Limerick is ... Limerick: definition, form, features, history and famous authors

It has long been known that all that is not poetry can be called prose. But the opposite conclusion is also true: all that is not prose is poetry. You can find poems for every taste: long or short, sad or merry, good or bad (although this statement is very subjective), about love, about war, about loss. But now we will talk about short and cheerful Celtic chastushki, if they can be called so.

Definition

Limerick is a poetic form that appeared in the middle of the nineteenth century in Ireland and is named after the city of Limerick. There is another legend that the Limerick was called a repeating verse or chorus in the songs of Irish militia soldiers. It is the fifth with absurd, satirical or obscene content. This comic poetry was originally a product of folk art and helped to brighten the life of English and Irish hard workers. The history of Limerick leads the explorer from the British Isles to the European continent, to France. It was there that soldiers, yearning for their homeland, sang their songs and this was remembered by impressionable Frenchmen.

History

In addition to the official version, there are many more conjectures that do not get worse from the fact that they gain an easy flair of distrust among historians. Thus, some narrators assert that Limerick (Irish chastushki) existed even in the times of the Ancient World, as there is evidence in the plays of Aristophanes. The British Museum holds records of similar poems dating from the fourteenth century. They are found in the works of the great Shakespeare, but mostly in those moments that describe folk art.

The most commonly used version is that Limerick is the creation of Langford Reed, who not only collected ditties, published them, but also wrote at his leisure. This same theory asserts that this form of poetry should not be recited, as usual poems, but sung. And it is imperative to keep the refrain at the end of each verse: "Will you return to Limerick?"

Structure

Limerick as a kind of English folklore poetry has a fairly tough form. This quality is not inherent in ordinary folk poetry. Strictly regulated size, method of rhyming, the number of lines in one stanza. If at least one item is not met, then it's not a limerick, but something else.

The verse consists of five lines, where the first is rhymed with the second and the last, and the third with the fourth. As in any short history, first acquaintance with the character: the author indicates his or her name and calls the hero's hometown. The next three lines should tell about a curious case from the life of this person, and in the fifth one shows the reaction of society to this event. In the canonical limerick, the first and last lines must end in the same way.

A few technical nuances

How to write Limerick? To do this, you need to know what rhyme sizes are and how they can be used in a specific form. But first, let's look at the formalities. So:

1. The monosyllabic size, or brachycolon, is characterized by the fact that in each foot (a group of syllables with a single stress) there is a word containing only one single syllable.
2. Two-Sized Sizes:
   - Horay - the stress is on the first syllable in the foot. In the line, usually the striking will be the odd syllables (first, third, fifth).
   - Iamb - the stress is placed on the last syllable in the foot, and the paired syllables (second, fourth, sixth) are considered as shock.
3. Three-syllable dimensions:
   - Anapaest - stop consists of two unstressed syllables and one percussion. An example is the work of AA Blok.
   - Amfibrachy - a three-syllable foot contains a stressed syllable in the middle. Often found in the works of Nekrasov.
   - Dactyl is an ancient way of rhyming, the foot consists of the first long (shock) and two short (unstressed) syllables. He preferred M. Yu. Lermontov.

The size of the limerick

Now, knowing the basic dimensions used in poetry, we can say that the limerick is a three-legged verse. But not all of his lines are the same in rhythm.

For the first and second line, as well as the fifth one, you can take an anapest, then for the third and fourth line you need to use amphibrachium. And vice versa. This helps to get a characteristic melody and melody, ease of memorization. To achieve that Limerick was written on all canons is extremely difficult. Even it is not clear why such a complex meter and a lot of conventions in writing were popular in Britain. But apparently, the mentality, the harsh climate and a lot of free time in the winter months made you think up leisure more interesting.

Famous authors

The celebrity among the writers of Limerick is undoubtedly Edward Lear. He collected folklore in all parts of England and Ireland, published several books with Limerick, and they had a stunning success. The very first collection withstood three reprints, it was translated into most languages of the world. The same verses that Lir himself composed, carry a deep hidden meaning, accessible to a narrow circle of readers who are familiar with the biography of the author.

At different times, limericks wrote Lewis Carroll, Wendy Cope, and outside the United Kingdom already in the late twentieth - early twenty-first century this form began to spread in the network space.

Transfer

Expressive means of limerick, which he attracts the listener, are understandable only to the native speaker. Translate it, preserving the structure, size and meaning, as well as irony, - almost impossible task. Often authors use word games and jargon, which have no equivalents. Therefore, the translator needs to apply all his skills to recreate the original canonical limerick, or, knowing the meaning contained in it, write a new one, as they say, out of nothing. The main task is to keep the shape and size, because without this, the verse will turn into nonsense, and even poorly organized.

Limerick is a truly British way of expressing oneself, putting your thoughts in a joking manner, so that no one can guess how serious they are. It is difficult for foreigners to understand this trickery, and in order to comprehend it in perfection, it is necessary to be born an Englishman or thoroughly permeated with the life, traditions and culture of the English. That is, live on Foggy Albion for about forty years, no less.

In Russian modern literature, too, there are good examples of the compilation of limerikov. This, say, the hero of Boris Akunin - Nicholas Fandorin, who was Russified by birth in German, but an Englishman in the way of thinking, upbringing and culture. He composed short verses, reflecting his attitude to this or that event in his life. The writer was able to achieve an amazing identity of sound, shape and size.