Q 01/05

How many lines does a standard limerick have?

A) Five

B) Four

C) Three

D) Six

Answer · why

A) Five

The first, second and last lines carry three beats each; the two short middle lines carry two.

Q 02/05

What is the rhyme scheme of a limerick?

A) AABBA

B) ABAB

C) ABBA

D) AAAA

Answer · why

A) AABBA

Lines one, two and five share one rhyme; the shorter lines three and four share another.

Q 03/05

What is the da-da-DUM foot of limericks, two unstressed syllables then a stressed one, called?

A) Anapaest

B) Trochee

C) Iamb

D) Spondee

Answer · why

A) Anapaest

The same rolling foot drives 'A Visit from St. Nicholas' and Byron's 'The Destruction of Sennacherib'.

Q 04/05

According to the classic pattern, what does the first line of a limerick traditionally introduce?

A) A moral and a warning

B) A person and a place

C) A date and a season

D) An animal and a colour

Answer · why

B) A person and a place

The place name lands at the end of the line and sets the rhyme that lines two and five must match, which is why exotic towns are so popular.

Q 05/05

In early limericks, the last line was typically what?

A) A rhetorical question

B) A single nonsense word

C) A near-repeat of the opening

D) A moral in Latin

Answer · why

C) A near-repeat of the opening

Lear's verses often end almost where they began, so the humour lies in the circular nonsense rather than in a punchline.