Tag Archives: iambic

Choriambics

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Choriambics
Type: Line, Metrical Requirement
Description: One of those complex Greek rhythmic patterns. It is a line consisting of two trochees, an iamb, a trochee, an iamb, a trochee, and two iambs.
Origin: Greek
Schematic: Xx Xx xX Xx xX Xx xX xX
Rhythm/Stanza Length: 2
Line/Poem Length: 16
Pasted from  http://www.poetrybase.info/forms/000/43.shtml
My thanks to Charles L. Weatherford for his years of work on the wonderful Poetrybase resource.
Choriambics by Algernon Charles Swinburne
              1  Love, what ailed thee to leave life that was made lovely, we thought, with love?
              2  What sweet visions of sleep lured thee away, down from the light above?
              3  What strange faces of dreams, voices that called, hands that were raised to wave,
              4   Lured or led thee, alas, out of the sun, down to the sunless grave?
              5  Ah, thy luminous eyes! once was their light fed with the fire of day;
              6  Now their shadowy lids cover them close, hush them and hide away.
              7  Ah, thy snow-coloured hands! once were they chains, mighty to bind me fast;
              8  Now no blood in them burns, mindless of love, senseless of passion past.
              9  Ah, thy beautiful hair! so was it once braided for me, for me;
            10 Now for death is it crowned, only for death, lover and lord of thee.
            11 Sweet, the kisses of death set on thy lips, colder are they than mine;
            12 Colder surely than past kisses that love poured for thy lips as wine.
            13 Lov’st thou death? is his face fairer than love’s, brighter to look upon?
            14 Seest thou light in his eyes, light by which love’s pales and is overshone?
            15 Lo the roses of death, grey as the dust, chiller of leaf than snow!
            16 Why let fall from thy hand love’s that were thine, roses that loved thee so?
            17 Large red lilies of love, sceptral and tall, lovely for eyes to see;
            18 Thornless blossom of love, full of the sun, fruits that were reared for thee.
            19 Now death’s poppies alone circle thy hair, girdle thy breasts as white;
            20 Bloodless blossoms of death, leaves that have sprung never against the light.
            21 Nay then, sleep if thou wilt; love is content; what should he do to weep?
            22 Sweet was love to thee once; now in thine eyes sweeter than love is sleep.
Pasted from <https://tspace.library.utoronto.ca/html/1807/4350/poem2076.html>

Note: All of the examples I found were couplet rhyme, with stanzas greater than 16 lines. (Robert Brooke, Algernon Charles Swinburne)

 

My example  

Searching simply because questions demand answers has driven me
first, to question the “facts” dogma asserts, second to really see
serendipity take charge when we let nature control the dance.
Recognize that what’s here is and it’s prime! whether or not by chance.

(c) Lawrencealot – November 21, 2014

Caudate or Tail Rhymed Stanza

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The Caudate or Tail Rhymed Stanza was a popular stanzaic form in 12th-14th century England. Variations also can be found in France in the form of the Rime Couée and Scotland in the Burns Stanza. Tail Rhymed Stanza simply refers to a stanza from 6 or 12 lines long with 1 or 2 short lines that carry the same rhyme.

The Tail Rhymed Stanza is:
• stanzaic, most often written in any number of sixains but the stanzas could be 12 lines each.
• metered, often accentual with longer lines or 4 stresses and one or two lines of only 2 stresses. The lines are also found written in trochaic or iambic tetrameter with one or two lines dimeter. The shorter lines are most commonly in L3,L6,L9 & L12 but can be found in different arrangements as in the Burns Stanza
• rhymed, the most common schemes are aabaab or aabccb with L2 & L6 being the shorter lines. In a 12 line stanza common schemes are aabccbddbeeb or aabaabaabaab with L3,L6,L9 & L12 being the shorter lines.

