Forms

Hot4Heels

Really Experienced
Joined
Aug 2, 2002
Posts
259
Seeing as Rybka mentioned this and there is a wealth of information right here on the boards I thought I would go through the old posts and gather the explanations of various forms.
 
Sonnets

Originally posted by Unmasked Poet

From biki’s sonnet page one of the best in my opinion.

Basically speaking any 14 line poem can be called a sonnet and for this reason this reason alone there are many forms. Originating in Italy, the sonnet has and is still regarded as the most popular form of love poetry.

ITALIAN SONNET FORMS
Originally, a sonnet was simply a "little song," a short lyric poem with no specifically defined structure. Of the more precisely defined variations of the form that we have today, the oldest is the Italian Sonnet, also known as the Petrarchan Sonnet, after its creator, Petrarch.
It had no set structure originally and it was only after it's adoption by the English that defined the Italian Sonnet to be of Iambic pentameter and consist of an octave, or 8-line stanza, followed by a sestet, or 6-line stanza.
The octave sets up a situation upon which the sestet comments. Alternatively, the octave makes a statement, the sestet a counterstatement as in the following example by John Milton:

When I Consider How My Light Is Spent

(A) When I consider how my light is spent
(B) Ere half my days, in this dark world and wide,
(B) And that one talent which is death to hide
(A) Lodged with me useless, though my soul more bent
(A) To serve therewith my Maker, and present
(B) My true account, lest he returning chide;
(B) "Doth God exact day-labor, light denied?"
(A) I fondly ask; but Patience to prevent

(1) That murmur, soon replies, "God doth not need
(2) Either man's work or his own gifts; who best
(3) Bear his mild yoke, they serve him best. His state
(1 )Is kingly. Thousands at his bidding speed
(2) And post o'er land and ocean without rest:
(3) They also serve who only stand and wait."

There are three basic Italian Sonnet Forms;
1. Italian. 2, Sicilian and 3 Sonetto Rispetto. The difference is in the octave.The octave is constructed of two quatrains with a rhyming scheme of, A. B. B. A. and again , A. B. B. A.for the Italian Octave, and . , A. B. B. A.. then c.d.d.c. for the Sicilian. However the Sonetto Rispetto (or Ottava Rima Octave) is very different and has a rhyming scheme of a.b.a.b.a.b.c.c.

Each of these forms can also have a choice of two sestets,(6 line second stanza) Italian and Sicilian:
The Italian sestet(6 line second stanza) consists of two tercets (of 3 lines) with the rhyme scheme.. 1.2.3. , 1.2.3. The Sicilian Sestet, has a rhyme scheme. .1.2.1.2.1.2.

ENGLISH (SHAKESPEARIAN) SONNET
Gradually the Italian sonnet pattern was changed and since Shakespeare attained fame for the greatest poems of this modified type his name has often been given to the English form.
Instead of an octave and a sestet, a Shakespearian sonnet has three quatrains (4 line stanza) a.b.a.b. . c.d.c.d. . .e.f.e.f. and a rhymed couplet. g.g.

Sonnet LXV
(a) Since brass, nor stone, nor earth, nor boundless sea
(b) But sad mortality o’er-sways their power,
(a) How with this rage shall beauty hold a plea,
(b) Whose action is no stronger than a flower?

(c )how shall summer’s honey breath hold out,
(d) Against the wreckful siege of battering days,
(c) When rocks impregnable are not so stout,
(d) Nor gates of steel so strong, but Time decays?

(e) O fearful meditation! Where alack,
(f )Shall Time’s best jewel from Times chest lie hid?
(e) Or what strong hand can hold his swift foot back?
(f) Or who his spoil of beauty can forbid?

(g) O, none unless this miracle have might,
(g)That in black ink my love may still shine bright.
 
Villanelle

Originally posted by KillerMuffin

Villanelle
A "villanelle" is a French form, reflecting this in the fact that it only has two different rhymes through the six stanzas. (Romance languages have a wealth of words with similar endings, so their poetry tends to be oriented toward making several lines rhyme together.) Lines 1 and 3 of the first stanza take turns being the final line of stanzas 2-5, and then stanza 6 (which has 4 lines) sees both of them in lines 3 and 4.

The repeating lines rhyme with each other, and the middle lines of all of the stanzas rhyme together:

A
b
B

b
a
A repeated

b
a
B repeated

b
a
A repeated

b
a
B repeated

b
a
A repeated
B repeated


E.A. Robinson's "Villanelle of Change"

1 Since Persia fell at Marathon,
2 The yellow years have gathered fast:
3 Long centuries have come and gone.

4 And yet (they say) the place will don
5 A phantom fury of the past,
6 Since Persia fell at Marathon;

7 And as of old, when Helicon
8 Trembled and swayed with rapture vast
9 (Long centuries have come and gone),

10 This ancient plain, when night comes on,
11 Shakes to a ghostly battle-blast,
12 Since Persia fell at Marathon.

13 But into soundless Acheron
14 The glory of Greek shame was cast:
15 Long centuries have come and gone,

16 The suns of Hellas have all shone,
17 The first has fallen to the last:—
18 Since Persia fell at Marathon,
19 Long centuries have come and gone.
 
