Toddaid

The following description and example are reposted with permission from Poetry Magnum Opus, with thanks to Judi Van Gorder for years of work on that fine resource.

Toddaidtodd-eyed is the 19th codified Welsh meter, an Awdl, and an uneven couplet often written in combination with other meters especially the 9 syllable couplet, cyhydedd hir.
The elements of the Toddaid are:

  1. stanzac, written in any number of couplets.
  2. syllabic, L1 is a 10 syllable line and L2 is a 9 syllable line.
  3. rhymed, the main rhyme aa – cc – dd etc.
  4. composed with gair cyrch following the main rhyme and caesura of L1. The gair cyrch end rhyme is echoed in the first half of L2 in secondary rhyme, assonance or consonance.
  5. sometimes written in a shortened version of 16 syllables, L1 is 10 syllables and L2 is only 6 syllables which is called a toddaid byr.
toddaid couplets
x x x x x x x A – x b
x x x x b x x x Ax x x x x x x C – x d
x x x d x x x x ca toddaid byr coupletx x x x x x x A – x b
x x x b x A
Nit digeryd Duw, neut digarat – kyrd
Neut lliw gwyrd y vyrd o veird yn rat;
Neut lliaws vrwyn kwyn knawlat— yghystud
O’th attall Ruffudd gwaywrud rodyat.
                                   Einion 15th century
Shere Kahn by Judi Van Gorder

The young calico keeping cool – eases
slow as she pleases upon the stool .
Her Bengal bones live nine lives – daring dogs,
chasing frogs, tiger dreams, kitten thrives.
 

My Example

Form: Toddaid

Embellished

She wore a steampunk hat and bra – and shoes
She couldn’t lose; she was held in awe.
She was cocooned in metal ware – of course.
a visual force men would touch with care.

© Lawrencealot – February 2, 2015

Visual Template

Tawddgyrch Cadwynog

Type: Structure, Metrical Requirement, Rhyme Scheme Requirement, Stanzaic

Description: (TOWDD-girch ca-DOY-nog) This is a Welsh line form consisting of three to five sections of tetrasyllabic verse with abbc or abba rhyme that continues into the next line.

Origin: Welsh

Schematic:

xxxa xxxb xxxb xxxc
xxxa xxxb xxxb xxxc

Or:

xxxa xxxb xxxb xxxa
xxxa xxxb xxxb xxxa

The scheme follows through at least two lines, then can change.

Pasted from Poetry Base/Poetry Gnosis, with thanks to Charles L. Weatherford for his years of work on the wonderful resource.


This form consists of stanzas of usually four, lines, of four syllables: A. B. B. A.

Like the Rhupunt, it is common to join the lines together and end up with the two stanzas making a couplet.

X X X A X X X B X X X B X X X A.

X X X A X X X B X X X B X X X A.

In subsequent stanzas the rhyme may change, but not the pattern, C. D.D. C. and so on.

Pasted from The Poets Garret, with thanks to John Clitheroe for his work on the site.

My Example

Form: Tawddgyrch Cadwynog

A Variable Line Count Poem

To get it right
pen four by four
then add four more;
that’s how you write.

This form is tight
and furthermore
it is a chore
that does delight.

Two quatrains do
a couplet make;
and then you take
them up by two

(I know you knew),
for heaven’s sake
this takes the cake,
a brand new view.

OR

To get it right pen four by four
then add four more; that’s how you write.
This form is tight and furthermore
it is a chore that does delight.

Two quatrains do a couplet make;
and then you take them up by two
(I know you knew), for heaven’s sake
this takes the cake, a brand new view.

OR

To get it right pen four by four then add four more; that’s how you write.
This form is tight and furthermore it is a chore that does delight.
Two quatrains do a couplet make; and then you take them up by two
(I know you knew), for heaven’s sake this takes the cake, a brand new view.

© Lawrencealot – January 26, 2015

Englyn unodle union

Englyn
The englyn is a Welsh verse form, and a difficult one. On the web, there are some definitions of the englyn that make it seem simple, but they are wrong. As well as syllable counts and rhyme, there is the important matter of cynghanedd, a concept peculiar to Celtic poetry. My first englyn (I have only written two, and have no plans to do any more) took me almost a whole afternoon to write, despite the form only having four lines. It turned out like this:

In flight, the butterfly knows utter bliss.
Sun today, soon to die,
Full of joy, life on the fly
Scales the void, the scombroid sky.