Rural Architecture by William Wordsworth 1801

THERE’S George Fisher, Charles Fleming, and Reginald Shore,
Three rosy-cheeked school-boys, the highest not more
Than the height of a counsellor’s bag;
To the top of GREAT HOW did it please them to climb:
And there they built up, without mortar or lime,
A Man on the peak of the crag.
They built him of stones gathered up as they lay:
They built him and christened him all in one day,
An urchin both vigorous and hale;
And so without scruple they called him Ralph Jones.
Now Ralph is renowned for the length of his bones;
The Magog of Legberthwaite dale.
Just half a week after, the wind sallied forth,
And, in anger or merriment, out of the north,
Coming on with a terrible pother,
From the peak of the crag blew the giant away.
And what did these school-boys?–The very next day
They went and they built up another.
–Some little I’ve seen of blind boisterous works
By Christian disturbers more savage than Turks,
Spirits busy to do and undo:
At remembrance whereof my blood sometimes will flag;
Then, light-hearted Boys, to the top of the crag!
And I’ll build up giant with you.

Pasted from http://www.poetrymagnumopus.com/index.php?showtopic=2081
My thanks to Judi Van Gorder for years of work on this fine PMO resource.

My example

Global Warming in Buffalo (Caudate or Tail Rhymed Stanza)

Right now there is no traffic flow –
because of snow.
In Buffalo it’s piled up deep
where winter’s put on quite a show
and automobiles cannot go
where hills are steep.

Can global warming take this hit?
It does not fit!
But neither did the facts they changed
to which their emails did admit
which made some folks become a bit
more deranged.
© Lawrencealot – November 20, 2014

Visual template

Caudate or Tail Rhymed Stanza

Twin-Rhymer

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This is a form created by Mary Lou Healy, writing on Allpoetry as Mlou.

I had originally named it the Spanner, drawn from the title of  the poem below.  However she has written several with the general form, including a sonnet version, so I am changing the form name in both cases to “Twin-Rhymer” which in more descriptive and is the creator’s preference.

Her first such poem was “I Span the Sky”

Like the forest in which I stand,
I raise my arms to embrace the sky.
I’m one with tall trees and greening land
with never a need to question why.
Life is what it is!  On either hand,
I grasp its truth with a gladsome cry.
I hold it fast by a single strand
and all the whims of chance deny.
The farthest vistas my arms have spanned,
intensely blue as lazuli,
hold secrets I may not understand
but I’ve no need to identify
the mystery of a cloud, wind-fanned
or the wing-tilt of dark hawks who fly.
All is just as creation planned
for the life of such as you and I.
 
 
Pasted from http://allpoetry.com/poem/10301105-To-Span-The-Sky-by-Mlou

I named it the Spanner and provided the specifications below, so that we might try it.

The Spanner is:
The poem is a strophe of any even number of lines.
Meter: Tetrameter lines, consisting of primarily of:
Iamb + Amphibrach +2 iambs
Rhyme pattern: alternating rhymes, also called cross-rhyme i.e., ababab

Note: The template I present to the world will be of a
poem that adheres strictly to the quoted meter, although
we know that in practice a line may  range from 7 to 10 syllables.

My example

Snoozing with My Muse (Twin-Rhymer)

I sleep so soundly when very tired
as opposed to when I merely doze,
and I get tired when I’m uninspired
that’s very often, I do suppose.
While doing nothing will make me tired
I tire much more wielding rakes and hoes.
I put in all of the years required
in solving corporate cares and woes;
then time arrived and I was retired.
I’ve time to think now, and to compose,
but can’t begin till a theme’s acquired.
So there I sit. You know how that goes!
I drift off thinking of things desired…
I’m working honey, in sweet repose.

© Lawrencealot – October 18, 2014

Visual template
Now renamed Twin-Rhymer
Spanner

Quintanelle

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Pathways for the Poet by Viola Berg (1977) is a book for and by educators. Classic poetic forms as well as many invented forms which appear to have been invented as teaching tools or exercizes for use in workshops or classrooms are included. Some of these invented forms I have found in use in internet poetry communities, a testament to their staying power. On this page I include the metric invented forms found there in which appear to be exclusive to the community of educators from whom Ms. Berg drew her support. I have yet to find these in any other source. …. Whether classroom exercise or sharpening your skill as a writer, some of these forms can be fun to play with.

