The Rhyming Wave is a poetry form created by Katharine L. Sparrow, American writer and poet who writes on Allpoetry.com.
The Rhyming Wave is:
- Stanzaic: Consisting of 2 or more quatrains plus an ending couplet.
- Metric: Lines 1 through 3 are iambic tetrameter and
- line 4 is iambic trimeter.
- Refrained: Syllables 6 & 7 of line one are repeated as syllables 2 thru 7 and syllable 8 is the same in both lines and syllables 1 & 2 are of line 3 are repeated in line 4
- Refrain: The ending couplet is the first and the last line of the previous stanzas.
- NOTE: The author is amenable to having poets substitute rhyming as well as identical syllables. I have done so in my example poem.
- Rhymed: Rhyme scheme Aaab BBbc CCd AD, where the capital letters represent refrain words or refrain lines.
Here is the author’s own explanation. At the end I have included a visual template that may help some.
The Rhyming Wave is a form of my own invention. The instructions seem complicated, but once you start writing it, you will get it pretty quickly. A Rhyming Wave is so named because words repeat themselves, similar to waves lapping over and over again on the shore. A Rhyming Wave has at least 2 verses and an ending couplet. Each verse is four lines with the first three written in iambic tetrameter (4 “feet” of 2 syllables each) and the fourth line three feet, or six syllables. The ending couplet will be the first and last lines of the poem repeated. To write a Rhyming Wave you must know how to write in iambic meter. This is the da-DUM, da-DUM rhythm. If you don’t know how to do this, your Rhyming Wave may not come out sounding as it should. As with all iambic metered poems, it does not have to be PERFECT, but it should sound melodious to the ear.
- – First line: 4 iambic feet (8 syllables)
- She dwells among the foamy swells,
- – Second line : syllables 6 and 7 of line one are repeated as syllables 2 through 7 (three times) and syllable 8 is also repeated as syllable 8.
- the foamy, foamy, foamy swells–
- – Third line: 4 iambic feet (8 syllables) last syllable rhymes with last syllable of lines one and two
- Beneath the cresting waves she dwells,
- – Fourth line: first 2 to 3 syllables (whichever fits) of line three are repeated/ six syllables only
- beneath the ocean’s roll.
- Verses 2 through 4, same pattern – first line of each verse rhymes with last line of previous verse:
- Her song floats from a sandy shoal
- a sandy, sandy, sandy shoal–
- her voice that creeps into the soul,
- her voice, a crooning trill.
- And over all a misty chill
- a misty, misty, misty chill–
- she’ll sing again, it’s sure she will,
- she’ll sing her haunting tune.
- Her humming soothes the silver moon,
- the silver, silver, silver moon,
- where stars will span the ocean soon–
- where stars will hear her song.
- Ending couplet, first and last lines of the poem:
- She dwells among the foamy swells,
- where stars will hear her song.
- The poem must have at least 2 verses, but there is no limit to the number of verses
Sparrow’s Examples
Form: Rhyming Wave
Mermaid’s Song
She dwells among the foamy swells,
the foamy, foamy, foamy swells–
beneath the cresting waves she dwells,
beneath the ocean’s roll.
Her song floats from a sandy shoal
a sandy, sandy, sandy shoal–
her voice that creeps into the soul,
her voice, a crooning trill.
And over all a misty chill
a misty, misty, misty chill–
she’ll sing again, it’s sure she will,
she’ll sing her haunting tune.
Her humming soothes the silver moon,
the silver, silver, silver moon,
where stars will span the ocean soon–
where stars will hear her song.
She dwells among the foamy swells
where stars will hear her song.
Rose Covered
A cottage in the shady wood,
the shady, shady, shady wood–
amid soft, leafy arms it stood
amid the woodland trees.
Perfume hung on the hazy breeze
the hazy, hazy, hazy breeze
where roses opened for the bees
where roses blossomed red.
The roses climbed and gently spread,
and gently, gently, gently spread–
they made the walls a flower bed,
they made the cottage sweet.
A respite in the steamy heat,
the steamy, steamy, steamy heat–
a cool and comfortable retreat
a cool and quiet place.
A cottage in the shady wood,
a cool and quiet place.
© Katharine L. Sparrow
My Example
Form: Rhyming Wave
Pleasant Quest
He waited for the perfect mate
the perfect, perfect, perfect mate
the one he would appreciate
the one he knew he’d find.
She’d have to have a caring mind
a daring, rare and caring mind
to make him leave his quest behind
to make him say, “It’s you!’
Enroute he took a playful view–
a playful, playful, playful view
before he chose to say, “I do”–
before he chose his bride.
He had a very pleasing ride–
a pleasing, teasing, pleasing ride
He mostly left girls satisfied.
He most enjoyed the search.
He waited for the perfect mate
He most enjoyed the search.
© Lawrencealot – August 27, 2015
Visual Template:
