Limerick
Rules quoted from the poets.org glossary; examples only from public-domain poems.
The rules, quoted
Composed of five lines or five-line stanzas, the limerick adheres to a strict rhyme scheme and bouncy rhythm
Typically, the first two lines rhyme with each other, the third and fourth rhyme together, and the fifth line either repeats the first line or rhymes with it.
The limerick's anapestic rhythm is created by an accentual pattern that contains many sets of double weakly-stressed syllables.
Our explanation written by Tale of the Muse
A limerick is five lines, or stanzas of five lines, with a strict rhyme scheme and a bouncing anapestic rhythm. Lines one and two rhyme, lines three and four rhyme together, and line five repeats or rhymes with the first.
Our plain-language restatement of the glossary rules above. It adds no facts of its own.
Example
No public-domain example is shown for this form.