A Kyrielle is a French form of rhyming poetry written in quatrains (a stanza consisting of 4 lines),
and each quatrain contains a repeating line or phrase as a refrain.
Each line within the poem consists of only eight syllables.
There is no limit to the amount of stanzas a Kyrielle may have, but three is considered the accepted minimum.
Some popular rhyming schemes for a Kyrielle are: aabB ccb, ddbB (aabBccbddbB),
or abaB, cbcB, dbdB (abaBcbcBdbdB) with B being the refrain.
or abaB, cbcB, dbdB (abaBcbcBdbdB) with B being the refrain.
Related Forms: Kyrielle, Double Refrain Kyrielle, Lai, Lai Nouveau, Viralai Ancien, Viralai, Virelet
Example Poem
Til the Earless Bunny
Til was a bunny born earless
but that mattered not, still fearless
he played in the hay, and was spry.
Sometimes things happen- we wonder why.
Genetic change, says Darwin cause
species to evolve, now just pause
and consider, penquins can’t fly.
Sometimes things happen- we wonder why.
With ears Til might have heard the threat,
Of near by feet and be here yet
Til lived until he was to die.
Sometimes things happen- we wonder why.
Author Note:
The fate of 17-day-old Til, a bunny with a genetic defect,
was plastered across German newspapers on Thursday,
the same day a small zoo in Saxony was to have presented him
to the world at a press conference.
The cameraman told Bild newspaper he hadn’t seen Til,
who had buried himself in hay, when he took the fateful
step backward Wednesday.
© Lawrencealot – April 8, 2012
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