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A limerick is a type of poem, usually a funny one. It has five lines. Lines 1, 2, and 5 have three strong beats, and they rhyme with each other. Lines 3 and 4 rhyme with each other and they have two strong beats. The rhythm of the poem, responsible for the strong beats, is called "anapestic." An anapest is a 3 beat unit, with the first two beats being weak and the last one as the strong one.

Many limericks follow the pattern of starting with "There once was" and then making a joke. For example, here is a limerick by Edward Lear (1812-1888), one of the most famous of limerick writers:

There once was a Young Lady of Poole,
Whose soup was excessively cool;
So she put it to boil
By the aid of some oil,
That ingenious Young Lady of Poole.

Limericks usually try to make someone laugh.