annaswirls
Pointy?
- Joined
- Dec 9, 2003
- Posts
- 7,204
I have been looking up who wrote some of the poems used as examples in the Survivor Challenge.
I am going to look up those I do not know (or do) and post them here. PLEASE join me in the googlefest. Many of them are written by the person who invented them (makes sense!)
14. Sonnet (English or Spenserian)
Form of lyrical poetry, the sonnet consists of 14 lines, traditionally written in iambic pentameter. The English sonnet is structured as three quatrains and a couplet, following a scheme of abab cdcd efef gg. The third quatrain generally introduces an unexpected sharp thematic turn, called volta. The final couplet generally summarizes the theme of the poem or introduces a fresh new look at the theme.
15. Sonnet (Italian)
Form of lyrical poetry, the sonnet consists of 14 lines, traditionally written in iambic pentameter. The Italian sonnet is structured as two quatrains and two tercets, following a rhyme scheme of abba abba cde cde, abba abba cdc cdc, or abba abba cde dcd. The two quatrains, typically, describe a problem, which is resolved in the two tercets. The 9th line creates a turn (volta) that signals the move from proposition to resolution. The final line of the final tercet is called golden key, closing and giving meaning to the entire poem.
When I consider how my light is spent [a]
Ere half my days, in this dark world and wide,
And that one talent which is death to hide,
Lodged with me useless, though my soul more bent [a]
To serve therewith my Maker, and present [a]
My true account, lest he returning chide;
"Doth God exact day-labor, light denied?"
I fondly ask; but Patience to prevent [a]
That murmur, soon replies, "God doth not need [c]
Either man's work or his own gifts; who best [d]
Bear his mild yoke, they serve him best. His state [e]
Is Kingly. Thousands at his bidding speed [c]
And post o'er land and ocean without rest; [d]
They also serve who only stand and wait." [e]
16. Tanka
Short Japanese poetic form, it consists of 5 lines, usually with a mora pattern of 5-7-5 / 7-7. When written in English, this should translate into five lines, following a short-long-short-long-long pattern. Tanka uses formal and traditional language with no apparent rhyme, often containing a pivot linking the two ideas present in the poem. It tackles the theme in an emotional and subjective manner, but relating to the physical and objective, taking a human perspective, and often relating humanity to nature. It's imagistic and symbolic, often making use of metaphor and anthropomorphism, and tries to transmit aesthetic ideals and philosophical concepts such as mysteriousness and transience.
Soon my life will close
When I am beyond this world
And have forgotten it,
Let me remember only this:
One final meeting with you.
---------------------Izumi Shikibu
Even when the gods
Held sway in ancient days,
I have never heard
That water gleamed with autumn red
As it does in Tatta's stream.
-----------------------Ariwara no Narihira
17. Tritina
Poetry form similar to the sestina, but considerably simpler, as there are only three repeating words. It's a 10-line poem, consisting of three tercets and an ending line. The last words of each line in the first tercet are repeated as the last words of each line in the other tercets, in different orders: abc cab bca. All three words appear in the final line as well, in the original order. All lines should be of a common meter or length.
First, grant me this conceit: that your body
Lives as perfect metaphor, perfect blend
Of draftsmanship, of brushwork, pigment, paint
That even Botticelli couldn't paint
In Birth of Venus. True female body,
Idealized as Sex and Love in blend,
Fused to archetype of form. To that blend
Add charm, wit, cleverness—then try to paint.
No art, no skill, captures such a body.
That body blend with mine. Coat me like paint.
18. Triolet
Short French poem, with 8 lines in length, turning on only two rhymes and including two refrains: ABaAabAB. Every line has the same metrical length.
Around the house the flakes fly faster,
And all the berries now are gone
From holly and cotoneaster [a]
Around the house. The flakes fly! – faster
Shutting indoors the crumb-outcaster [a]
We used to see upon the lawn
Around the house. The Flakes fly faster
And all the berries now are gone!
19. Villanelle
French poetic form of five triplet stanzas and a concluding quatrain, turning on only two rhymes. The first and third lines of triplet 1 are refrains, the first of which reappears as lines 6, 12, and 18; the second reappears as lines 9, 15, and 19: A1bA2 abA1 abA2 abA1 abA2 abA1A2. Every line has the same metrical length.
Do not go gentle into that good night, [a]
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light. [a]
Though wise men at their end know dark is right, [a]
Because their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night. [a]
Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright [a]
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light. [a]
Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight, [a]
And learned, too late, they grieved it on its way,
Do not go gentle into that good night. [a]
Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light. [a]
And you, my father, there on the sad height, [a]
Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray.
