Since Colin didn't post his blog summary, here's the one from ENGL 300-1, done by Heather Mormino.
Responses are due on Wednesday, Nov. 5th, by class time.
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Lessard and Levison begin the article by stating that this topic may be frivolous, but it could a good case can be made for the importance and indeed the centrality of the problems that they discuss further in the article on both theoretical and practical problems. They state that people are interested in the underlying principles of what it taken as the essential component of our humanity: humor.
We may have all heard of limericks, but what exactly is a limerick? Well, in the article the authors say that a limerick is the midway between a pun and a joke. What constitutes a limerick to most people is a five-line poem with an aabba rhyme, scheme, an anapestic metre, and nine syllables on lines one, two and five, and six syllables on lines three and four. However, this is subject to change as the rhyme scheme is not limited to aabba.
Lessard and Levison then start to discuss rhyme. Two phonological sequences (words, sequences of words, lines) are said to rhyme if their final stressed syllables share the same nucleus and coda. Everyboday knows that for most poems rhyme is an essetial piece. So we take from these two section of the article that a limerick is a rhyming joke.
Now we get into metre: Once a rhyme scheme has been determined, the construction of each line requires that a sequence of lexical items be aligned, culminating in the rhyming word, which contains the correct number of syllables and whose metrical structure follows the pattern determined for the limerick under construction. So now we decide that a limerick is a rhyming joke that has a certain rhythm based from its metre. The metre is the flow of the rhyme. Think of how you read a poem and the specific pattern we use in our heads.
For discussion: Do you know any (class appropriate) limericks? Do you think you could make one up on your own? Would you teach limericks to your class, and if so would you mix it in with poetry since we know that a limerick is somewhat of a rhyming poem?
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I certainly have heard of limericks and many are "clean" but most I know are not class friendly. Therefore I have made up one of my own.
There once was a man named Stan
Who wore a large bow 'round his hand
When asked why
He'd only cry
To remember, but what? I can't!
I would certainly use Limericks in a classroom setting. They are not only fun to do but they do help in teaching rhyme and schemes. They help the students to understand the aabba pattern in limericks and in poetry.
I have also heard about limericks. To me, Limericks are really fun poems that I believe will get young students more interested in poetry.I would definitely teach Limericks in my classroom. It will be fun for the students and also fun for me.
Ex: Me and Tim a huntin we went
Met three girls in a popup tent
They were three and we were two
So I buck one
And tim buck two (timbuktu)
or
There was a girl named Joan
Who did nothing but nag and groan
I said "Shut Up"
She was Like "What Up"
So I said just leave me alone!
I haven't dealt with limericks since I was in the fifth grade, so to read about them now is amusing. If I were to teach my class a poetry unit I would definitely include limericks to lighten the mood that can occur from some of the longer, more serious poems. Since I don't have a creative bone in my body, I found this limerick at http://www.freewebs.com/limericks/. It was written by Dick Lamb.
1)Linda Blair with great fervor confessed,
2)She'd been exorcised, thus finding rest,
3)But alack and alas
4)Her old demon came back
5)and now the poor girl's repossessed.
I would definitely teach limericks in my classroom. They are a great way to introduce poetry to children, since most children think that poetry has to rhyme. After learning about the rhymes and structures of limericks, I would then start to teach about other forms of poetry.
Like most others in this class, the limericks I already know aren't appropriate for use in the classroom. I googled "limericks for children" and found:
There once was a Thingamajig--
Like a Whatsis, but three times as big.
When it first came in view
It looked something like you
But it stayed and turned into a pig!
http://www.brownielocks.com/kidlimericks.html
Before reading this article I had heard of limericks and how they correspond nicely with poetry. However, it has been a long time since I have actually heard them used in the classroom. I quite possibly could have been in grade school the last time a teacher introduced a limerick. But, if I were a teacher, at any level, and we were doing a poetry unit, I would certainly include a section that deals with limericks. For me, it can be an excellent way to bring out someones creative side. If there are shy kids in the class, limericks may be just what they need as an ice-breaker. Creative, I am not, therefore I also googled limerick examples and found one at http://www.laughoutloud.net/funny-limericks/funny_limericks.html
There once was a man from Peru
Who had a lot of growing up to do,
He'd ring a doorbell,
then run like hell,
Until the owner shot him with a .22
As you can see from this example, the aabba rhyme scheme mentioned in the article is quite clear. I believe people can have fun with limericks no matter how old or young they are.
