THE origin of the term Limerick, as applied to a certain form of five-line stanza, seems to be as yet undiscovered. A statement was recently made that this stanza is so-called because it was invented by Edward Lear, and that he was born in Limerick, Ireland.
But Mr. Lear was born in London, and furthermore, he emphatically disclaims the credit of having created the type, and says that it was suggested to him by a friend as a form of verse lending itself to a limitless variety of humorous rhymes. Another suggestion offered is that the first stanza of the kind referred to the town of Limerick. This can scarcely be true, for the type dates back many centuries, although the title is of comparatively recent application.
Another explanation, and possibly the true one, is that a witty Irishman of Limerick made this particular form of stanza popular in political squibs. But whatever the origin of the title, it has been rapidly and widely accepted and fills a positive want.
The earliest known examples of the stanza are found in Halliwell's collection of English Nursery Rhymes, among a large mass of jingling folk-lore, to which it is impossible to ascribe definite dates, but which was current about the fifteenth or sixteenth century.
The first line of these stanzas is usually a string of meaningless words which also forms a refrain at the last. A well-known one is: --
But these lack the distinguishing trait of the modern Limerick, which is a first line stating the existence of a certain person in a definite place.
So far as may be verified, the oldest of these are also found among the "Mother Goose" rhymes, collected by Halliwell.
After these, the earliest Limerick of positive and authenticated date, is one current in an English public school in 1834: --
There was a young man of St. Kitts
Who was very much troubled with fits;
The eclipse of the moon
Threw him into a swoon,
When he tumbled and broke into bits.
In 1846 Edward Lear published his first collection of "Nonsense Rhymes," which, though not called Limericks, are all written in that form.
Aside from their first-rate nonsense, the distinguishing qualities of Mr. Lear's Limericks are their coined words and their rhymes to difficult geographical names: --
I,ear's verses were followed, in 1864, by two books full of Limericks, which were privately published and sold for the benefit of the New York Fair in aid of the Sanitary Commission.
Among English authors of Limericks may be mentioned the late Cosmo Monkhouse, who published a book of them, of which we subjoin two: --
The only Limerick that Rudyard Kipling is known to have written is the oft-quoted: --
There was a small boy of Quebec,
Who was buried in snow to his neck;
When asked, "Are you friz?"
He replied, "Yes, I is;
But we don't call this cold in Quebec."
Another well-known one is W. S. Gilbert's "Nonsense-Rhyme in Blank Verse."
There was an Old Man of St. Bees
Who was stung in the arm by a wasp.
When asked, "Does it hurt?"
He replied, "No, it doesn't,
But I thought all the while 'twas a hornet."
This is said to have been inspired by Edward Lear's
There was an Old Man in a tree
Who was horribly bored by a bee;
When they said, "Does it buzz?"
He replied, "Yes, it does!
It's a regular brute of a Bee."
George du Manner wrote many Limericks in French under the name of " Vers Nonsensiques."
In America the writers of Limericks are legion. Indeed, it would be easier to enumerate the non-composers of this classic stanza.
But among those acknowledged in print, we may quote: --
Many of the best and best-known Limericks are anonymous. All efforts seem unavailing to trace the authorship of the famous: --
A favorite diversion of Limerick writers is to rhyme words (usually proper names) which are illogically pronounced.
A similar device is rhyming well-known abbreviations.
Another side-issue in Limerick lore is the repetition of similar sounds.
There was a young man of Typhoo
Who wanted to catch the 2:02,
But his friend said. "Don't hurry
Or worry or flurry,
It's a minute or two to 2:02."
I venture to quote one or two of my own for the sake of Mr. Herford's delightful illustrations: --
And the end is not yet. Our witty poets, or rather our poetical wits, seem to approve of this vehicle, and new and superior Limericks are to be found in every fresh issue of our current periodicals.