Limericks

[Joel S. Berson]

At 11/2/2009 11:59 AM, Mark Mandel wrote:

>What about "There once was a(n)...", or is that only more recent?

At least the 1878 "there once was a child" limerick I found is 2
years earlier than the so-far found associations of the rhyme with "Limerick".

Joel


>m a m
>
>On Sun, Nov 1, 2009 at 10:25 AM, Stephen Goranson <goranson at duke.edu> wrote:
>
> > Thanks Joel.
> > We have Limericks (poems) securely named as currently defined from
> > 1895. We have
> > 1880 and 1881 US uses of "Limerick Rhymes" that may be the same poem type.
> > "Limerick Rhymes" in 1896 in UK reliably is the poem type. The US uses of
> > "Limerick rhymes" may have been tacked on to a plagiarized 1879 book set in
> > Qxford. So, maybe start with "Limerick Rhymes."
> > If you're still interested, maybe try "will/won't you come up (come up) up
> > to
> > Limerick (town)" that we have in 1898ff as a claimed Limerick composition
> > game
> > chorus and claimed years later by his son as 1880 in Oxford when the (CE)
> > Bishop of Limerick got an honorary degree, supposedly chanted (though not
> > necessarily with Limerick poems included, just the chorus).
> > I'd try "come to Limerick" (meaning "surrender," "get with the program,"
> > etc.)
> > Maybe exclude [Limerick(s)]: gloves, lace, fishhooks, tobacco.
> > Maybe Limerick(s) plus "there was an old/young..." or plus Oxford.
> > good luck,
> > Stephen
> >
> > PS IIRC Charles L. Graves, the Bishop's son, eventually wrote for Pink 'Un,
> > though later. Also Wilkes the owner of a NY newspaper (with 1863 poems)
> > once
> > owned Police Gazette (the 1880 Limerick source), and similar to Pink 'Un.
> > Kipling was in the US when an 1895 letter from his publisher Heinemann
> > mentioned Limericks....
> >
> > Quoting "Joel S. Berson" <Berson at ATT.NET>:
> >
> > > This Gale database is that which is called "19th Century UK
> > > Periodicals Online, 1800-1900" by Harvard.  I can access it next time
> > > I am within their walls, almost certainly within about 10 days.
> > >
> > > Stephen, can I assume that only direct hits on "limeric[k]" are
> > > desired;?  Or are there other search terms that may be useful, to
> > > find related material?
> > >
> > > Joel
> > >
> > > At 11/1/2009 06:39 AM, Stephen Goranson wrote:
> > >
> > >> 5) Gershon Legman guessed that the (UK) The Sporting Times aka the
> > >> "Pink 'Un"
> > >> might have early Limerick citations. According to Worldcat, the
> > >> Wellcome Library
> > >> page lists this serial as included in 19th century UK periodicals.
> > >> Series 1: new
> > >> readerships [Gale]. Is that accurate? I don't have access to that
> > >> database. If anyone has digital access to The Pink 'Un, please consider
> > >> searching and reporting any early "Limerick" use. Thanks.
> > >>
> > >> Stephen Goranson
> > >> http://www.duke.edu/~goranson <http://www.duke.edu/%7Egoranson>
> > >
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> > >
> >
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> >
>
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