Do not go gentle into that good night. [a]
Rage, rage against the dying of the light. [a]
20. Ballad (5 stanzas or more)
Ballad measure is a four-line stanza form with an abcb rhyme scheme, used in longish poems that narrate a story, and consists of alternating tetrameter and trimeter lines: 4 beats on lines 1 and 3, and 3 beats on lines 2 and 4. They can be iambic, or they can be podic, with variable numbers of unaccented syllables.
It is an ancient Mariner, [4 beats]
And he stoppeth one of three. [3 beats]
"By thy long beard and glittering eye, [4 beats]
Now wherefore stopp'st thou me? [3 beats]
The Bridegroom's doors are opened wide, [a]
And I am next of kin;
The guests are met, the feast is set: [c]
May'st hear the merry din."
He holds him with his skinny hand,
"There was a ship," quoth he.
"Hold off! unhand me, grey-beard loon!"
Eftsoons his hand dropt he.
...
21. Blank Verse (20 lines or more)
Any unrhymed accentual-syllabic verse. By far, the most common blank verse in English language is in iambic pentameter, but can be done in iambic tetrameter, trochaic dimeter, dactylic hexameter, spondaic septameter, etc. As long as you maintain consistency throughout the poem.
But, soft! | what light | through yon|der win|dow breaks? [5 iambs]
It is| the east, | and Ju|liet is | the sun. [5 iambs]
Arise, | fair sun, | and kill | the en|vious moon, [5 iambs]
Who is already sick and pale with grief,
That thou, her maid, art far more fair than she.
Be not her maid, since she is envious;
Her vestal livery is but sick and green
And none but fools do wear it; cast it off.
It is my lady, O, it is my love!
O, that she knew she were!
22. Heroic Couplet (20 lines or more)
A unit of verse consisting of two lines of iambic pentameter rhyming aa. There may be enjambment within each couplet, but there shouldn't be any in between different couplets.
O could | I flow | like thee, | and make | thy stream
My great | exam|ple, as | it is | my theme!
Though deep, yet clear, though gentle, yet not dull, [a]
Strong without rage, without o'erflowing full. [a]
...
23. Ottava Rima (3 stanzas or more)
Italian stanza form consisting of 8 lines written in iambic pentameter and a rhyme scheme of abababcc.
I want | a he|ro: an | uncom|mon want, [a]
When every year and month sends forth a new one,
Till, after cloying the gazettes with cant, [a]
The age discovers he is not the true one;
Of such as these I should not care to vaunt, [a]
I'll therefore take our ancient friend Don Juan—
We all have seen him, in the pantomime, [c]
Sent to the devil somewhat ere his time. [c]
24. Rubaiyat Quatrain (5 stanzas or more)
Arabic form that consists of 4-line stanzas (rubai) rhyming aaba. The third line of each stanza becomes the main rhyme of the following stanza. The last stanza sometimes uses in its third line the main rhyme of the first stanza of the sequence. There should be no enjambment between stanzas.
Whose woods these are I think I know, [a]
His house is in the village though. [a]
He will not see me stopping here,
To watch his woods fill up with snow. [a]
My little horse must think it queer,
To stop without a farmhouse near,
Between the woods and frozen lake, [c]
The darkest evening of the year.
He gives his harness bells a shake, [c]
To ask if there is some mistake. [c]
The only other sound's the sweep, [d]
Of easy wind and downy flake. [c]
...
25. Terza Rima (4 stanzas or more + finale)
Interlocked-rhyme stanza form invented by Dante. It's an accentual-syllabic (usually iambic pentameter) form consisting of any number of interlocked, enclosed triplet stanzas. The first and third lines of each triplet rhyme; the second line rhyme of each triplet becomes the rhyme for the following stanza: aba bcb cdc ded... The traditional ending (finale) of a terza rima poem consists of a couplet rhymed from the second line of the last triplet.
O wild West Wind, thou breath of Autumn's being [a]
Thou from whose unseen presence the leaves dead
Are driven like ghosts from an enchanter fleeing, [a]
Yellow, and black, and pale, and hectic red,
Pestilence-stricken multitudes! O thou [c]
Who chariotest to their dark wintry bed
The wingèd seeds, where they lie cold and low, [c]
Each like a corpse within its grave, until [d]
Thine azure sister of the Spring shall blow [c]
Her clarion o'er the dreaming earth, and fill [d]
(Driving sweet buds like flocks to feed in air) [e]
With living hues and odours plain and hill; [d]
Wild Spirit, which art moving everywhere; [e]
Destroyer and preserver; hear, O hear! [e]
I am going to look up those I do not know (or do) and post them here. PLEASE join me in the googlefest. Many of them are written by the person who invented them (makes sense!)