The sixth syllable of the first line rhymes with the other three lines. The syllable counts are 10, 6, 7, 7. And then there’s the cynghanedd…
Cynghanedd is an attribute of a line of poetry, and there are several kinds of it. Each is a tightly-specified structural requirement involving rhyme or alliteration, or both. There are four kinds relevant to the englyn. Each line of the englyn must exhibit some kind of cynghanedd. Some kinds can be used in particular positions within the englyn, and not others. 
My example uses all four kinds of cynghanedd, but this is not essential. The first line exhibits cynghanedd lusg, the second cynghanedd groes (which is hard to do in English), the third cynghanedd draws, and the fourth cynghanedd sain. I believe I have written a perfectly-formed englyn, but it is hard to be certain, since the requirements are so complicated. I wrote it using a description of the englyn by Dan Pugh in the magazine Poetry Nottingham International (Vol 55 No 1, Spring 2001). My butterfly englyn appeared in Vol 55 No 2 and no-one complained about it, so perhaps it really is OK. 

Pasted from http://www.volecentral.co.uk/vf/englyn.htm
My thanks to Bob Newman for his years of work on the wonderful Volecentral resource.
Wikipedia definitions:
Cynghanedd groes (“cross-harmony”)[edit]
All consonants surrounding the main stressed vowel before the caesura must be repeated after it in the same order. However, the final consonants of the final words of each half of the line must be different, as must the main stressed vowel of each half. For example:
clawdd i ddal / cal ddwy ddwylaw
CL Dd Dd L / C L Dd Dd L
Cynghanedd draws (partial “cross-harmony”)
Exactly as in cynghanedd groes, except that there are consonants at the beginning of the second half of the line which are not present in the series of ‘echoed’ consonants:
Rhowch wedd wen dan orchudd iâ (R. Williams Parry) [‘Place a white face under a veil of ice’]
rh……ch……dd……../.(dn)..r.ch..dd
Here the consonant sequence {rh ch dd [accent]} is repeated with different stressed vowels (short <e> and long <â>). It will be noticed that the <n> at the end of the first half plays no part in the cynghanedd: the line-final word, “iâ” instead ends in a vowel; if this word also ended in an <n>, there would be generic rhyme between the two words, which is not permitted in cynghanedd.
Note that the {d n} of the second half of the line is also not part of the cynghanedd: this is the difference between cynghanedd groes and cynghanedd draws. There may be any number of unanswered consonants in this part of the line, as long as the initial sequence of consonants and accent is repeated; compare an extreme possibility, where only one syllable is repeated:
Pla ar holl ferched y plwyf! (Dafydd ap Gwilym) [‘A plague on all the girls of the parish!’]
pl./..(r……ll.f..r.ch..d)….pl
(Words beginning with h- are treated as beginning with a vowel.)
Cynghanedd sain (“sound-harmony”)
The cynghanedd sain is characterised by internal rhyme. If the line is divided into three sections by its two caesuras, the first and second sections rhyme, and the third section repeats the consonantal patterns of the second. For example:
pant yw hwy / na llwy / na llaw
/ N Ll / N Ll
Cynghanedd lusg (“drag-harmony”)
The final syllable before the caesura in the first half of the line makes full rhyme with the penultimate syllable of the line-final polysyllabic word (i.e. the main stressed syllable of the second half). For example:
duw er ei radd / a’i addef,

My example

Self-Doubt (Englyn unodle union)
  (én-glin éen-oddle éen-yon)

She has undenied wit, yet denies it
At times she too must sit
and speculate – but a bit,
Did I peculate this hit?

© Lawrencealot – December 13, 2014

*Peculate : To embezzle (funds) or engage in embezzlement.

Visual Template

Englyn unodl union

Related Welsh Form are HERE.

Englyn unodl crwca

Englyn unodl crwca, én-glin éen-oddle crewc (crooked short one rhyme englyn) the 4th codified Official Welsh Meter, an Englyn,, is the structural reverse of Englyn unodl union which is far more popular. The englyn unodl crwca is rarely used.

