bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

sponsorType

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

John Millen

Limericks for everybody
Poems don't always have to be serious. They don't always have to make sense. A limerick is a poem of only five lines with a set rhythm and rhyme pattern. Limericks are always funny and do not have to make any sense at all. They just have to be fun. Look at this limerick, read it out aloud and then complete the sentences about its shape, rhythm and rhyme scheme. When you are counting the syllables or beats in each line of the limerick, read it out aloud and count the syllables on your fingers.
There was a young man from Lok Fu
Who on Thursday had nothing to do
He got out of bed
And shaved half his head
And painted his face red and blue
1 A limerick has _________ lines.
2 Lines number _________ and _________ are shorter than the first two and the last.
3 Lines _________, _________ and _________ have the same rhyme.
4 Lines _________ and _________ have the same rhyme.
5 Lines one _________ and _________ have _________ syllables or beats.
6 Lines three and four have _________ syllables.
Limericks for Hong Kong
The first line of a limerick usually has eight or nine beats and a strong rhyme at the end. Place names in Hong Kong are brilliant for rhyming. Think of all the words that rhyme with the 'oo' (as in 'too') sound of Lok Fu. Here is another Hong Kong limerick using the 'oo' sound as its main rhyme.
In a restaurant, a man from Mei Foo
Found an elephant's ear in his stew
Oh, sir! Please don't shout
And wave it about!
Other diners will all want one too.
Wan Chai and Kwai Fong
Here are two limericks using 'Wan Chai' and 'Kwai Fong'. But the lines are not in the correct order. To help you get completely familiar with the structure of a good limerick, re-arrange the lines in the correct order.
Like a bird he wanted to fly
And made himself wings
He collected some things
Then soared up into the sky
There was a young man from Wan Chai
And injured 10 dogs in Kwai Fong
He once killed a horse
There was a young man from Hong Kong
He sneezed with such force
Whose nose was incredibly long
Writing your own limerick
Now it's your turn to write a limerick. Let's start with a good place name. Look at these opening lines of a possible limerick and see if you can come up with a second line. Start by making a list of all the short words you know that rhyme with the ending sound of the first line. You can use an online rhyming dictionary (www.rhymezone.com) if you need to. Lines one and two are  8 or 9 beats/syllables long.
1 There was an old man from Shanghai
2 There was a young man from Mong Kok
3 A pleasant young girl from Kowloon
4 An angry old man from Fanling
5 There was a young man from Choi Hung
6 A clever young girl from Tai Po
7 A handsome young man from Sheung Wan
8 There was a young man from Beijing
Once we have our second line, we are well on our way to writing a good limerick.
To be continued ...
Answers:
February 23
Japan; costume; interested; clubs; group; together; manga; anime; research; programme; dress up; chows; science fiction; history; cosplayers; anything else; great fun



There was a young man