Tag Archives: Burmese

Than-Bauk Poem

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Than-Bauk Poem
Type: Structure, Metrical Requirement, Rhyme Scheme Requirement, Stanzaic
Description: This is an idea that takes the than-bauk and extends it by startng a new climbing (falling) rhyme sequence in the third, fifth, seventh, etc. lines.
Attributed to: Bob Newman
Origin: Burmese/English
Schematic:
xxxa
xxax
xaxb
xxbx
xbxc
xxcx
xcxd, etc.

Pasted from http://www.poetrybase.info/forms/005/513.shtml

My thanks to Charles L. Weatherford for his years of work on the wonderful Poetrybase resource.

__________________
The THAN-BAUK POEM – poetic form attributed to Bob Newman – takes theTHAN-BAUK and extends it by startng a new climbing (falling) rhyme sequence in the third, fifth, seventh, etc. lines.

After a tedious internet search, I cannot see any definitive amount of lines required for the Than-Bauk Poem.

Schematic:

xxxa
xxax
xaxb
xxbx
xbxc
xxcx
xcxd, etc.

where “x” is the syllable count, “a” through “d…. etc.” is the rhyme scheme
Example by Jacquii Cooke:

Free Than-Bauk

where the rain falls
the wind calls for
hail balls and rest
and the zest of
lights’ best lit way.
some kind slave runs
away from deep chains

Pasted from <http://jpicforum.info/threads/than-bauk-poem.809/>
With a big thank you to Jacquii Cooke

Since Bob was mute on the subject of poem length, I will assume it can be any number of odd-lines greater than three.

Related forms:  Than-Bauk, Than-Bauk Poem, YaDu,  Ya Hoo.

My example

Newman Renovation (Than-Bauk Poem)

Now Bob was bad
but I’m glad that
he had the thought
that we ought not
be caught upstairs.

Visual Template
Than-Bauk Poem

Than-Bauk

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Than-Bauk
The Than-Bauk is Burmese. It goes something like this:
A kind of verse
Some are worse than.
It’s terse, but rhymes.
Three lines, four syllables each. And the fourth, third and second syllables respectively all rhyme. It’s even shorter than a haiku, but a lot more structured. Traditionally, than-bauks are supposed to be witty and epigrammatic.
Than Bauk

In view of the Haikus popularity in the West, it’s surprising that the Than Bauk is not more popular. It consists of three lines of four syllables that should be witty. The nickname for this form of poetry, could be “Stairway”, because of the rhyme steps through the poem. This is the basic rhyme scheme:
O. O. O. a
O. O. a. O
O. a. O. b
You can see from this that it forms a descending step, and at this point it can be terminated. You have twelve syllables to work with, and it could be very hard work. It could be much easier if a longer poem were made. If this is the case, then the practice is that the last syllable of the third line starts the next descent as shown below:
O. O. O. a
O. O. a. O
O. a. O. b
O. O. b. O
O. b. O. c
O. O. c. O
O. c. O. d. etc.
Example Poem
The  sun is bright
while moonlight is
seen night and day.
© Lawrencealot – November 22, 2013

Visual Template
Only Three lines are required, but if you wish to continue, the pattern follows.

YaDu

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S.E.Asia. (Burma)
Ya Du
 
The yadu is a Burmese climbing-rhyme verse. Each of the stanzas —up to three in all— has 5 lines. The first four lines have 4 syllables each, and the last one can have 5, 7, 9, or 11 syllables. The last two lines rhyme in the usual way. The climbing rhymes occur in syllables four, three, and two of both the first three lines and the last three lines of a stanza. There should be a reference to the seasons since the word yadu means “the seasons.
As the Than Bauk is to the Haiku, then the Ya Du is to the Tanka
and consists of four syllable lines and a fifth one that can
comprise of 5, 7, 9,or 11 syllables.
The staircase rule applies to the four lines,
and the last syllable of the fourth and fifth
line must rhyme, giving a pattern of:
O. O. O. a.
O. O. a. O
O. a. O. b
O. O. b. c.
O. O. O. O. O. O. O. O. c.

Related forms:  Than-Bauk, Than-Bauk Poem, YaDu,  Ya Hoo.

Example Poem
Blue sky’s curved moon
appeared at noon, as
gray loon’s song note
surged afloat clouds —
bird’s songs circled dreams, quietly abound.
We watched it stay
on its way, silk
breaths swayed tree leaves;
freshly weaved thoughts
seized summer notions the afternoon moon brought.
Visual Template