In Competition No. 3240, you were invited to tell the life story of a well-known figure in three limericks.
In the excellent How to Be Well-Versed in Poetry, E.O. Parrott summed up the charms of the form neatly:
With a shape of its own it’s imbued – That’s the limerick, witty or lewd; Two lines, then you oughter Have two more, much shorter Then one longer that’s funny or rude.
Though there was wit aplenty in the entry, you there was little appetite for bawdiness. Brian Murdoch, Sylvia Fairley, Frank Upton, Carolyn Beckingham and David Silverman earn honourable mentions.
The prize winners, printed below, are rewarded with £25 each.
A young poet and man about town Earns bon mot virtuoso renown, Aesthetic, ironic And self-made iconic As philosopher/dandy/wit/clown. Comic plays win him fortune and fame, Make his British lit pantheon name. Then a Lord with whose boy He’s shared dare-not-speak joy Wins a bout, and his life’s not the same. He does gaol time for sexual crimes (Blameless acts in more civilised times), Then self-exiles in France To conclude the romance With harsh truth in lush rhythms and rhymes. Chris O’Carroll/Oscar Wilde
William Shakespeare’s the bard of our nation, With his plays a poetic sensation; In his sonnets of fire He had power to inspire And his words are a timeless quotation. He performed in the age of Queen Bess And for James his Macbeth meant success. With the force of his pen He was monarch of men And his craft never failed to impress. He made comedy when he was dead For his wife got his second-best bed; And a tragic surprise Is, where lifeless he lies, Like poor Yorick he’s minus his head. Frank
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