Cantar

The Cantar in verse is an octosyllabic quatrain that assonates and is usually limited to one strophe. The form dates back to 15th century Spain. Cantar is the Spanish verb “to sing” and in Spanish literature is loosely used as a noun for the “words for a song”.

The Cantar is:
• a 4 line strophe written as a stand alone poem or combined with other forms such as the Seguidilla or Flamenca.
• syllabic, all lines written in 8 syllables.
• rhymed, L2 and L4 rhyme with assonance, sometimes true rhyme but generally not. L1 and L3 are unrhymed however the end syllable should be stressed.

Cantar by Judi Van Gorder

The windward breeze sings high tenor
while rolling waves play bottom bass
along the ragged shore. The song
of the ocean follows my day.

• The Cantiga is a predecessor of the Cantar. The Galician-Portuguese poetic genre was written between the 12th and 14th centuries. Rhythm and musicality were central while the words were limited. The themes were focused on the individual, a woman singing to her lover, a man to his lady, and the best known cantigas were about the miracles of the Virgin Mary. The frame of the Cantiga is at the poet’s discretion although 8 syllable lines are common.
• Cantiga de Amigo is a subgenre of the Cantiga, it is the female voice speaking of a lover. The voice could be the woman, her mother, her sister, or her friend, the subject is always the male lover. They are written in simple strophic forms, with repetition, variation, and parallelism, and most often include a refrain They are the largest body of female-voiced love lyrics of medieval times.
• The Seranilla (Spanish – little mountain song) is a short lined strophic sub genre of 14th century Galician-Portuguese cantigas. It is often a light hearted poem built around the meeting of a gentleman and a pretty country girl. It is often written in 5 syllable lines without prescribed number of lines or rhyme, both at the discretion of the poet. When written in octasyllabic lines it is called a Serrano.

Pasted from http://www.poetrymagnumopus.com/index.php?showtopic=1018
My thanks to Judi Van Gorder for years of work on this fine PMO resource.

My Example


Fear of Heights (Cantar)

Upon this precipice I sit
because I’m quite afraid to stand.
I’ll crawl away or maybe slink
for I’m an acrophobic man.

© Lawrencealot – November 19, 2014

Photo credit: Visual Photos.com

Visual template

Cantar

Double Refrain Kyrielle

Double Refrain Kyrielle

Type: Structure, Metrical Requirement, Repetitive Requirement, Rhyme Scheme Requirement, Isosyllabic, Stanzaic
Description:This is a kyrielle with two rhyming refrains in the second and fourth lines of each stanza. It has has octosyllabic lines.
Attributed to: “The Dread Poet Roberts”?
Origin: French
Schematic: aB1aB2 cB1cB2 dB1dB2 eB1eB2 fB1fB2, etc.
Rhythm/Stanza Length: 4

Pasted from <http://www.poetrybase.info/forms/000/96.shtml>
My thanks to Charles L. Weatherford for his years of work on the wonderful Poetrybase resource.

• Double Refrain Kyrielle is an American invented variation of the Kyrielle found at Poetry Base attributed to the Dread Poet Roberts. As the name implies it adds a 2nd refrain.
○ stanzaic, any number of quatrains is written at the discretion of the poet.
○ syllabic, each line is 8 syllables. In English it is often written in iambic tetrameter.
○ written with 2 refrains.
○ rhymed, aB1aB2 cB1cB2 dB1dB2 etc., B1 and B2 are rhymed refrains.

Pasted from http://www.poetrymagnumopus.com/index.php?showtopic=686#double
My thanks to Judi Van Gorder for years of work on this fine PMO resource.
Related Forms: KyrielleDouble Refrain KyrielleLaiLai Nouveau, Viralai Ancien, Viralai, Virelet

My Example

Hanging Around

I’m getting used to hanging ’round;
I seem to have out-lived my friends
Some friends were shot and some were drowned
I’m hanging on until the end.

In youth we lived a rapid pace-
I seem to have out-lived my friends
Some died in war but with God’s grace
I’m hanging on until the end.

Some friends led not such honest lives.
I seem to have out-lived my friends
They did not find themselves good wives.
I’m hanging on until the end.

Some thought that acquisitions won-
I seem to have out-lived my friends
they are all through but I’m not done.
I’m hanging on until the end.

© Lawrencealot – January 26, 2014

Visual Template
Double Refrain Kyrielle