The Englyn unodl crwc is:
• stanzaic, written as any number of quatrains,
• syllabic, 7-7-10-6 syllable per line.
• rhymed, mono rhymed. In L3 the main rhyme is found in the last half of the line followed by caesura and gair cyrch.
• composed with “gair cyrch” in L3 (syllables in the last half of a line that follow the main rhyme marked by caesura. The gair cyrch end rhyme is to be echoed or consonated as secondary rhyme in the 1st half of L4. The caesura often appears as a dash.)

x x x x x x A

x x x x x x A

x x x x x x A – x x b

x b x x x A

Kyt ymwnel kywyt, bryt brys,

yn llawen llewych yslys,

lletryt dallon donn ef ai dengys—gud

lliw blaen gruc Generys.

—- Einion Offeiriad 15th century

Upon this Rock by Judi Van Gorder

He chose a simple fisherman,

rock foundation holds God’s plan,

His anointed Sacristan – head of church,

Peter’s perch . . . Vatican.

Pasted from http://www.poetrymagnumopus.com/index.php?showtopic=984
My thanks to Judi Van Gorder for years of work on this fine PMO resource.

Englyn Unodl Crwca
Type: Structure, Metrical Requirement, Rhyme Scheme Requirement, Stanzaic
Description: (englin eenoddle crewcah) A quatrain with syllable counts: seven, seven, ten, and six and having rhyme and cross-rhyme.
Origin: Welsh
Schematic:
xxxxxxa
xxxxxxa
xxxxxxaxxb
xbxxxa

a = main rhyme.
b = subsidiary rhyme that has consonance,
assonance, alliteration

Cross rhymes can shift a few positions:
a = 7-9
b = 2-4
Rhythm/Stanza Length: 4


Pasted from http://www.poetrybase.info/forms/001/116.shtml

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

Related Welsh Form are HERE.

My example

Meth-a-morphosis

Meth-a-morphosis (Englyn unodl cdwc)

My friends girl-friend’s mouth’s a mess
It is meth-mouth I confess.
The facts she will not address – what great cost
to be lost to excess.

She is not dumb, she’s aware.
Need’s too strong, she doesn’t care
though she knows there’s help out there – not for her!
She’ll defer to despair.

© Lawrencealot – December 12, 2014

Visual template

Englyn unodl cdwca

Englyn proest gadwynog

Englyn proest gadwynog én-glin proyst ga-doy-nóg cadwyn or (chain of half-rhyme), the 8th codified Official Welsh Meter, an Englyn, is verse that employs both alternating full rhyme which half rhymes with the alternating full rhymes. To complicate things further no half rhyme may occur within the lines.

The englyn proest gadwynog is:
• stanzaic, written in a chain of quatrains.
• syllabic, 7 syllable lines.
• rhymed, each line half rhymes with the next line and fully rhymes with the next. L1 and L3 fully rhyme with each other, L2 and L4 half rhyme with the rhyme of L1 and L3 and should fully rhyme with each other. The full rhymes of L1 and L3 half rhyme with the full rhyme of L1 and L3.
• chained, the last word of the stanza begins the next stanza.
x x x x x x A
x x x x x x a
x x x x x x A
x x x x x x a 

a x x x x x B
x x x x x x b
x x x x x x B
x x x x x x b

Kael or war koler euraid 
Karw Edwart mewn kaer ydwyd
Kael o ebolion lonaid
Kann ystabl yt, kwnstabl wyd.
— Dafydd Nanmor

Warrior Woman by Judi Van Gorder

Desired by all who’ve seen
the royal fighting woman,
Gweneviere the Warrior Queen,
behold, King Arthur’s chosen.

Chosen from the very best
appearing out from the mist
stand beside him in his quest
join Camolot’s wedding feast.

Feast of victory and peace
lady takes her rightful place
in time see injustice cease
royals joined in married bliss.

The Desert Palm by Stephen Arndt

Like an upright spine, your trunk 
Grows as straight as any plank 
And, with roots so deeply sunk, 
Towers upwards, lean and lank. 

Lank as well, your long, green leaves, 
Ranged in spirals, spend their lives 
Capping a crown that receives 
But rare drops of rain, yet thrives. 