14. Sonnet (English or Spenserian)
Form of lyrical poetry, the sonnet consists of 14 lines, traditionally written in iambic pentameter. The English sonnet is structured as three quatrains and a couplet, following a scheme of abab cdcd efef gg. The third quatrain generally introduces an unexpected sharp thematic turn, called volta. The final couplet generally summarizes the theme of the poem or introduces a fresh new look at the theme.
15. Sonnet (Italian)
Form of lyrical poetry, the sonnet consists of 14 lines, traditionally written in iambic pentameter. The Italian sonnet is structured as two quatrains and two tercets, following a rhyme scheme of abba abba cde cde, abba abba cdc cdc, or abba abba cde dcd. The two quatrains, typically, describe a problem, which is resolved in the two tercets. The 9th line creates a turn (volta) that signals the move from proposition to resolution. The final line of the final tercet is called golden key, closing and giving meaning to the entire poem.
When I consider how my light is spent [a]
Ere half my days, in this dark world and wide,
And that one talent which is death to hide,
Lodged with me useless, though my soul more bent [a]
To serve therewith my Maker, and present [a]
My true account, lest he returning chide;
"Doth God exact day-labor, light denied?"
I fondly ask; but Patience to prevent [a]
That murmur, soon replies, "God doth not need [c]
Either man's work or his own gifts; who best [d]
Bear his mild yoke, they serve him best. His state [e]
Is Kingly. Thousands at his bidding speed [c]
And post o'er land and ocean without rest; [d]
They also serve who only stand and wait." [e]
16. Tanka
Short Japanese poetic form, it consists of 5 lines, usually with a mora pattern of 5-7-5 / 7-7. When written in English, this should translate into five lines, following a short-long-short-long-long pattern. Tanka uses formal and traditional language with no apparent rhyme, often containing a pivot linking the two ideas present in the poem. It tackles the theme in an emotional and subjective manner, but relating to the physical and objective, taking a human perspective, and often relating humanity to nature. It's imagistic and symbolic, often making use of metaphor and anthropomorphism, and tries to transmit aesthetic ideals and philosophical concepts such as mysteriousness and transience.
Soon my life will close
When I am beyond this world
And have forgotten it,
Let me remember only this:
One final meeting with you.
---------------------Izumi Shikibu
Even when the gods
Held sway in ancient days,
I have never heard
That water gleamed with autumn red
As it does in Tatta's stream.
-----------------------Ariwara no Narihira
17. Tritina
Poetry form similar to the sestina, but considerably simpler, as there are only three repeating words. It's a 10-line poem, consisting of three tercets and an ending line. The last words of each line in the first tercet are repeated as the last words of each line in the other tercets, in different orders: abc cab bca. All three words appear in the final line as well, in the original order. All lines should be of a common meter or length.
First, grant me this conceit: that your body
Lives as perfect metaphor, perfect blend
Of draftsmanship, of brushwork, pigment, paint
That even Botticelli couldn't paint
In Birth of Venus. True female body,
Idealized as Sex and Love in blend,
Fused to archetype of form. To that blend
Add charm, wit, cleverness—then try to paint.
No art, no skill, captures such a body.
That body blend with mine. Coat me like paint.
18. Triolet
Short French poem, with 8 lines in length, turning on only two rhymes and including two refrains: ABaAabAB. Every line has the same metrical length.
Around the house the flakes fly faster,
And all the berries now are gone
From holly and cotoneaster [a]
Around the house. The flakes fly! – faster
Shutting indoors the crumb-outcaster [a]
We used to see upon the lawn
Around the house. The Flakes fly faster
And all the berries now are gone!
19. Villanelle
French poetic form of five triplet stanzas and a concluding quatrain, turning on only two rhymes. The first and third lines of triplet 1 are refrains, the first of which reappears as lines 6, 12, and 18; the second reappears as lines 9, 15, and 19: A1bA2 abA1 abA2 abA1 abA2 abA1A2. Every line has the same metrical length.
Do not go gentle into that good night, [a]
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light. [a]
Though wise men at their end know dark is right, [a]
Because their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night. [a]
Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright [a]
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light. [a]
Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight, [a]
And learned, too late, they grieved it on its way,
Do not go gentle into that good night. [a]
Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light. [a]
And you, my father, there on the sad height, [a]
Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray.
