VILLANELLE:
This is a 19-line rhymed poem in 5 triplets and a concluding quatrain.
Rhythm is usually iambic pentameter. Lines 1 & 3 (A1 and A2, the complete
LINES) are repeated throughout the poem. There are only 2 rhyme sounds
("a" and "b").
Start by writing the first triplet
(rhyming aba). Your first rhyme words (a,b) should be ordinary ones, preferably
usable as different parts of speech to allow syntactical variety. Then,
write your repeated lines (LINES A1 and A2) in the proper spaces down your
page, leaving gaps for the material you still have to draft. Fill in the
rest of the pattern, mixing end-stopped and run-on lines.
The effects of the villanelle range from haunting
(e.g., in Theodore Roethke's "The Waking"), to pleading (as in Dylan Thomas's
"Do Not Go Gentle"), to ironic (Elizabeth Bishop's "The Art of Losing").
LINE 1 A1
Line 2 b
LINE 3 A2
Line 4 a
Line 5 b
LINE 6 A1
Line 7 a
Line 8 b
LINE 9 A2
Line 10 a
Line 11 b
LINE 12 A1
Line 13 a
Line 14 b
LINE 15 A2
Line 16 a
Line 17 b
LINE 18 A1
LINE 19 A2
SESTINA:
This form consists of six 6-line stanzas plus a concluding tercet. Instead
of rhyming, a sestina repeats words at the ends of lines in a rolling pattern.
Choose 6 interesting but ordinary words, a
combination of nouns, verbs, and adjectives. 2 or 3 of the 6 words should
be able to work as more than one part of speech. Write your first stanza
using one of the six words at the end of each of the six lines. Label the
words A, B, C, D, E, and F. Write the words at the ends of the lines in
the next 5 stanzas, and at the middles and ends of the closing tercet's
lines, using the pattern below and leaving each line blank up to
its ending word. Draft the poem by filling in the blanks. Mix end-stopped
and run-on lines. Use 2-3 of your words as different parts of speech as
you draft.
The sestina's repetitions can mix playful
and haunting qualities, as in Elizabeth Bishop's famous "Sestina." Others
mix various effects inherent in the form -- nagging, lullabying, hammering,
lumbering, cradle-rocking. Some exploit the comic potential of repeating
banal words at climactic points.
_______________________________A
_______________________________B
_______________________________C
_______________________________D
_______________________________E
_______________________________F
_______________________________F
_______________________________A
_______________________________E
_______________________________B
_______________________________D
_______________________________C
_______________________________C
_______________________________F
_______________________________D
_______________________________A
_______________________________B
_______________________________E
_______________________________E
_______________________________C
_______________________________B
_______________________________F
_______________________________A
_______________________________D
_______________________________D
_______________________________E
_______________________________A
_______________________________C
_______________________________F
_______________________________B
_______________________________B
_______________________________D
_______________________________F
_______________________________E
_______________________________C
_______________________________A
_________A_____________________B
_____________________C_________D
_______________E_______________F
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PANTOUM:
Like the villanelle, the pantoum repeats whole lines, not just words, and
its pattern of repetition keeps the poem going until it feels finished.
But a pantoum does not rhyme, and (like terza rima) it has no set
length. A pantoum's repetitions, like the sestina's, can have wonderfully
diverse emotional effects.
line 1
l. 2
l. 3
l. 4
l. 5 (same as l. 2)
l. 6
l. 7 (same as l.4)
l. 8
l. 9 (same as l. 6)
l. 10
l. 11 (same as l. 8)
l. 12
(... and so on).
In the final stanza, try letting the 2nd and 4th lines repeat lines 3 and
1 of the first stanza -- ending the pantoum with the line that began it:
...l. 21 (same as l. 18)
l. 22 (same as l. 3)
l. 23 (same as l. 20)
l. 24 (same as l. 1)
TERZA RIMA:
As with the villanelle, the rhyme scheme here keeps the draft going. And
like a pantoum, a poem in terza rima can be any length. Since only
the rhymes are repeated, and not words or lines, the emotional effects
of this form are widely variable, adaptable to a great diversity of themes
and tones.
a
b
a
b
c
b
c
d
c
d
e
d
e
f
e
f
g
f
g
h
g
(and so on...)
At the conclusion of a poem in terza rima, or of major sections within
the poem, a poet might create a sense of an ending with a quatrain --
-- or with a couplet --
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