/smoky-mirror-eyes#comment-61fbea40-e4b6-4ac6-9913-b1fe3d311d2e Hope you enjoy!!
Excellent idea, I'm sure everyone will love this
I had so much fun with the limerick challenge awhile back and am glad to see another!! They really are so fun to read (and write!)
https://vocal.media/poets/lured
https://vocal.media/poets/the-challenge-pe1my00dy
I wasnt going to join in on this, I was taking a break, but... https://vocal.media/poets/the-recalcitrant-writer