• The Quintanelle challenges the poet to write a complete sentence and break it into 5 metric lines with rhyme. This stanzaic form was introduced by Lyra Lu Vaile.

The Quintanelle is:
○ stanzaic, written in any number of quintains.
○ metered, L1, L2, L5 pentameter, L3 dimeter and L4 trimeter. Each quintain should be one complete iambic sentence.
○ rhymed, rhyme scheme aabbb, ccddd etc.

Pasted from http://www.poetrymagnumopus.com/index.php?showtopic=1199#dionol
My thanks to Judi Van Gorder for years of work on this fine PMO resource.

My example

Winter Forage (Quintanelle)

I’ve left the apples where they’ve fallen, still; 
it’s natures harvest for the birds that will
not let them waste,
although there is no haste
for they’ll remain when fresh food is displaced.

© Lawrencealot – September 20, 2012

Visual template

Quintanelle

Metric Pyramid

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Pathways for the Poet by Viola Berg (1977) is a book for and by educators. Classic poetic forms as well as many invented forms which appear to have been invented as teaching tools or exercizes for use in workshops or classrooms are included. Some of these invented forms I have found in use in internet poetry communities, a testament to their staying power. On this page I include the metric invented forms found there in which appear to be exclusive to the community of educators from whom Ms. Berg drew her support. I have yet to find these in any other source. …. Whether classroom exercise or sharpening your skill as a writer, some of these forms can be fun to play with.

• Metric Pyramid is a verse form that builds a pyramid from the top down with lengthening metric feet per line, created by John Milton Smither.

The Metric Pyramid is:
○ a shape poem, center the poem on the page.
○ an octastich, a poem in 8 lines.
○ metric, graduated iambic metric feet in each line. 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8 metric feet per line.
○ rhymed, rhyme scheme abbaabba.
.

Pasted from http://www.poetrymagnumopus.com/index.php?showtopic=1199#dionol
My thanks to Judi Van Gorder for years of work on this fine PMO resource.

My example

Merger (Metric Pyramid)

Merger

Pastel
aroma’s scent
the songbird’s song augment.
His harmony accents the smell
and amplifies the notion all is well.
Light colors gild both bird and blossoms to cement
an image melded with perfume and sounds that represent
a tranquil treat that must be meant for mankind’s gift, his angst to quell.

© Lawrencealot – September 19, 2014

Visual Template

Metric Pyramid

Medallion

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Pathways for the Poet by Viola Berg (1977) is a book for and by educators. Classic poetic forms as well as many invented forms which appear to have been invented as teaching tools or exercizes for use in workshops or classrooms are included. Some of these invented forms I have found in use in internet poetry communities, a testament to their staying power. On this page I include the metric invented forms found there in which appear to be exclusive to the community of educators from whom Ms. Berg drew her support. I have yet to find these in any other source. …. Whether classroom exercise or sharpening your skill as a writer, some of these forms can be fun to play with.

• Medallion is an invented verse form is a shape poem using predominantly trochaic meter. This form was created by Lilian Mathilda Svenson.

The Medallion is:
○ a poem in 9 lines.
○ metric, L1-L8 are trochaic and L9 is iambic. Syllables per line 4-7-8-7-9-10-9-7-4. As you can tell from the odd numbered syllable count of L2, L4, L5, L7 & L8, these lines are either catalectic or acephaletic (dropping either the end syllable or first syllable from the line). For this form, although it is not so instructed, the example poem is catalectic.
○ rhymed, rhyme scheme xabccbadd.
○ shaped. The poem should be centered on the page.

Pasted from http://www.poetrymagnumopus.com/index.php?showtopic=1199#dionol
My thanks to Judi Van Gorder for years of work on this fine PMO resource.