Do not go gentle into that good night. [a]
Rage, rage against the dying of the light. [a]
20. Ballad (5 stanzas or more)
Ballad measure is a four-line stanza form with an abcb rhyme scheme, used in longish poems that narrate a story, and consists of alternating tetrameter and trimeter lines: 4 beats on lines 1 and 3, and 3 beats on lines 2 and 4. They can be iambic, or they can be podic, with variable numbers of unaccented syllables.
It is an ancient Mariner, [4 beats]
And he stoppeth one of three. [3 beats]
"By thy long beard and glittering eye, [4 beats]
Now wherefore stopp'st thou me? [3 beats]
The Bridegroom's doors are opened wide, [a]
And I am next of kin;
The guests are met, the feast is set: [c]
May'st hear the merry din."
He holds him with his skinny hand,
"There was a ship," quoth he.
"Hold off! unhand me, grey-beard loon!"
Eftsoons his hand dropt he.
...
21. Blank Verse (20 lines or more)
Any unrhymed accentual-syllabic verse. By far, the most common blank verse in English language is in iambic pentameter, but can be done in iambic tetrameter, trochaic dimeter, dactylic hexameter, spondaic septameter, etc. As long as you maintain consistency throughout the poem.
But, soft! | what light | through yon|der win|dow breaks? [5 iambs]
It is| the east, | and Ju|liet is | the sun. [5 iambs]
Arise, | fair sun, | and kill | the en|vious moon, [5 iambs]
Who is already sick and pale with grief,
That thou, her maid, art far more fair than she.
Be not her maid, since she is envious;
Her vestal livery is but sick and green
And none but fools do wear it; cast it off.
It is my lady, O, it is my love!
O, that she knew she were!
22. Heroic Couplet (20 lines or more)
A unit of verse consisting of two lines of iambic pentameter rhyming aa. There may be enjambment within each couplet, but there shouldn't be any in between different couplets.
O could | I flow | like thee, | and make | thy stream
My great | exam|ple, as | it is | my theme!
Though deep, yet clear, though gentle, yet not dull, [a]
Strong without rage, without o'erflowing full. [a]
...
23. Ottava Rima (3 stanzas or more)
Italian stanza form consisting of 8 lines written in iambic pentameter and a rhyme scheme of abababcc.
I want | a he|ro: an | uncom|mon want, [a]
When every year and month sends forth a new one,
Till, after cloying the gazettes with cant, [a]
The age discovers he is not the true one;
Of such as these I should not care to vaunt, [a]
I'll therefore take our ancient friend Don Juan—
We all have seen him, in the pantomime, [c]
Sent to the devil somewhat ere his time. [c]
24. Rubaiyat Quatrain (5 stanzas or more)
Arabic form that consists of 4-line stanzas (rubai) rhyming aaba. The third line of each stanza becomes the main rhyme of the following stanza. The last stanza sometimes uses in its third line the main rhyme of the first stanza of the sequence. There should be no enjambment between stanzas.
Whose woods these are I think I know, [a]
His house is in the village though. [a]
He will not see me stopping here,
To watch his woods fill up with snow. [a]
My little horse must think it queer,
To stop without a farmhouse near,
Between the woods and frozen lake, [c]
The darkest evening of the year.
He gives his harness bells a shake, [c]
To ask if there is some mistake. [c]
The only other sound's the sweep, [d]
Of easy wind and downy flake. [c]
...
25. Terza Rima (4 stanzas or more + finale)
Interlocked-rhyme stanza form invented by Dante. It's an accentual-syllabic (usually iambic pentameter) form consisting of any number of interlocked, enclosed triplet stanzas. The first and third lines of each triplet rhyme; the second line rhyme of each triplet becomes the rhyme for the following stanza: aba bcb cdc ded... The traditional ending (finale) of a terza rima poem consists of a couplet rhymed from the second line of the last triplet.
O wild West Wind, thou breath of Autumn's being [a]
Thou from whose unseen presence the leaves dead
Are driven like ghosts from an enchanter fleeing, [a]
Yellow, and black, and pale, and hectic red,
Pestilence-stricken multitudes! O thou [c]
Who chariotest to their dark wintry bed
The wingèd seeds, where they lie cold and low, [c]
Each like a corpse within its grave, until [d]
Thine azure sister of the Spring shall blow [c]
Her clarion o'er the dreaming earth, and fill [d]
(Driving sweet buds like flocks to feed in air) [e]
With living hues and odours plain and hill; [d]
Wild Spirit, which art moving everywhere; [e]
Destroyer and preserver; hear, O hear! [e]
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