Ballads

Originally posted by REDWAVE

A much easier form is the ballad, which usually tells a story. The rhyme scheme & metrical count is a4b3c4b3. I.e., the second and fourth lines of each stanza rhyme. The first and third lines have four feet, usally iambic (=8 syllables). The second and fourth rhyming lines each have three feet (6 syllables). A quick example:

I met a girl in Inverness
Her eyes were shining free
And every move she did make
Said that she wanted me

I rushed to meet her at the pool
Where fate and gladness meet
But little did I realize then
The glory of her treat


Some traditional ballads go on and on for over a hundred verses, as different poets added new ones over time
 
Pantoum

Originally posted by KillerMuffin

The pantoum:

Here's some instructions:

Step 1: Write the first four lines with a rhyme scheme of abab.
Step 2: Copy lines 2 and 4 to lines 5 and 7.
Step 3: Write lines 6 and 8 (rhyme = c)
Step 4: Copy lines 6 and 8 to lines 9 and 11.
Step 5: Write lines 10 and 12 (rhyme = d)
Step 6: Copy lines 10 and 12 to lines 13 and 15
Step 7: Copy lines 3 and 1 to lines 14 and 16 ( in that order)


Here's what it looks like.

A1
B1
A2
B2

B1
C1
B2
C2

C1
D1
C2
D2

D1
A2
D2
A1

Fun huh?

My very first pantoum, don't laugh. It hasn't been edited yet.

Chocolate Kisses

While caught in the chaos of the daily grind,
I often lose the words that I meant to say.
The simple love from a child always shines;
Like chocolate kisses on Mother's Day.

I often lose the words that I meant to say,
Trying to find something more than I love you.
Like chocolate kisses on Mother's Day,
Remind me that feelings always show through.

Trying to find something more than I love you,
I sometimes forget that words are too much.
Remind me that feelings always show through,
With nothing more than an affectionate touch.

I sometimes forget that words are too much.
The simple love from a child always shines,
With nothing more than an affectionate touch,
While caught in the chaos of the daily grind.
 
Re: Sonnets

Hot4Heels said:
Originally posted by Unmasked Poet

From biki’s sonnet page one of the best in my opinion.

Basically speaking any 14 line poem can be called a sonnet and for this reason this reason alone there are many forms. Originating in Italy, the sonnet has and is still regarded as the most popular form of love poetry.


Intriguing....never knew they came from Italy. :)
 
Terzanelle

The terzanelle is a modified villanelle. It uses the terza rima's interlocked rhyme pattern, but fits the villanelle form of five triplets and a quatrain. In addition, the middle line of the 1st stanza becomes the third line of the next stanza, and so on, in each triplet. The quatrain uses the 1st and 3rd lines of the 1st stanza as its 2nd and 4th lines. Its 3rd line is the middle line of the 5th triplet.

Sue Ling

Silence permeates the house of evening,
echoes drifting gently over floorboards,
along the same path as my Sue Ling.

Sensuously she carried hand painted gourds
into their room with sounds of laughter,
echoes drifting gently over floorboards

She lined their nest not until after
flirtatious eyes moved Sue ling and me
into their room, with sounds of laughter.

We knew our fate, yet we did not flee.
We succumbed to the attraction.
Flirtatious eyes moved Sue Ling and me.

Knowing our crime was no minor infraction,
memories of touch and betrayal linger --
we succumbed to the attraction.

Tracing banished footprints with my finger,
silence permeates the house of evening.
Memories of touch and betrayal linger,
along the same path as my Sue Ling.

- Wicked Eve

Whores of Poetry

The whores of poetry call
to lovers Rhythm and Rhyme
who stand idly in the hall

Hurry, scurry and climb
on their iambic feet
to lovers Rhythm and Rhyme.

Ode and Sonnet compete -
dirty verses in motion
on their iambic feet.

They give Rhythm a notion
when they flash and sway -
dirty verses in motion.

Suggestions of four-way -
poets with naughty words
when they flash and sway.

"We love what we heard,"
the whores of poetry call.
Poets with naughty words
who stand idly in the hall.

-Wicked Eve
 
Triolet

A French form from the early Renaissance. Its name comes from the fact that the first line is repeated 3 times. Triolets are generally witty or light poems.

Consisting of eight lines the first line is the fourth and sevent line. The second line is the last. The third and fith lines rhyme with the first. The Sixth line rhymes with the second.

So we have:

A.] Bound through the night
B.] With a jingle of chains
a.] Makes me get it right
A.] Bound through the night
a.] Service is a delight
b.] To suffer Pleasure’s pains
A.] Bound through the night
B.] With a jingle of chains
 
This is a great idea. Anyway to make this thread stick? And how about those post on things like iambic pantemeter, or rhythm? some really good posts have been made on these as well...

