Lettura e ascolto intermediate in inglese: There was a young merchant from Skye

Omaggio alla poesia nonsense di Edward Lear

There was a young merchant from Skye,
Who decided to dine with a fly;
His guest was most grateful
And ate every plateful,
Without stopping once to ask why.

Il limerick è un breve componimento in poesia, tipico della lingua inglese, dalle ferree regole (nonostante le infinite eccezioni), di contenuto umoristico o anche apertamente nonsense, che ha generalmente il proposito di far ridere o quantomeno sorridere.

Un limerick è sempre composto di cinque versi, di cui i primi due e l’ultimo, rimati tra loro, contengono tre piedi e dunque tre accenti (stress); il terzo e il quarto, a loro volta rimati tra loro, ne contengono solo due. Le rime seguono dunque lo schema: A A B B A.


Limericks © Tony Lawson
Images © Silvia Perricone



Your comments are always very welcome.


Unknown's avatar

Author: Tony

Born and raised in Malaysia between Kuala Lumpur and Singapore. Educated at Wycliffe College in Stonehouse, Gloucestershire, England. Living in the foothills of Mount Etna since 1982 and teaching English at Catania University since 1987.

2 thoughts on “Lettura e ascolto intermediate in inglese: There was a young merchant from Skye”

  1. I wish I were a fly, I could eat with four limbs, with four hands, in a nutshell.
    Nice limerick, great drawing, very explicative: before pinching my mobile screen and enlarging the drawing, I thought the merchant ate the fly, only one fly… too little for a meal!

    Liked by 1 person

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