Here are the guidelines for the rondel double:

• Poem comprised of four quatrains (four-line stanzas)
• Rhyme scheme (capitals are refrains): ABBA/abBA/abba/ABBA
• As with most French forms, usually eight- to 10-syllable lines

Also, be sure to check out the 14-line rondel supreme.

*****

Play with poetic forms!

Poetic forms are fun poetic games, and this digital guide collects more than 100 poetic forms, including more established poetic forms (like sestinas and sonnets) and newer invented forms (like golden shovels and fibs).

Click to continue.

*****

Here’s my attempt at a rondel double:

“Trouble,” by Robert Lee Brewer

We swallow love as if it’s rain
and sing our songs with nonstop joy
and sing our songs with nonstop joy
swallowing love as if it’s rain

falling from hearts that feel the stain
of every girl and every boy
who sing our songs with nonstop joy
swallowing love as if it’s rain.

A storm, a shower without pain
is one that will never annoy
or excite and might be too coy–
we can’t not chant the sweet refrain:

We swallow love as if it’s rain
and sing our songs with nonstop joy
and sing our songs with nonstop joy
swallowing love as if it’s rain.

The post Rondel Double: Poetic Forms appeared first on Writer's Digest.

Here are the guidelines:

• Five 11-line stanzas followed by a five-line envoy
• The 11-line stanzas have this rhyme scheme: ababccddedE
• The envoy has this rhyme scheme: ddedE
• The final line of every stanza is a refrain
• Lines can be any consistent (for the poem) length, but it’s most common if they’re eight or 10 syllables

Since this form asks you to rotate the same five rhymes across 60 lines, pick rhymes you can maintain throughout. The “d” rhyme, in particular, is used 18 times in the poem!

*****

Play with poetic forms!

Poetic forms are fun poetic games, and this digital guide collects more than 100 poetic forms, including more established poetic forms (like sestinas and sonnets) and newer invented forms (like golden shovels and fibs).

Click to continue.

*****

Here’s my attempt at a Chant Royal:

The Rest, by Robert Lee Brewer

It was a dark and stormy night
in the beginning of his scene,
but that opening was not right,
so he cleared the computer screen,
and he struggled to find a way
to introduce a sunny day
that produced feelings of great fear
on an afternoon that was clear–
like some horrific horror test
that pulled the readers very near,
though everybody knows the rest:

how after darkness comes a light
and all that’s dirty will be cleaned,
the writer knows that he must write,
whether on paper or a screen,
all the feelings that he can’t say
on a completely normal day
about the dreams he holds most dear,
the ones he should reveal right here,
though the threat of a simple jest
prolongs his agonizing fear,
and everybody knows the rest,

like a tree knows to hold a kite,
not because inherently mean,
but every branch is oh so slight
and made to clutch strings sight unseen
as if to catch is how it plays
in all the nights and all the days
filled with charmed mirth and mirthless cheer
of everyday and unique fear;
pray, be the prey, my praying guest,
of what must seem clearly unclear
when everybody knows the rest

is but a swallow after bite
by teeth so white and very clean
that they reflect the full moon’s light
before the waning wanes it lean,
and the leaning both lies and lays
depending upon all the ways
one can listen and one can hear
whether one’s far or one is near
to the thing they think they’ll request,
like a bottle of pop or beer,
for everybody knows the rest

could be settled in a bar fight
or some other overdone scene,
like on a dark and stormy night,
which is never quite what I mean
when my new scenes are led astray
like a solitary sun ray
in a forest clearing that’s clear
of everything but one small deer
that wants a reprieve from its quest
for a long life lived without fear,
but everybody knows the rest:

how you can’t hear the things right here
without a dedicated ear
to bequeath words on his behest
as behooves his behaving we’re
the everybody knows the rest.

The post Chant Royal: Poetic Forms appeared first on Writer's Digest.

• 14-line poem broken into three stanzas.
• First two stanzas have four lines and final stanza has six lines.
• Rhyme scheme: ABba/abAB/abbaAB (capital letters are refrains).
• No restrictions on syllables or subjects.

*****

Play with poetic forms!

Poetic forms are fun poetic games, and this digital guide collects more than 100 poetic forms, including more established poetic forms (like sestinas and sonnets) and newer invented forms (like golden shovels and fibs).

Click to continue.

*****

Here’s my attempt at a rondel supreme:

Respects, by Robert Lee Brewer

We asked for flowers,
but we received dirt–
a full bag of earth
to bury hours.

Beneath the glowers
of sadistic mirth,
we asked for flowers,
but we received dirt.

Radio towers
could broadcast our hurt,
though he was a flirt
beneath the bowers–
we asked for flowers,
but we received dirt.

The post Rondel Supreme: Poetic Forms appeared first on Writer's Digest.

Here are the basic guidelines for this poetic form:

• 25 lines, comprised mostly of quatrains (or four-line stanzas)
• Lines are usually eight syllables long
• Each line of the first quatrain is a refrain
• Rhyme scheme: A1B1A2B2/babA1/abaB1/babA2/abaB2/babaR
• The final “R” line represents a rentrement, which means the first couple words or first phrase of the opening line is used

*****

Play with poetic forms!

