Would You Like A Form?

This essay is a continuation of

ID: 969669   (Rated: ASR) Title: The 3 R's of Good Poetry  Description: 3 R's: Reading, wRiting, and Reviewing. By: Kaelen Myril

. If you have not yet read that essay I would advise to start there. I will not be going into the depth on meter and reviewing in this essay, so we will pretty much just jump right into forms.

Ready?

Here we go!

#1. In Memoriam Stanza.

This one is a good write. Written in Iambic Tetrameter, (which is one of the easiest meters to write in.) this form gives a little variety in your writing by using a rhyme scheme of "abba". It has been used for centuries, but got its name from Tennyson's poem "In Memoriam".

Here is an example:

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Now all of you eagle eyes out there will undoubtedly notice that the very last line in my poem has one too many syllables. I am sorry but we can't all be perfect all the time.

Actually, it is acceptable in formal poetry, but I am not going to cover it right now. I hope to write the next essay completely on poetic meter and methods of diagramming. Come back for that one.

I would encourage you to try one of these, for they are relatively easy and pleasant to write. Come on folks, if I can do it anybody can.

Here is a link to the In Memoriam Stanza:

http://www.uncg.edu/~htkirbys/ast5.htm


#2. Rubaiyat Stanza.

Ok, this one is great, but it can also be difficult. Here are the upsides: It is written in quatrain (four line stanzas) form, it has no specified meter (you can use any meter you want), and the third line of every stanza is unrhymed. Here is the catch however: The rhyme scheme is "aaxa". That is right, three of your four lines must rhyme with each other.

You will not see this form often. In fact, you may be lucky if you see it at all. Thus, all of you poets out there should go out and write one, just to bring it back.

Here's one that I wrote, but I hope you will forgive me for taking a small liberty with it. Instead of using a rhyme scheme of "aaxa" I changed it to "aaax". I am truly sorry. (not)

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Some readers will love this poem, and others will hate it just because of the liberty I took with the form. Remember, not everyone will like your poetry, but don't let that discourage you. The more you work at gaining exposure, the more you will likely find people who do enjoy your writing. Work hard at what you do and people will eventually take notice.

Here's your link for Rubaiyat:

http://www.uncg.edu/~htkirbys/ast15.htm


#3. Mad Song Stanza

Have you heard of this one? Maybe, maybe not. The mad song stanza is fairly rare although not really difficult to write in. It is written in shorter lines, so I speculate that many poets have a hard time fitting everything they want to say within this forms requirements. And here they are:

The mad song stanza is written with a rhyme scheme of "aabba", with lines 1, 2, and 5 consisting of Iambic Trimeter, and lines 3 and 4 consisting of Iambic Dimeter.

Here is your link:

http://www.uncg.edu/~htkirbys/ast7.htm


#4. Rime Royal

Rime Royal is so called because King James I used it for his work: "The Kings Quair". It is not the hardest form I have written in, but it is by no means the easiest either. Here's how it goes.

Rime Royal consists of seven lines of Iambic Pentameter, rhyming "ababbcc". This makes it a close relation to the "ballade" and the "spenserian stanza". A powerful form, it lends strength to your poetry.

Here is an example:

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Here's your link:

http://www.uncg.edu/~htkirbys/ast27.htm


#5. Spenserian Stanza

OK, be prepared for reviewers unfamiliar with this form to smack you around a little bit. You probably won't see this form much so I would suggest you all go out and write one. Here are the details.

The spenserian stanza consists of eight lines of Iambic Pentameter with a ninth line of Iambic Hexameter closing the stanza. This follows a rhyme of "ababbcbcc". Go ahead and try one! I think you may find that rhyme scheme quite challenging.

Here's your link:
http://www.uncg.edu/~htkirbys/ast28.htm

Have you noticed that in all of these forms we have not yet once referred to a sonnet? I personally try to avoid sonnets as best I can because I find them to be slightly overused. The most popular of course being the English Sonnet. You may or may not have known, however, that there are actually six different types of sonnet. I will simply list them with a link to additional resources.

#6. Sonnets

         #1. Petrarchan (Italian) Sonnet
http://www.uncg.edu/~htkirbys/ast31.htm

         #2. Shakespearean (English) Sonnet
http://www.uncg.edu/~htkirbys/ast38.htm

         #3. Spenserian Sonnet
http://www.uncg.edu/~htkirbys/ast45.htm

         #4. Miltonic Sonnet
http://www.uncg.edu/~htkirbys/ast32.htm

         #5. Nonce 14 line Sonnet
http://www.uncg.edu/~htkirbys/ast39.htm

         #6. 16 or 18 line Sonnet
http://www.uncg.edu/~htkirbys/ast46.htm

Please do not think that I am putting down the sonnet in any way. It is a very fine form that lends a lot of beauty to the poetic world. I have seen many fine sonnets here, and I hope to see many more. If you have written a sonnet I applaud you on using an excellent traditional form.

Here is a link to my favorite sonnet of all I have read so far. See if you can tell me which sonnet category it falls into!

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#7 Canzone Form

This is a form that doesn't have quite so well defined boundaries. We do know that it is longer than a sonnet, and is based upon the works of Italian Poets: Dante and Petrarch. It is usually between eighteen and twenty lines, and has an interlocking rhyme scheme.

Here's an example of a Canzone:

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Here is your link:

http://www.uncg.edu/~htkirbys/ast19.htm

OK, I'm going to leave you with one more, and then I will call it quits. Not because we've covered them all- because there are quite a few more- but because I think that you have more than enough to keep you busy for awhile. If all you poets out there finish these and get bored, let me know; I'll write another.

#8. Ottava Rima

Now this is a very beautiful form. Written in Iambic Pentameter, with a rhyme scheme of "abababcc", this can be challenging, but very rewarding. Give one a shot and see what you think!

Here's your link:

http://www.uncg.edu/~htkirbys/ast8.htm

Well, I think that wraps it up for this one. I know that I moved pretty fast through those forms, but I hope that you will take the time to study them out.

Thanks for reading another of my essays, I hope that it could be a help and encouragement to your writing. And again, if any of you have written a poem in one of these forms and would like me to feature it here in this essay, please send me the link.

Keep writing and I hope to see you in print.