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Spenserian Stanza

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The following description is reposted with permission from The Poets Garret, with thanks to Jem Farmer for her help with that site.

Spenserian Stanza

Edmund Spenser used a distinctive verse form, now known as the Spenserian Stanza in several of his works, most notable is the epic Faerie Queen. The stanza has Nine lines and the main meter is iambic pentameter (10 syllables) over the first eight lines with a final line in iambic hexameter (12 syllables)

Stanza’s Rhyme Scheme: is; a. b. a. b. b. c. b..c. c., and typically has a caesura, or break, after the first three feet

Forth came that auncient Lord and aged Queene,
Arayd in antiquerobes downe to the ground,
And sad habiliments right well beseene;
Anoble crew about them waited round
Of sage and sober Peres, all gravely gownd;
Whom farre before did march a goodly band
Of tall young men, all hable armes to sownd,
But now they laurell braunches bore in hand;
Glad signe of victorie and peace in all their land.

from The Faerie Queene by Edmund Spenser

The form made a comeback in the Romantic period particularly with the poets Shelley and Byron:and it may be noted that Shelley did not stick to IP

Oh weep for Adonais! — The quick Dreams,
The passion-winged Ministers of thought,
Who were his flocks, whom near the living streams
Of his young spirit fed, and whom he taught,
The love which was its music, wander not, —
Wander no more, from kindling brain to brain,
But droop there, whence they sprung; and mourn their lot
Round the cold heart, where, after their sweet pain,
They ne’er will gather strength, or find a home again.

from Adonais, An Elegy on the Death of John Keats by PB Shelley

 

My Example

Form: Spenserian Stanza

Untrained

One takes a mutt mitt when one walks his pup
if walking upon decent city streets.
If pup should poop, you ought to pick it up.
I’ve special gloves made out of plastic sheets;
the awkward ugliness that glove defeats.
I’ve taught my pup to backup to a shrub
where he calmly his nature’s call completes.
It’s seldom that he ever makes a flub.
the glove’s left home; I’m less well-trained, and that’s the rub.

© Lawrencealot – February 25, 2015

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Note: This poet forgot about the suggested caesura after the first three feet, so in that regard this is an atypical stanza.

Novelinee

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The following description is reposted with permission from The Poets Garret, with thanks to Sarah Rayburn.

Novelinee

Created by Sarah Rayburn, the novelinee is a 9 line stanza derived from the Spenserian stanza but written in iambic pentameter or decasyllabic lines. If used as part of a sequence a variation of the closing line should be used as lead line for the next stanza. In the case of a closed novelinee the last stanza would end with a variation of the first line of the first stanza.

Stanza Rhyme Scheme: a. b. a. b. c. d. c..d. d.

 

 

Betrayal of Trust

 

From mists of Avalon she came in white
supernova who split my heart in two
and left untouched silence in endless night
no skyward star to guide my passage through.
While drinking wine I gave my love away
for whispered promises given out of lust,
believing hearts could breathe again today
my dreams now lie amid unwanted dust,
my heart shattered by betrayals of trust.

Sarah Rayburn

 

 

 

Novelinee Sequence

 

Sweet nightingale, unparalleled beauty,
my worldly thoughts will drown in idle words,
if I did not reflect the love I see,
and deny love is nought but food for birds.
I dream my arm is loosely round your waist,
so I shall hear divinity in your song,
and dream upon your eyes with loving haste,
to sip from lips of wine where I belong
and trust the sweetest breath will keep us strong.

With trust the sweetest breath to keep us strong,
my jewel of love to whom I grant my heart,
with words and smiles for days that seem so long,
so fate has cast the miles to keep apart.
In crystal vagaries we’re hand in hand,
whilst waterfalls cascade a rhythmic beat,
as when we kissed upon the golden sand,
below the rugged crags in love’s retreat,
our passion found in nature’s dancing feet.

When passion’s found in nature’s dancing feet,
above the greenest valleys, smile Black hills,
with fragrant flowers dazzling eyes shall meet,
where dragonflies commingle by the rills.
Your heart in truth a loving paradise,
where feelings flow and openly confess,
in daring glances tempting looks of ice,
for you, my love, are more than words express,
I can’t resist your spell of loveliness.

Sarah Rayburn

 

 

 

Motherland ~~~ Closed Novelinee

 

Across the bay where beauty waits for me,
beneath the sun-kissed mountain waterfalls,
enchanting eyes shall tame the wild and free,
my heart is bound by love as Cymru calls.
The cloudy blue of railway smoke dissolved
against the ageing roofing slates of old,
attractions mined before our time evolved,
and children chalked their words in letters bold,
when mountain streams still flowed with yellow gold.

The mountain streams that flowed with yellow gold,
and wrought the wedding bands of royal kings,
still whisper love and tales the bards oft told,
and magic echoes o’er the valleys and springs.
The land where dragons roam and wizards dwell,
where singing voices set our fathers free,
returning home my heart begins to swell,
rejoice my pride in Wales, her mystery,
across the bay her beauty stood by me.

Sarah Rayburn

 

 

My Example

Form: Novelinee

Electric Earth

This century, the twenty-first, will change
forever attitudes that humans share.
Relationships shall surely rearrange
for we’ll have energy at last, to spare.
Our batteries will be charged by the sun
and oilfield ownership won’t mean a hoot.
The politics of greed shall come undone.
We’ll find some other reason for dispute,
but gone will be our reason to pollute.

© Lawrencealot – February 25, 2015

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