HomerPindar
 
Italian Sonnet (correction)

Originally posted by moi même
in Love Sonnets thread




School time! Oh goody, I better go sharpen my nr. 2 pencil and get my old notebooks out... (Please note that this is what we learn in all Romanic countries, so it may not all apply to English)

OK, here goes nothing:

I saw in the Poetry Bootcamp thread someone saying that the Petrarchian (or Italian, or Classic) sonnet consist of an octave, or 8-line stanza, followed by a sestet, or 6-line stanza. This isn't correct. Even if sometimes it is presented that way, the truth is it's ALWAYS formed by two quatrains and two tercets, and most times using the same layout I did mine (all four stanzas separated). This means that, usually, sentences can't carry from the 4th to the 5th verses, 8th to 9th, and 11th to 12th. Just like I can't say that the English Sonnet consists of a 14-line stanza, even if that is its correct layout...

The rhyme structure of the Petrachian sonnet has a certain degree of flexibility. The quatrains will almost every time obey to the abba abba scheme, but abab abab has also be used. Notice that there are always only two rhyming sounds.

As for the tercets you can find a combination of two ( cdc dcd ), but mostly three rhyming sounds: ccd eed, cdc ede or, like RW said, cde cde. This means that the Petrarchian sonnet will have four or five rhyme sounds, in contrast with the Spenserian sonnet (always five: abab bcbc cdcd ee) and the more common Shakespearian sonnet (seven: abab cdcd efef gg)
 
I AM GLAD, I AM GLAD, I AM GLAD!

I hope a whole lot of poetic "forms" are listed here, and then that somebody like WickedEve takes the posts and puts them into a consistant form and either makes them a permanent resource here, or somewhere else (unmentioned)! :)


Regards, Rybka
 
Ah my little fish patty! Right now I'm working on a new section at that unmentionable location. It's on different forms of poetry. I'm looking for poems to use as examples. hint hint
And how about devices like alliteration, assonance, internal rhyme, etc?
 
the basics: measuring words 101

Again, originally posted by moi même
in Love Sonnets thread




I'm not going to teach you how to count the syllables in a word. You all know that, and if you don't, any good dictionary will help you with that. There are a set of grammatical rules that determine without a doubt the syllabic dividing of any word, that include diphthong analysis and consecutive vowels in hiatus. There is a difference, however, between the grammatical measurement of words, and the metric measurement of words.

The latter can only be done in the context of a verse, for it refers to the syllables as they are perceived by the listener, i.e. subject to various types of contractions and distensions, expressed graphically (they're, don't) OR NOT.

The most important devices that can be used in order to attain metric regularity are:

Synaeresis: (from Latin synaeresis, Greek sunaíresis, a taking together) The collapsing of two syllables into one: in verse, thou see-est becoming thou seest (pronounced like 'thou ceased') and The Almighty becoming Th'Almighty. This occurs when the first syllable ends and the second begins with a vowel. It is common in everyday usage, as when the last syllables of familiar ('fa-mí-li-ar') are merged in 'famílyer'. In some words, the merger becomes fixed: for example, although in the past righteous had three syllables ('ry-te-ous'), there can now only be two ('ry-chous'). In some kinds of English, a stressed diphthong merges with a following schwa: for example, in varieties of RP sometimes regarded as affected, where flower pot sounds like 'flah pot' and lawn-mower like 'lawn-myrrh'.

and

Diaeresis: (through Latin from Greek diaíresis, division]. Less common, it's the exact opposite of Synaeresis: The forced separation of two consecutive vowels that would otherwise form a diphthong or other type of breaking a determined syllable. For example, the use of the word righteous, intending it to be read as it was in the past, not with two syllables, but three ('ry-te-ous'). This device also comprehends the forcing of a vowel that might otherwise be silent to be sounded (as it naturally occurs in Brontë) or that the second vowel of a pair is to be sounded separately (as in naive).

There are other devices that can and often are used to artificially reduce or increase the number of metric syllables of a word, like Crasis (the combination of the vowels of two syllables, esp. at the end of one word and beginning of the next, into one long vowel or diphthong), Apheresis and Apocope, but there's no need to get into them, I think...

Additionally to these devices there is one absolutely fundamental rule in metric syllabic count, although I'm unsure about its applicability to English: In any given verse, and for metric purposes only, you should never consider any syllable after the last stressed syllable of the final word, i.e. if you have a 11-syllable verse ending with the word foundation, you drop tion from the count and it stands as a decasyllable...


I hope I haven't bored you too much, but JUDO asked...
 
Last edited:
Pat a Fish, Pat a Fish. . . If you can

WickedEve said:
Ah my little fish patty! Right now I'm working on a new section at that unmentionable location. It's on different forms of poetry. I'm looking for poems to use as examples. hint hint
And how about devices like alliteration, assonance, internal rhyme, etc?

RE: Illiteration. I am surely illiterate enough to qualify! :)

Please see if Loon may be of any use. You are welcome to use it or any others of my works. :)

Don't bother voting, even if you like them.
Apparently votes are not additive, but rather reductionist. :D

Regards,                 Rybka
 
Well...................

I didnt even know what a quatrain was until I came to the board.........................maybee now I can write some real poetry.
 
Back
Top