Thrive serene in heartless heat, 
Poised upon your peaceful height; 
See us speed our hurried feet, 
Watch us flee in hasty flight. 

Flight or fight of little ants 
Scrapping over scant amounts— 
Thus must seem our frantic dance 
When you total our accounts.

Pasted from http://www.poetrymagnumopus.com/index.php?showtopic=980

My thanks to Judi Van Gorder for years of work on this fine PMO resource.

My example

Write One of These (Englyn proest gadwynog)

When words, well just sorta rhyme,
wait for even lines to roam.
Make odd lines rhyme true this time.
For both this old form has room.

Room exists to spread your wings,
consonate if you’d rather
I have tried most all these things
but can’t seem to get better.

© Lawrencealot – December 11, 2014

Related Welsh Form are HERE.

Visual template

Rhyme Scheme: aaaa bbbb where red letters indicate half rhyme.
Englyn proest  gadwynog

Englyn proest dalgron

Englyn proest dalgron, én-glin proyst dál-gron ( half rhymed englyn), sometimes referred to as Englyn Proest Cyfnewidlog is verse that utilizes proest or half rhyme but no full rhyme. It is the 6th codified Official Welsh Meter, anEnglyn,

The englyn proest dalgron is:
• stanzaic, written in any number of quatrains.
• syllabic, made up of 7 syllable lines.
• rhymed, all of the lines half rhyme. In this stanza form, the rhymes are formed by vowels of the same length or by vowels of the same length followed by a consonant or the vowel w (long oo in English). The key is the rhymed syllables must be the same length. Long sounds match with long sounds and short sounds match with short sounds. (vote and boot are the same length but, bale and bill are not)
x x x x x x a
x x x x x x a
x x x x x x a
x x x x x x a
Agharat hoen leuat liw
yghiyeth lewychweith law
wyf oth garat, glwyfgat glew,
ynvyt drew benyt y’mbyw
—- Einion Offeiriad 15th century

Limey’s Adventure by Judi Van Gorder
The shiny lime green frog can
jump over the fox’s den
without waking fox within,
then croaks and soaks in the sun.

Peck’s Pond by Judi Van Gorder
Murky surface of Peck’s Pond,
the stocked rainbow trout swim stunned.
The camp sick children attend
and fish sitting on the sand.

Sabino Canyon by Stephen Arndt
Stopping by a spring-fed lake
On our carefree canyon hike,
Giving feet a grateful soak,
I inspect a spiring peak.
Former aeons formed these rocks
With their crevices and cracks;
Here are boulders stacked like bricks,
There are carved-out caves and nooks.
See the massive mountain ridge,
Cacti clutching to a ledge,
Wearing blossoms like a badge,
You may gaze—they will not grudge.
When I hear the canyon rills
With the gurgling sound that lulls,
Seeing slopes arise from dells,
I wish my house had such walls.
Pasted from http://www.poetrymagnumopus.com/index.php?showtopic=982
My thanks to Judi Van Gorder for years of work on this fine PMO resource.

My example

Cozy Clique

Cozy Clique (Englyn proest dalgron)

Fine friends frequent neon bars
downing drafts of local beers
ignoring jokes of boring boors
laugh aloud at one of her’s.

© Lawrencealot – December 10, 2014

Related Welsh Form are HERE.

Visual template

Englyn proest dalgron

Englyn penfyr

Englyn penfyr, én-glin pén-fir or short ended englyn in the old style, is the 1st codified Official Welsh Meter, anEnglyn. The oldest Welsh poetry in manuscript (early 9th century) was found written in the margin of the Juvencus Metrical Version of the Psalms, preserved in the Cambridge University Library. It is said to be stanzas written in praise of the Trinity in the englyn penfyr meter. Both the Englyn penfyr and the Englyn milwr are associated with “primitive Britain” and were out of vogue by the 12th century.

The englyn penfyr is:

  • stanzaic, written in any number of tercets.
  • syllabic, a 10 syllable line followed by two 7 syllable lines.
  • rhymed, mono rhymed, the main rhyme (the dominant rhyme of the stanza) of L1 found in the last half of the line followed by caesura end rhymes with L2 and L3.
  • composed with an addendum, a “gair cyrch” in L1 (syllables in the last half of a line that follow the main rhyme marked by caesura. The gair cyrch end rhyme is to be echoed or consonated as secondary rhyme in the 1st half of L2. The caesura often appears as a dash.)