My example

Summer Sears Us (Medallion)

Summer sears us
Makes autumn our next goal.
Fans are run to keep us cool.
Loud compressors whirr and hum 
while we wait for cooler days to come.
Winter’s cold kills homeless; keeps kids home from school, 
furnaces gulp gas and gobble coal.
Such a different song we sing, 
and pray for spring.

© Lawrencealot – September 18, 2014

Visual template

Medallion

Lyrell

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Pathways for the Poet by Viola Berg (1977) is a book for and by educators. Classic poetic forms as well as many invented forms which appear to have been invented as teaching tools or exercizes for use in workshops or classrooms are included. Some of these invented forms I have found in use in internet poetry communities, a testament to their staying power. On this page I include the metric invented forms found there in which appear to be exclusive to the community of educators from whom Ms. Berg drew her support. I have yet to find these in any other source. …. Whether classroom exercise or sharpening your skill as a writer, some of these forms can be fun to play with.

• The Lyrelle is a stanzaic form that seems to be an exercise in metric line length. It was created by Velta Myrtle Allea Sanford. 

The Lyrelle is:
○ stanzaic, written in any number of quatrains.
○ metered, iambic. L1 dimeter, L2 trimeter, L3 tetrameter, L4 pentameter.
○ rhymed, rhyme scheme abab

Lyrelling by Judi Van Gorder

I’m late again
I am computer bound
the words I write in meter penned,
although in truth I do not like the sound.

Pasted from http://www.poetrymagnumopus.com/index.php?showtopic=1199#dionol
My thanks to Judi Van Gorder for years of work on this fine PMO resource.

My example

Wizbits (Lyrell)

Go not alone
into a raucous bar.
unless you are a hulk or crone,
or play a really awesome steel guitar.

When posing nude
for fame or just for fun,
remember photos can be skewed
and wide web posts can’t likely be undone.

Do not complain
when you become a joke
who’s viewed by others with disdain
because of Facebook foibles shared with folks.

© Lawrencealot – September, 17 2014

Visual template

Lyrell

Decathlon

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Pathways for the Poet by Viola Berg (1977) is a book for and by educators. Classic poetic forms as well as many invented forms which appear to have been invented as teaching tools or exercizes for use in workshops or classrooms are included. Some of these invented forms I have found in use in internet poetry communities, a testament to their staying power. On this page I include the metric invented forms found there in which appear to be exclusive to the community of educators from whom Ms. Berg drew her support. I have yet to find these in any other source. I have included the syllabic invented forms on a separate page. Whether classroom exercise or sharpening your skill as a writer, some of these forms can be fun to play with.

• Decathlon (Greek – contest of 10 Anne Pendleton. An exercise in meter and rhyme.

The Decathlon is:
○ a decastich, a poem in 10 lines.
○ metered, L1, L2, L4, L6,L7 are tetrameter, L3, L5,L8 are dimeter, L9-L10 are pentameter (a heroic couplet.
○ rhymed, axbxaccbdd. X being unrhymed.

Read White and Blue by Judi Van Gorder

The fervid and triumphant due,
creating frame by predesign.
Artistic try
to write ten lines into a tome
that’s something new
with book of words that match and rhyme
to help me waste way too much time.
Don’t think me shy,
I finish with iambic rhyming two,
heroic couplet read on white in blue.

Pasted from http://www.poetrymagnumopus.com/index.php?showtopic=1199#dionol
My thanks to Judi Van Gorder for years of work on this fine PMO resource.

My example

An Exercise (Decathlon)

How klutzy can you make a form
just might have been the question here,
I thought at first.
To random lines and staggered rhyme
I must conform.
This form will truly be a test.
I’m sure that it won’t be my best,
and not my worst.
I see! It’s meant to be an exercise
for poets, thus therein it’s value lies.

