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"There is not a particle of life which does not bear poetry within it."
Gustave Flaubert
Painting is silent poetry, and poetry is painting with the gift of speech.
Simonides (556 BC - 468 BC)
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Poetry By Numbers 2.0 - Part One: 2’s, 3’s, and 4’s
Over ten years ago I created the original “Poetry By Numbers” article and so decided it was time to bring it back to share with some updated material within it. Enjoy!
Counting is important in poetry; from counting syllables and metrical feet, to counting lines and stanzas in order to follow certain forms. Today we will go over the vocabulary that accompanies some of these tasks, as well as a few poetry forms for you to try.
Poetry By 2’s
The couplet is the most used poetic element related to the number two. It is simply a two-line stanza. Some of the different types of couplets are: elegiac (L1 - dactylic hexameter, L2 - dactylic pentameter), heroic (iambic pentameter), short (iambic or trochaic tetrameter), skeltonic (didactic subject matter, often mismatched meters), and split (L1 - iambic pentameter, L2 - iambic dimeter). The difference between each couplet is their meter and how they rhyme.
Ten years ago I shared the Heroic Couplet form. This time I'm sharing the Irish Sneadhbhairdne form. This is not a couplet, however it does have an interesting 2 item. Each line ends with a 2 syllable word.
Sneadhbhairdne
BRIEF HISTORY
Created in Ireland a long time ago.
MUST HAVES
--Meter: Syllabic. Each line alternates between 8 and 4 syllables.
--The first syllable of the first line of each stanza must be the last syllable of the last line of that stanza.
--All lines end with a 2 syllable word.
--Rhyme: Internal. In the last line of each stanza all four syllables must rhyme with each other.
COULD HAVES or What's The Poet's Choice In All This?
--Number of stanzas: One, unless creating a chain.
--Any subject matter.
--Any theme.
Poetry By 3’s
The main terms when you speak about things in threes in poetry is the tercet or triplet. They are both three-line stanzas. A tercet may rhyme (AAB, ABB, ABA) or not rhyme. A triplet has all three lines rhyming with each other (AAA).
A decade ago I shared the terza rima, this time I'm sharing another tercet form, but this time it's a non-rhyming tercet form: the Synchronicity.
Synchronicity
BRIEF HISTORY
Debra Gundy, a contemporary poet, invented this form.
MUST HAVES
--Stanza length: 3 lines
--Number of stanzas: 8
--Rhyme: none.
--Meter: Syllabic in the following format – 8/8/2
--POV: 1st person
--Poem must have a twist that occurs in the last 2 stanzas.
COULD HAVES or What's The Poet's Choice In All This?
--Theme.
--Subject matter.
Poetry By 4’s
Beginning poets often start out writing poems in four line stanzas. These are called quatrains. “The word quatrain comes from the French quatre and the Latin quattuor, both meaning ‘four’” (Padgett, 144). There are several different types of quatrain. They are: curtal (short fourth line), Italian (iambic pentameter, ABBA rhyme), and Sicilian (iambic pentameter, ABAB rhyme). Like the couplet, the difference between each quatrain is their meter and the rhyme scheme.
Last time I shared the rubaiyat. This time I will be sharing the skeltonics form.
Skeltonics aka Tumbling Verse
BRIEF HISTORY
Created about half a millennium ago by John Skelton, a priest.
MUST HAVES
--Usually 2 accents per line or 4 syllables per line.
--According to Turco, the rhyme scheme is generally AABBCCDDEE and so on, but with a triplet thrown in here and there as needed. I've seen others as monorhyme. Let's say the choice is up to the poet as long as there is a rhyme scheme that creates a "tumbling" feeling.
COULD HAVES or What's The Poet's Choice In All This?
--Length of poem.
--Stanza length.
--Subject matter.
--Theme.
METER ME in St. Louis, Louis
I didn’t go in depth with meter in this article. It can get long and complicated. However I will share these metrical terms: monometer = one metrical foot, dimeter = two metrical feet, trimeter = three metrical feet, and tetrameter = four metrical feet. (Look for more in Poetry By Numbers 2.0 - Part Two: 5’s, 6’s, 7’s and 8’s)
Source Notes:
Padgett, Ron. The Teachers & Writers Handbook of Poetic Forms. 2nd. NY: T & W Books, 2000.
Turco, Lewis. The Book of Forms. 3rd. Lebanon, New Hampshire: University Press of New England, 2000.
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Theme: Skeltonics and Synchronicity
| | | New Life [13+] #2158215
A synchronicity poem, written about breaking free from abuse.
by Choconut  |
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Comments on last month's newsletter:
From: Monty 
Comment: Good clues and I agree you have to look back to know where you are going.
From: Paul D 
Comment: I have been thinking about writing an epic poem. My source material is already established. I'm not sure if I'm willing to make that time investment.
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Poetry: February 12, 2020 Issue [#10016]
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