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HIS BROTHER'S BRIDE IS NOW AVAILABLE IN AUDIO FORMAT
Since April is National Poetry Month I thought I'd share some different poetry formats with you.
Poetic form is the physical structure of the work. It consists of the length of the lines, the rhythms and repetitions. Poetic forms are applied to works that are shaped into a pattern. Free verse is not constricted by poetic form and is indeed a type of form in its own right.
The Idyll. This is a short poem describing rustic life and is usually written in the style of Theocritus’ short pastoral poem ‘Idylls. Lord Alfred Tennyson’s Idylls of the King is an example.
Blank Verse - written in a precise metre - usually Iambic Pentametre
Sonnet- which Shakespeare liked A sonnet consists of 14 lines and was made popular in the 14th century and the Italian Renaissance. Sir Thomas Wyatt is credited with introducing the sonnet into English literature in the 16th century. The rhyming theme in a Petrachan sonnet is abba abba cdecde, the Shakespearean sonnet follows the rhyming pattern of abab cdcd efef gg
Ode The word Ode is from the Greek aeidein which means to chant or sing and belongs to the tradition of lyric poetry. This form in it’s earliest incarnation was accompanied by music and dance, but later evolved when used by the Romantic poets to convey their strongest thoughts and emotions. William Wordsworth for example. It is generally a formal address to an person, thing or event that is not present.
Haiku. This is a short poem which conveys the essence of an experience of nature. Written in English in the Japanese haiku style
Ballad This is often a narrative set to music. The word Ballad comes from the Latin ballare which translates to dancing song. A Ballad is a form meant for singing, connected to its origin of communal dance and a product of oral traditions among peoples who cling to oral histories as opposed to written.
Epic This is a long narrative in verse form telling of a heroic person, persons or journey. Homer’s Illiad and the Odyssey for example.
Elegy This is a funeral song. It is a melancholy, nostalgic poem created to mourn the death of someone close to your heart. The first elegies were in Roman and Greek.
Lyric Lyric is a form of poetry sung and/or accompanied by a musical instrument or a poem that expresses intense emotions on a personal level in a way that is suggestive of a song or singing. A Lyric makes the poet vulnerable by showing their thoughts and feelings and often evokes those emotions in the listener.
Poetic form is the
physical structure of the work. It consists of the length of the lines, the
rhythms and repetitions. Poetic forms are applied to works that are shaped into
a pattern. Free verse is not constricted by poetic form and is indeed a type of
form in its own right.
My favourite is a Sestina.
A complex French verse form, usually unrhymed, consisting of six stanzas of six lines each and a three-line envoy (The brief stanza that ends French poetic forms) The end words of the first stanza are repeated in a different order as end words in each of the subsequent five stanzas; the closing envoy contains all six words, two per line, placed in the middle and at the end of the three lines. The patterns of word repetition are as follows, with each number representing the final word of a line, and each row of numbers representing a stanza:
1 2 3 4 5 6
6 1 5 2 4 3
3 6 4 1 2 5
5 3 2 6 1 4
4 5 1 3 6 2
2 4 6 5 3 1
(6 2) (1 4) (5 3)
Below is my humble attempt at a sestina.
Seasonal
Sestina
Why
is it that the first flowers of Spring
Are
so special and the green of new leaves
Wakes
a wild joy in my heart
Is
it because they signal the end of Winter
Filled
with the promise of long summer days
And
the lazy hum of honey bees among the flowers
The
tiny white snowdrops are among the first flowers
Along
with the purple crocus of Spring
Courageously
piercing the snow with their leaves
Small
purple clusters to gladden my heart
Throwing
a gauntlet in the face of Winter
Shining
brightly through the short Spring days
The
snow retreats with the lengthening of days
The
garden paths are strewn with clots of flowers
The
sweet bouquet of flower scented Spring
Bright
daffodils dance above their pointed leaves
The
tulips glowing red as the sun’s heart
They
chase from the path the last of snowy Winter
Now
only under the brambles lies the evidence of Winter
Soon
that too will retreat from the sunny days
The
lilacs burst into a froth of fragrant purple flowers
The
scent mingling with the sun warmed air of Spring
Slow
awakening summer flowers break the soil with their leaves
Heralding
the coming of Summer’s heart
Spring
passes softly into summer; the pulsing green heart
That
rules the year opposite the white of Winter
The
long halcyon green and gold days
Forged
by the fire of the sun and the glory of flowers
There
is just the faintest memory now of Spring
The
full heady bounty of Summer canopied by trees of leaves
In
due course fiery autumn will colour the leaves
And
the flames of October will quicken the heart
The
winds of snow will welcome the Winter
The
frosty silver and blue of early winter days
Will
make us forget the summer of flowers
Too
new and beautiful yet to make us wish for Spring
By
January we will be wishing for green leaves and Spring
Our
heart will have hardened against the silver beauty of Winter
And
we will hunger after the days of Summer and flowers
Til next month, stay well, stay happy.
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