© Lawrencealot – September 5, 2014

Visual template

Decathlon

Arkaham Ballad

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Pathways for the Poet by Viola Berg (1977) is a book for and by educators. Classic poetic forms as well as many invented forms which appear to have been invented as teaching tools or exercizes for use in workshops or classrooms are included. Some of these invented forms I have found in use in internet poetry communities, a testament to their staying power. On this page I include the metric invented forms found there in which appear to be exclusive to the community of educators from whom Ms. Berg drew her support. I have yet to find these in any other source. I have included the syllabic invented forms on a separate page. Whether classroom exercise or sharpening your skill as a writer, some of these forms can be fun to play with.

• Arkaham Ballad can be identified by the last line of each stanza being repeated as the first three metric feet of the next stanza. One more invented stanza form appears to be a teaching tool created by Queena Davidson Miller. It is not really a ballad but is suited to relate current events and news articles.

The Arkaham Ballad is:
○ stanzaic, written in any number of cinquains.
○ accentual syllabic, iambic, L1, L3, L4 tetrameter and L2 and L5 trimeter.
○ rhymed, rhyme scheme xabba xcddc xeffe etc. x being unrhymed.
○ composed with L5 repeated as the 1st three metric feet of L1 of the next stanza.
○ suited to current events and the news.

Police Shooting by Judi Van Gorder

They say an unarmed man was shot
by cops who’ve run-a-muck.
A family man who cut some hair
and shaved a face or two. A pair
of punks highjacked a truck.

The punks highjacked a truck and he
was at the same address,
police arrived and shots were fired,
the barber hit and soon expired
The why of it a guess.

Pasted from http://www.poetrymagnumopus.com/index.php?showtopic=1199#dionol
My thanks to Judi Van Gorder for years of work on this fine PMO resource.

_____

My example

Conduct Unbecoming (Arkaham Ballad)

Subcultures determine the flow
when hate has been accrued.
For race and religion involve
some problems most hard to resolve.
Perhaps mankind is screwed.

Perhaps mankind is screwed my friend,
as Ferguson has shown,
and Watts before, and Rodney King,
and every other racial thing.
The hateful seeds are sown.

The hateful seeds are sown by acts
that we can justify.
We’ll plunder, hurt, and break the laws
and disregard, it harms our cause
but still won’t satisfy.

© Lawrencealot – September 1, 2014

Visual template

Arkaham Ballad

Snapshot

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This is an invented form created by Mary Boren, aka Meter_Maid on Allpoetry.

It is a poem of 7 lines
It is metrical, requiring several specific metrical feet, to wit:
L1: A pair of spondees
L2-3: Dimetrical dactylic couplet plus a hard beat at the end
L4-5: Anapestic dimeter, not rhyming with each other
L6: Anapestic trimeter, rhyming with L4
L7: Anapest. amphibrach, or iamb, which may, but is not required to rhyme with L5
It is formulaic, requiring a person’s name in either line 2 or 3.
It is themed:
 ” to capture a person’s unguarded moment, breaking stereotypes.”  I’d like to somehow convey that the task is to zoom in on descriptive details that plant a distinct concrete image, preferably an unexpected one.  You could almost say it has a volta at L5, as it catches something a camera would miss.  
It is rhymed with rhyme pattern: xaabzbz, where “z” lines may rhyme or not.

My Example

Just Notions  

Think long, think wrong!
Lawrence R. Eberhart thought
thinking of things he was taught
would most surely reveal
at least one salient fact
he was wrong all along on that deal
looking back.

© Lawrencealot – August 23, 2014

Note: This poem fails to be a Snapshot lacking the apparently candid moment required by the theme.

Try this one:

Neighborly Chat  (Snapshot)

Stop, look, think back.
Shoveling snow from the walk
Jerry MGee stopped to talk
with the girl from next door
he’d forgotten her name,
but remembered her shape from before,
quite a dame.

© Lawrencealot – August 23, 2014

Visual Template

Snapshot
Note: Several options exist for L7.