  Poetry
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A flea and a fly in a flue
Were caught, so what could they do?
Said the fly, "Let us flee."
"Let us fly," said the flea.
So they flew through a flaw in the flue.
- Anonymous
Hello, my name is Melissa is fashionably late! and I'm your guest editor for this week's Poetry newsletter. Bare with me, because if you haven't guessed already, this week's topic is limericks. |
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Limerick me this...
Limericks look like a simple poetry form on the outside, but on the inside they can be quite complex and difficult. In their true form, limericks are meant to be funny and often contain idioms, puns and other figurative devices. The last line is meant to carry the pun, or the joke's heart.
There's more to a limerick than telling a joke, though. It has some form to it, though the form is quite easy to pick up once you grasp it. There are five lines in a limerick. A two-lined rhyming poem, called a couplet, and a three-lined rhyming poem, called a triolet.
A limerick's rhyme scheme is a a b b a. Lines 1, 2, and 5 each contain 3 beats apiece, while lines 3 and 4 each contain 2 beats.
You can chain limericks, as well. Each link in the chain, if done right, should be able to stand on their own while leading up to one huge pun in the last chain. If not, that's OK, too, so long as they all work together towards a common goal, and that is the writer having a pun time in the process of writing said limerick!
If you want to stick to limericks in the strictest of form, the first line will introduce a person and location:
A flea and a fly in a flue
The next line introduces a circumstance or problem:
Were caught, so what could they do?
The following three lines resolve the situation:
Said the fly, "Let us flee."
"Let us fly," said the flea.
So they flew through a flaw in the flue.
Additionally, limericks throughout time and space have had several recurrent themes:
Nantucket (There once was a man from Nantucket...), Ribald verses (an indecent theme), Uttoxeter and Exeter (There once was a man from Exeter...), deliberate misspellings, or playing with words (like my example limerick).
Some famous limericists to check out are Ogden Nash, Edward Gorey, Isaac Asimov, John Ciardi, Gershon Legman, Edward Lear, and Charlie Murphy. The Beatles were also known to turn limericks into lyrics.
Well, that concludes your special guest addition of the Poetry newsletter. I hope that you learned something and enjoyed it in the process!  |
Some limericks by Writing.Com authors
Some other poetry around Writing.Com
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kafkaesque asks, "Why do some people write more poetry than stories?"
I can't answer for anyone else, but as someone who's portfolio has a poetry to story ratio of 2:1, I find it easier to write poetry than stories. Mostly because it requires less of an attention span than writing stories, but also because it seems to come easier for me. Please don't take that as my saying I do it better because that may not necesarrily be the case! 
If you're like me and write more poetry than stories, why do you do so?
SueBear asks, "Any secrets to writing free verse?"
Hmmm... this is an interesting question, and I'm sure that everyone has a different technique. When I write a free verse poem, I try not to force the flow, write what feels natural, and not attempt to insert any strict rules throughout, except maybe making sure that I don't insert a very long line in when the rest of my poem. So basically, the only thing I can recommend is to not try too hard, let it come naturally, and make sure that you concentrate on the flow!
~WhoMe???~  asks, "How do you distinguish between poetry and prose?"
I'm not quite sure I'm qualified to answer this question, but I'll give it a try.
Poetry is defined as:
1 a : metrical writing : VERSE b : the productions of a poet : POEMS
2 : writing that formulates a concentrated imaginative awareness of experience in language chosen and arranged to create a specific emotional response through meaning, sound, and rhythm
3 a : something likened to poetry especially in beauty of expression b : poetic quality or aspect.
Prose is defined as:
1 a : the ordinary language people use in speaking or writing b : a literary medium distinguished from poetry especially by its greater irregularity and variety of rhythm and its closer correspondence to the patterns of everyday speech
2 : a prosaic style, quality, or condition
(Both definitions were found on http://www.m-w.com .)
So, I guess that the definition of prose answers that question for me. It has a greater irregularity and variety of rythm and is closer correspondence to the patterns of everyday speech. In plain English, prose is written more like we think or speak, whereas poetry has some sort of rhythm or flow that may differ from our normal writing and speaking patterns.
SueBear also asks, "Do you have any tips for rating and reviewing poetry? I always have a hard time with that."
This is also a very interesting question! Thank you for posing so many challenges in my first ever poetry newsletter! 
Mostly, I try not to concentrate on form too awful much, unless specified that a certain form is used. Other things I concentrate on are:
Does it flow well?
Is it technically sound?
Are there any obvious flaws?
How does this poem make me feel? Does it accomplish what the author intends?
If it rhymes, does the rhyme scheme seem natural?
If it seems formatted, does the format seem consistant?
Are there any spots where the rhythm feels stiff or forced?
Does sound good when read aloud?
All of these things help me to determine my review and, consequently my rating. As far as ratings go, though, that is up to you. If you like a poem a lot, that should be reflected in your rating. If you don't, then that should be reflected in your rating.
I hope that helps!
Kraken through the Snow  asks, "How many stanzas does it take to get to the center of a tootsie pop?"
The world may never know! |
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Poetry: November 22, 2006 Issue [#1395]
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