CURRENT CONTENTS:
Epitomy of boredom
Lengthy limericks (including "run-on limericks")
The multi-verse universe
Singable limericks
Illustrated verse
"Limerrhoids" (C-rhyme extension)
Dual rhyme-schemes
Terminal exclamation
Identity rhymes (homophonous revelries)
Authors' Note: Although a limerick is traditionally conceived as a 5-line concoction, once a sixth line ('L6') is developed, it may become an inherent part of the poem. The rule of the majority being what it is, on the OEDILF site for creating well-honed limericks, the L6 is often demeaned as being only an addendum. The reader may detect that the authors (Dr. G. H. and his registered pseudonym G.C.) are supporters of efforts to avoid the crashing boredom of a universe of traditional 5-liners.
On the daily blog "Daily Illustrated Nonsense", 6-line verses, otherwise adhering to limerick form, can be found on about 150 posts for the interval January 2020 to March 2024; generally these involve a single final "extra" line following the A-rhyme pattern used in lines 1,2, and 5. On occasion, in another 2-3 dozen poems, second or third appended lines have also been added; we have named these verses of 7 or more lines "run-on limericks"; these have been collected for you HERE.
Authors' Note: The authors can box themselves into writing single defining limericks in the standard format used at OEDILF, the online humor dictionary, and have done so several hundred times. However, they delight in multi-verse limericks which provide a richer space for development of plot lines, contrasts and examples. Currently (March 2024), Giorgio’s Author's Showcase at the OEDILF website displays a hundred multi-verse entries. You can also find limerick-style poems with three or more verses by searching on our companion blog "Daily Illustrated Nonsense" under the heading "a brief saga".
For the curious reader's convenience, we have gathered our treasury of 'brief sagas' by the year of publication on this blog. Altogether, you will find more than 40 or so whimsical poems, that cover about 800 lines of verse.
Click below, and enjoy!
2020
2021
2022
2023.
Thanks to MMH for providing the photo, taken in Honolulu.
Authors' Note: Most people would not be surprised that almost any limerick verse (e.g. the "Nantucket limericks") can be set to music. The possibility of singing these verses applies to children's poems (e.g. per Edward Lear) and more erudite comic pieces (e.g. per Ogden Nash and Ethan Coen), as well as the bawdy verses often sung at taverns.
I have devoted some time to exploring the singability of limericks. Although "The Limerick Song", a vehicle based on a Mexican tune, is most familiar in this regard, I have also used (minor modifications may be required) the songs "Up" (Shania Twain), "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?", "The Anniversary Song", "Summertime", "We Three Kings" and "Santa Lucia". Check out my songblog "Silly Songs and Satire" for examples.
Authors' Note:
pic: informal abbreviation for picture
The authors have the experience of posting on their blogs (as here), hundreds of their OEDILF limericks that are initially framed as Power-Point slides with embedded pictures (fabric art, paintings including portraits, cell-phone-camera and web-photos) and computer-generated graphics. If the illustrations are abundant, additional slides may be used for elucidation, and are a good vehicle for displaying the Author's Notes. Poetic submissions that seem particularly appropriate for this type of enhancement include verses about biography, wildlife, tourist locations, food, visual arts and recreational activities.
Author's Note: Well, yes. This verse does go on at length (including a D-rhyme extension), but in a highly regulated fashion that would have been applauded by the famed lyrical seer. He obtained initial support by a cadre of Irish disciples, but to O'Malley's bitter disappointment, his efforts were unsustained globally. In recent writings, we have honored O'Malley's concept by the concoction of a score of poems of the type he would have approved. To view this specialized material that provides further explanation and copious examples, click HERE !
Authors' Note: This introductory verse relates to a posted collection (10 verses or so) devoted to limericks with dual rhyme schemes, as posted HERE .
Authors' Note: This verse is the lead-in to a collection of limerick verses that emphasize a terminal exclamation, sometimes suggested earlier in the verse. Ka-pow! (variant kerpow!): comic-book type interjection for a noise emitted when a blow is landed in a fight (often involving a super-hero).
The limericks written by Edward Lear and his contemporaries a century ago often included repetition of the poem's key word at the end of the final line.
Authors' Note: This verse is the lead-in to a collection of limerick-like verses that have an unusual rhyming scheme. Instead of the usual A1,A2,B1,B2,A3 pattern, these verses have lines ending in identity rhymes, as in the above verse: A1,A1,B1,B1,A1. Pedantic critics would say that identity rhymes, e.g. perVERSEely / conVERSEly, are not rhymes at all. But, on the other hand, when bunched up they have a definite musicality, and can be entertainingly sung at open-mike at a bar.
GENERAL DIRECTIONS FOR WEB-EXPLORERS:
To resume your review of the sequence of daily titillations on our related blog "Daily Illustrated Nonsense", click HERE. Once you arrive, you can select your time frame of interest from the calendar-based listings at the bottom of the page, and check the daily offerings for any month from the start of 2020 until July 2025. As of July 20, 2025, there are 2,000 unique entries available on the daily blog, displaying individual poems (often illustrated) and wordplay, but also with some photo-collages and parody song-lyrics.
Most of the key elements, such as this one, are also assembled here on "Edifying Nonsense" in topic-based collections.
The "Daily" format, a formidable mix of genres, also has the advantage of including song-lyrics, videos and other material that are not shown here on this topic-based blog.
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