 

Y wlad mewn gwisg o flodau -yn galw

Dwy galon i lwybrau

Yr ifanc drwy yr hafau

x x x x x x x A x b

x x b x x x A

x x x x x x A

The countryside, in its floral dress, calls

two hearts to roam the paths

of the young through summer days.

by Dosbarth Tanyroes “Y Flwyddn” 20th century found in Singing in Chains by Mererid Hopwood

Mud laps by Judi Van Gorder

Ripples in the mud pool fanned ~ far and wide

spreading inside-out to land

in small laps upon the sand.

Oprah by Judi Van Gorder

She sings her own tune – in touch with her soul

she shares her goal, grasps the moon

with wisdom none can impugn.

First Light by DC Martinson

Night before a Christmas morn – stars tarry;

Hymns carry a world so torn

To be saved by God’s Yet-born.

Night before a Christmas morn – all is seen

Red and green. Our hearts, forsworn,

Still are gifts to God’s Low-born.

Night before a Christmas morn – in the dark,

Holy spark. Candles have borne

Ev’ry soul to God’s High-born.

Dreams by Stephen Arndt

Come, let the ember lights burn low; no more

_____Let flames roar and flare, for so

_____Drowsing dreams may freely flow;

And let me dream what lies in store (I know

_____Men can’t show me that far shore

_____Which my plodding might explore).

Our dreamings mimic what might be, for they

_____Mold the clay to cast a key

_____Opening new worlds to see.

I am not deaf to what dreams say. Watch me:

_____I am free to stop and stay

_____Or to wend my winding way.

Are dreams like dice on which to bet? How few

_____Pay what’s due on piled-up debt!

_____What they grudge is what you get.

I know my dreams may not come true, and yet

_____Why forget that if they do,

_____I shall fly to where they flew?

Pasted from http://www.poetrymagnumopus.com/index.php?showtopic=987
My thanks to Judi Van Gorder for years of work on this fine PMO resource.

My attempt

Evil Must be Fought (Englyn penfyr)

I’d really like to preach peace – but I can’t.
Can’t chant for the wars to cease.
Can’t call to disband police.

When attacked you must defend – or else die.
You ask why do some descend?
Evil and greed I contend.

When evil tried to impose – and by force
I’d endorse those who arose,
though it was not peace they chose.

© Lawrencealot – December 10, 2014

Related Welsh Form are HERE.

Visual template

Englyn penfyr

Englyn lleddfbroest

Englyn lleddfbroest, én-glin lléd-uhv-broyst (diphthong half rhymed englyn), the 7th codified Official Welsh Meter, an Englyn, is close to impossible to emulate in English. Therefore, if you want to give this one a try, consider yourself successful if you get sort of close to these sounds. As the on-line site Kalliope says “in English, cheat”. 

The defining features of the englyn lleddfbroest are:
• stanzaic, written in any number of quatrains.
• syllabic, 7 syllable lines.

rhymed, all of the lines half rhymes but the four half-rhymes must be the diphthongs ae, oe, wy, and ei in whatever order.

x x x x x x ae

x x x x x x oe

x x x x x x wy

x x x x x x ei or ai

Llawen dan glaerwen len laes,

lleddfolwg gloyn amlwg glwys,

llathrlun manol a foleis,

llarieidd foneddigeidd foes.

—- Einion Offeiriad 15th century

Absolute Nonsense

Sorry, even cheating fails,
to try writing Welsh forms foils
artistry and yet appeals
to poets creating howls.
— Judi Van Gorder

The Agave Cactus by Stephen Arndt 

Rings of fleshy leaves are joined 
About the stalk they surround; 
Its five-meter height attained, 
Not a bud is there to find. 

Half a century devoid 
Of blooms that would make you proud, 
When they flower, long delayed, 
Yellow suns rise, open-eyed. 

These gold flowers you enjoy 
Took you fifty years, and now 
You at last have had your day— 
It is time for you to die. 

I have fifty years of toil, 
And though they’ve not yet grown foul, 
I have hopes they will not fail
Before they have bloomed a while. 

