Fancy writing a group limerick ?

What was wrong with the first two lines? They seemed to scan all right to me...

(I am glad someone has bailed us out of my last effort. )

For them to scan really right you have to say yee-ar and fee-ar.

(This copied off t'internet to get us back onto the straight and narrow

There was an old man from Peru, (A)
da DUM da da DUM da da DUM
who dreamed he was eating his shoe. (A)
da DUM da da DUM da da DUM
He awoke in the night (B)
da DUM da da DUM
with a terrible fright, (B)
da da DUM da da DUM
and found out that it was quite true. (A)
da DUM da da DUM da da DUM

Still don't get it. There are eight syllables in both the first herb garden lines. And there are eight syllables in the first two lines of the Old Man from Peru!

You can have nine syllables, of course as in There was a Young Lady from Ealing - but I don't see why you'd have to say yee-ar etc.

( There should be eight syllables in lines 1, 2 and 5 and six in lines 3 & 4.

I think but some lines just seem to scan better than others depending on the words. I don't quite know why but sometimes they just sound wrong.)

(I beg to differ, Nelliemoser. There can be nine syllables in lines 1, 2 and 5 and there are probably even more options.)

(Just Googled :

'A limerick is a humorous poem consisting of five lines. The first, second, and fifth lines must have seven to ten syllables while rhyming and having the same verbal rhythm. The third and fourth lines only have to have five to seven syllables, and have to rhyme with each other and have the same rhythm.')

A limerick's quite hard to write

You have to get the syllables right,

It is more stresses than sylables. Sometimes a word has more syllables but some of them are lightly stressed and don't quite "register" when the word is said.

(well, that's eight and nine syllables for a start! )

(Pronunciation in different regions can have an effect, as well...)

(Ana! Thanks for that clarification on the syllable "rules")

(I'm thinking of joining 'Nit-Pickers Anonymous'...)

Oh for goodness sake - why is there arguing and bickering on a fun thread? As long as people don't write a paragraph instead of a short line, does it really matter?

This has to be one of the worst forums I've seen for nit-picking - no wonder it tends to be the same people posting; you probably frighten newcomers off with all this pedantic nonsense.

Fine words will not make a good lim'rick

("pedantic nonsense"! Faints dead away...)

A musical ear is the best trick. (that is the second line)

But let's not forget

(Hollydaze I really didn't think we were arguing or bickering on this one. I started a limerick that didn't sound quite right to me and as I had lost track of how it should go, I wanted to be sure of getting it right.

I really did not feel it was a nasty argument at all. But a limerick has to have a fairly consistent structure or it isn't a limerick. I find that the main skill is getting your words to fit with the rhythm and the rhyme.)

That the rhythm we set

So you need to get your word in quite quick.

The complete effort

Fine words will not make a good lim'rick
A musical ear is the best trick.
But let's not forget
That the rhythm we set
So you need, to get your word in, quite quick.

(You can be more inventive with these when you actually read them aloud rather than by just seeing them written down.) That has just dawned on me. Light bulb moment.