There was an Old Man with a beard Who said, It is just as I feared! – Two Owls and a Hen, four Larks and a Wren, Have all built their nests in my beard.
SPEAK
1. 2. 3.
Discuss these three questions with another student. What kind of poem is this?
What are the features of this type of poem? Do you know any other poems like this?
If you identified aspects of rhythm and rhyme as some of the features in the poem, you are on the right track to understanding some techniques that poets use in their work. We will come back to rhythm and rhyme later.
Having identified one type of poem (the limerick), can you think of any others you learned about last year or in primary school? Working in pairs, take one minute to make a list of as many types of poems as possible. If you know of any examples, e.g. ‘Humpty Dumpty is a famous nursery rhyme’, write them down too.