Pasted from http://www.poetrymagnumopus.com/index.php?showtopic=981
My thanks to Judi Van Gorder for years of work on this fine PMO resource.

My attempt

Imaginary Dipthongs (Englyn lleddfbroest)

If you plan to write this way
and you are an English boy,
One will have to ask you “Why”?
There seems little to enjoy.

© Lawrencealot – December 10, 2014

Related Welsh Form are HERE.

Visual template

Englyn lleddfbroest

Englyn cyrch

Englyn cyrch, én-glin circh (two rhyme englyn), the 5th codified Official Welsh Meter, an Englyn is verse that employs cyrch which means internal rhyme.

 

The defining features of the Englyn cyrch are:

  • stanzaic, written in any number of quatrains made up of 2 Cywydd couplets,
    the Cywydd deuair hirion[1] and Awdl gywydd [2].

  • syllablic, 7 syllable lines.

  • rhymed, AaBA with the end syllable of L3 rhymed somewhere in the first half of L4.

x x x x x x A (stressed last syllable)

x x x x x X a (unstressed last syllable)

x x x x x x B

x x B x x x A ( B ) can be in the 2nd 3rd or 4th syllables

el y cuddia’r llwyni gleision

ddolennog grwydriad Cynon

dymunwn innau lechu’r ferch

enynnodd serch fy nghalon

Fall by Judi Van Gorder

The wild wind and rain suppress
the dancing leaves in darkness,
telling time to disappear
while they clear away excess.

The Saguaro Cactus by Stephen Arndt 

Curses on the god of sun, 
His burn a crime like arson! 
Yet you battle him till night 
And fight until you have won. 

Curses on the gods of wind, 
Whose force is unimagined! 
When they bluster through your place, 
You face the attack, thick-skinned. 

Curse the gods of sand and dust, 
Who storm when winds wail loudest! 
Let them cloud the air and vaunt, 
Undaunted, you stand robust. 

Ball your fists to curse and cuss, 
Strong-armed Saguaro Cactus! 
Rail against the desert sky, 
Defy it for all of us!

Pasted from http://www.poetrymagnumopus.com/index.php?showtopic=983
My thanks to Judi Van Gorder for years of work on this fine PMO resource.

[1] The Cywydd deuair hirion is: Wrenched Rhyme.
[2] Awdl gywydd is: internal rhyme with prior end-rhyme
Mid-line rhymes a and c can be various forms of rhyme but the end of line rhyme b should be perfect rhyme.

My example

Dragon’s Fire (Englyn cyrch)

Sean had a long scaly tail
he flew but left no contrail.
He feared not what warrior’s felt;
he’d just melt down their chain mail.

Cutie Pie teased a young Sean
often with flirty Come-on.
Sean (a dragon by the way)
came to play – the lady’s gone.

© Lawrencealot – December 9, 2014

Related Welsh Form are HERE.

Visual template
Englyn cyrch

Englyn byr cwca

Englyn byr cwca is a shortened crooked rhyme and is not one of the 24 Official Welsh Meters.

Englyn bry cwca is:
• stanzaic, written in any number of tercets.
• syllabic, 7-10-6 syllable lines.
• rhymed, rhyme scheme aba, cdc, etc. The L2 end rhyme appears internally midway in L3.
x x x x x x a
x x x x x x x x x b
x x b x x a

A Look Forward byJudi Van Gorder

Vows, “in sickness and in health”,
they’re hard to see when strong and young in love,
time is part of the wealth.
But years turn and visions blur,
the body slows and vitality goes,
hopes and woes are deferred.

Here we are in winter’s dawn,
through grace or luck our days continue bright.
We shun the night upon
which one life will first depart.
Only “death and taxes” they say, “are sure”.
mature, we play our part.

Pasted from http://www.poetrymagnumopus.com/index.php?showtopic=960\
My thanks to Judi Van Gorder for years of work on this fine PMO resource.

My example

AM and PM (Englyn bry cwca)

Relentlessly time moves on
with urging when we’re young; we’d like a blitz
until it’s almost gone.

In the winter of life’s year
time slows our body making us aware
we ought share our lives cheer.

© Lawrencealot – December 9, 2014

Visual template

Englyn bry cwca