Saturday, May 12, 2012

Edward Lear's birthday's today,
He popularized limericks which allow us to play
With words in a form
That is only a norm
of English's poetry array.

Edward Lear (12 May 1812 – 29 January 1888) popularized the limerick. Although it had been around since the early 18th century, Lear wrote "Edward Lear’s Book of Nonsense" (1846) which solidified its popularity, although he never used the term "limerick." he term "Limerick" came from the Limerick Hellfire Club, (in Ireland), where, among their debauches, the drunken members would regale each other with limericks. (presumably of a bawdy nature). Lear's are memorable because they were clever AND clean! The Limerick is the only popular poetry form to originate in English.