I think limericks are a great way to introduce poetry to younger students. I can't remember the last time I discussed limericks in a classroom. I would certainly use them in my own class. They are a fun and creative way to get kids interested in poetry. After teaching limericks, you could easily move on to more difficult forms of poetry.
I would definitely teach Limericks. They're so fun! A lot of students don't really understand poetry very well. I think that opening a poetry unit with something like this might at least get them engaged and interested.
I think that it is important to teach limericks in class, because as a teacher you should try and get students involved in writing any way possible. Limericks can be an entertaining way to get your students involved.
Here is a limerick I found online, because I am not creative enough to write my own:
There was an Old Man with a beard,
Who said, 'It is just as I feared!
Two Owls and a Hen,
Four Larks and a Wren,
Have all built their nests in my beard!'
I can remember having limericks in middle school english, and I've always thought they were fun. I think they'd be a good way to get otherwise uninterested kids enjoying poetry. While I don't think I could come up with one on my own that was actually funny, I googled "clean limericks" and found a cite with limericks written for kids. http://www.brownielocks.com/kidlimericks.html
I thought this one was funny:
Said a salty old skipper from Wales,
"Number one, it's allright to chew nails.
It impresses the crew.
It impresses me too.
But stop spitting holes in the sails!"
I remember hearing most limericks when I was in grade school and I think that using them is a great way to get children to learn. If I teach a class about poetry I think limericks would be a good subject to cover. Here is one that I found online that I think is funny for college students.
A maiden at college, Miss Breeze,
Weighed down by B.A.s and Lit. D's,
collapsed by the strain,
Said her doctor, "It's plain,
You are killing yourself--- by degrees!"
There are millions of fun one that you could come up with for different lessons taught.
http://www.brownielocks.com/Limericks.html
I have heard some limericks in my days. They are definately not appropriate, but if I could find some appropriate ones I would like to teach them because they are funny and allow the children to loosen up a little. One that I remember I'll start it but I won't finish because it's not appropriate.
I'm popeye the sailor Man
I live in a garbage can
I turned up the heater
And burnt off my ******
I'm popeye the sailor Man
I had heard of limericks before this but i had never really thought about hem. I think teaching limericks would me an interesting lesson to teach in the classroom.
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
I got this limerick from this website, http://volweb.utk.edu/school/bedford/harrisms/limerick.htm
This probably doesn't follow all of the rules, but I'll give it a try:
There once was Obama and Biden,
who got the vote of Jeffrey Ryden.
But that wasn't enough,
so they opened polls up,
and trounced John McCain for election!
Hope I didn't offend anyone! J McC is really a great guy and would have been a good president.
I like the idea that was suggested to use limericks as an introduction to poetry for High School student (or even younger). They are fun and familiar while they can be used to introduce rhyme scheme, meter, etc. I know it might sound a little too childish for High School, but I remember my peers having a difficult time with poetry even in my first year of College. At the very least, they could be used to introduce a unit on poetry. I think students would have an easier time composing a poem when they have clearly defined limits and expectations of humor instead of "deep introspection" (as they may at first see poetry only in this light).
Limericks are always fun, but I have never really been a fan of poetry I do realize that it is important to learn because it involves rhythm and rhyme. It is very interesting to learn the different types of poetry, but sometime hard to comprehend.
Ex. The limerick is furtive and mean
You must keep her in close quarantine
Or she sneaks to the slums
And promptly becomes
Disorderly, drunk and obscene.
I would teach limericks in my classroom. I think this kind of writing is useful and it would help my students with rhythm and rhyme.
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