Repete

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 exercises 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 Repete is an invented form similar to the Rondel. It was introduced by Viola Berg. Although it is 14 lines it does not pretend to be a sonnet. 

The Repete is:
○ a quatorzain made up of an octave and a sestet.
○ metric, iambic tetrameter.
○ rhymed, turned on only 2 rhymes, rhyme scheme ABababAB ababAB
○ L1 becomes a refrain repeated L7 & L13 and L2 is a refrain repeated in L8 & L14.

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

Impulse Buyer (Repete)

I think my missteps all have come
when swept away in ecstasy.
When bored my actions aren’t so dumb;
I contemplate what costs might be
and calculate events to come.
I’m prey to hospitality.
I think my missteps all have come
when swept away in ecstasy.

It maiden beats a sensual drum
my common sense is history.
I’ve married oft enough, then some,
but age has calmed me down, you see.
I think my missteps all have come
when swept away in ecstasy.

© Lawrencealot -September 21, 2014

Duodora

  • Duodora is a quatorzain that doesn’t claim to be a sonnet. Written in 2 septets, L1 of the first septet is repeated as L1 of the 2nd septet. The form was created by Dora Tompkins who was an editor of the Nutmegger, a poetry magazine published in Connecticut.The Duodora is:
    • quatorzain made up of 2 septets.
    • syllabic,  4/6/5/5/5/10/10 syllables per line.
    • rhymed Axxxxxb Axxxxxb L1 is repeated as a refrain that begins the 2nd stanza. x is unrhymed.
My Thanks to Judi Van Gorder for the wonderful resource at PMO
My example poem
The Sailor and the Rose – 1980        (Duodora)
A round platform
occupied the center
of two acres of
polished hard wood floor.
As a young sailor
from a small town, I was already awed
by the hundreds of couples I suppose.
A round platform
became a stage for a
volunteer to sing
one song with the band.
I was never close
enough to see her. But we stopped dancing
and some (like me) cried as she sang “The Rose.”
© Lawrencealot – March 22, 2014
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