BASIC FORM: The Lilibonelle was created by Sol Magazine editor, Bonnie Williams.
It is:
Stanzaic: Consisting of at least 4 stanzas
Syllabic: Lines may be of unequal, unspecified length
Refrain: The nth line of the 1st stanza must be the first line of the nth stanza.
Meter is optional and encouraged.
Rhyme is optional and encouraged.
Theme: One should use an introspective or reflective theme with this form, one that conveys a loving, wistful or poignant feeling.
Those are ALL of the Requirements, although I have found on at least two other sites statements indicated that a specific (though differing) rhyme scheme is required.
I have posted Bonnie Williams on poem (which is rhymed, but not metered) and her explanation of the form below.
— Larry Eberhart, penning on Allpoetry.com as Lawrencealot
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The following by Bonnie Williams
LILIBONELLE
BASIC FORM: The Lilibonelle was created by Sol Magazine editor, Bonnie Williams.
The basic form is four stanzas of four lines each, in which each line of the first stanza is consecutively repeated as the first line of each of the other stanzas, and allows for a variation where an extra final line may be included.
Use an introspective or reflective theme with this form, one that conveys a loving, wistful or poignant feeling.
Poets must use the basic form for poems entered into competition at Sol Magazine unless a notation to the contrary is made within the contest notes.
EXPANDED FORM: As long as there are a minimum of four lines and four stanzas, and the lines of the first stanza are used as the opening lines of the successive stanzas, the poem may be considered a Lilibonelle.
Poets are encouraged to play with rhyme schemes, rhythm, repeated ending line, or other creative twists.
If there are five stanzas, use five lines per stanza. If six stanzas, use six lines per stanza. In any case, poets may always end the final stanza with an extra line.
Pattern:
Stanza 1 line 1
Stanza 1 line 2
Stanza 1 line 3
Stanza 1 line 4
Stanza 2 line 1 repeats Stanza 1 line 2
Stanza 2 line 2
Stanza 2 line 3
Stanza 2 line 4
Stanza 3 line 1 repeats Stanza 1 line 3
Stanza 3 line 2
Stanza 3 line 3
Stanza 3 line 4
Stanza 4 line 1 repeats Stanza 1 line 4
Stanza 4 line 2
Stanza 4 line 3
Stanza 4 line 4
Example of the Basic Form:
Bells
that sweet ringing of early morn
alights my eyes and thrills my soul
a wealth of love enveloping me
filling my heart making me whole
alights my eyes and thrills my soul
a warmth encircling from heart to toes
trembling hearing soft sweet songs
the melodies of loving shows
a wealth of love enveloping me
treasure beyond compare
when holding warm and near like this
much closer than the air
filling my heart and making me whole
a passion so deep we have sworn
our love will last eternally
as sweet ringings open each morn…
Bonnie Williams, Deptford, NJ, US
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The following essay compare the Lilibonelle and the Retourne
“Lilibonelle vs. Retourne”
an essay by Roy Schwartzman, Sol Magazine’s Forms Investigator
This is a discussion of two similar yet distinct forms, the Lilibonelle and the Retourne. The two forms operate in the same manner, with lines of subsequent stanzas generated from lines of the first stanza. Typically both forms begin with a Quatrain, with each line of the first Quatrain becoming the first line of a subsequent Quatrain. Thus the Lilibonelle and the Retourne look alike at this point, as the Sol Magazine encyclopedia of poetry forms indicates:
Stanza 1 line 1
Stanza 1 line 2
Stanza 1 line 3
Stanza 1 line 4
Stanza 2 line 1 repeats Stanza 1 line 2
Stanza 2 line 2
Stanza 2 line 3
Stanza 2 line 4
Stanza 3 line 1 repeats Stanza 1 line 3
Stanza 3 line 2
Stanza 3 line 3
Stanza 3 line 4
Stanza 4 line 1 repeats Stanza 1 line 4
Stanza 4 line 2
Stanza 4 line 3
Stanza 4 line 4
The Retourne, as the name indicates, is a French form. The Lilibonelle, however, allows many more variations than the Retourne. A Lilibonelle has no metrical restriction, but each line of a Retourne is in tetrameter, eight syllables per line.
Furthermore, a Lilibonelle may consist of stanzas that contain any number of lines as long all stanzas have the same number of lines and the lines of the first stanza are repeated according to the specified pattern.
The stanzas of Retournes are Quatrains, so a Retourne will have sixteen lines. The Retourne is a more restrictive form, both metrically and in length. Neither form requires a specific rhyme scheme.
Why might a poet select either or both these forms? The repetition of lines from the initial stanza allows a single theme to be developed throughout the poem. Since the lines appear in different stanzas, the same idea can emerge in different senses as the poem develops. These forms also hold the potential for the ideas in each line of the first stanza to be extended later, gradually adding depth and complexity to the poem’s theme.
My example poem: which is attempted in iambic tetrameter, with my own rhyme pattern.
Dazed and Comfortable (Lilibonelle)
I had my life all figured out,
the girls were only games to play.
But something happened on the way,
and love changed things, there is no doubt.
The girls were only games to play
I thought before I met Marie,
each night another victory.
Whatever happened was OK.
But something happened on the way,
I’m caught, and don’t want to be free.
That cannot be, it’s just not me!
My blacks and whites have turned to grey.
And love changed things, there is no doubt.
Marie’s now what my life’s about.
And planning now must play a role
for her happiness is my goal.
© Lawrencealot – December 3, 2013
A visual template used for the above poem.
NOTE: neither the meter, the line length, nor the rhyme pattern is required.
