limeric

ちょっと前に "Clerihew " と言う詩の形式を紹介しましたが、それと似た "limerick" と言う形式の詩もあることを知りました。　以下はWikipediaによる "limerick" の説明です。
A limerick is a five-line poem with a strict form, originally popularized in English by Edward Lear. Limericks are witty or humorous, and sometimes obscene with humorous intent.
The following example of a limerick is of anonymous origin.
The limerick packs laughs anatomical
In space that is quite economical,
But the good ones I've seen
So seldom are clean,
And the clean ones so seldom are comical.
上の例で分かるように "limerick" はAABBA形式５行のユーモラスでまた風刺やきわどい内容も含んでいる場合のある詩です。　また There was a man...from/of ,,,で始まる場合も多いようで、その例を一つあげます。
There was a young lady of Niger
Who smiled as she rode on a tiger;
They returned from the ride
With the lady inside,
And the smile on the face of the tiger.
これはブラックユーモアですね。