Poetic forms are fun poetic games, and this digital guide collects more than 100 poetic forms, including more established poetic forms (like sestinas and sonnets) and newer invented forms (like golden shovels and fibs).

Click to continue.

*****

Here’s my attempt at a rondeau redoublé:

Perhaps It Was Fate, by Robert Lee Brewer

Perhaps it was fate you and I
ended up on our little date
surrounded by the grass and sky
smelling roses ’til half past eight.

I know we’ll never duplicate
the awe and wonder of those sighs
when every small thing felt so great.
Perhaps it was fate you and I

elevated ourselves so high.
When others may have said, “Just wait,”
we did not. Instead, you and I
ended up on our little date,

because we had to take the bait
after catching each other’s eye
almost as if straight out the gate
surrounded by the grass and sky.

Here I am, and I’m still your guy,
though I’ve added a bit of weight
and you put up with all of my
smelling roses ’til half past eight.

Perhaps we share some common trait
that draws from the other a sigh
for even as the hour grows late
we’ve no intent to say, “Good-bye.”
Perhaps it was fate.

The post Rondeau Redoublé: Poetic Forms appeared first on Writer's Digest.

Ballade Poems

The ballade is a French poetic form that offers everything I love about French forms, namely plenty of rhymes and refrains.

(French poetic forms.)

Here are the basic guidelines:

• 28 lines
• three stanzas of eight lines followed by a quatrain (or four-line stanza) called an envoy (or envoi)
• rhyme scheme: ababbcbC/ababbcbC/ababbcbC/bcbC
• final line of each stanza is a refrain
• each line is usually comprised of eight or 10 syllables (flexible, but consistent within the poem)

*****

Build an Audience for Your Poetry!

While your focus as a poet will always be on refining your craft, why not cultivate a following along the way? With the multitude of social networking opportunities available today, it’s never been easier to connect with other poetry enthusiasts. Within minutes, you can set up a blog and share your poems and insights with like-minded readers.

Discover how to expand your readership and apply it to your poetry sharing goals today!

Click to continue.

*****

Here’s my attempt at a ballade:

the revolutionaries, by Robert Lee Brewer

we live large & in charge of all
we see or saw or whatever
because a rise precedes a fall
as a worse comes from a better
or a storm breaks up good weather
& maybe we seem like we’re clowns
laughing our way to the never
& there’s no one to slow us down

so do what you want but don’t stall
& assume that we’re not clever
because a rise precedes a fall
& best believe we want better
than what we have or whatever
we lost that you claim you have found
our want will swallow us forever
& there’s no one to slow us down

if you want a word you can call
& pretend the line’s not severed
because a rise precedes a fall
& we don’t believe your better
that you’ve been selling forever
expecting us to hang around
we’ve found a way of whatever
& there’s no one to slow us down

so lie your lies & whatever
makes you feel like you’re safe & sound
but we’re coming for our better
& there’s no one to slow us down

The post Ballade: Poetic Forms appeared first on Writer's Digest.

Rime Couee Poems

The rime couee is a French poetic form that uses six-line stanzas with a 3-part rhyme scheme and variable line lengths. Here are the guidelines:

• Six-line stanzas.
• Eight syllables in lines one, two, four, and five.
• Six syllables in the third and sixth lines.
• Rhyme scheme of AABCCB.

The poem can be a single stanza or run for several. For my example below, I reset the rhyme scheme in the second stanza.

*****

Build an Audience for Your Poetry!

While your focus as a poet will always be on refining your craft, why not cultivate a following along the way? With the multitude of social networking opportunities available today, it’s never been easier to connect with other poetry enthusiasts. Within minutes, you can set up a blog and share your poems and insights with like-minded readers.

Discover how to expand your readership and apply it to your poetry sharing goals today!

Click to continue.

*****

Here’s my attempt at a rime couee:

turn, by Robert Lee Brewer

we turn in the morning and turn
at night when the candle light burns
all the way down the wick
and then say things that we’ll regret
knowing we will never forget
how we were both homesick

for a love we felt at the start
when every breath seemed works of art
framed by kissable lips
wet with wanting this waxing dream
transforming to nightmarish screams
over how love can slip

The post Rime Couee: Poetic Forms appeared first on Writer's Digest.

Virelai Poems

The virelai is a French poetic form with alternating rhymes and line lengths. Here are basic guidelines:

• nine lines per stanza
• lines one, two, four, five, seven, and eight have five syllables
• lines three, six, and nine have two syllables
• the five-syllable lines rhyme with each other and the two-syllable lines rhyme with each other to make the following rhyme patter: aabaabaab
• the end rhyme for the short lines continues on in the following stanza
• the final stanza’s short-line end rhyme should be the same as the long-line end rhyme in the opening stanza (to complete the end-rhyme circle)

Note on stanzas: This form can contain as few as two stanzas to infinity (if you could write that many). My example below has three stanzas, but this can change.

*****

Build an Audience for Your Poetry!

While your focus as a poet will always be on refining your craft, why not cultivate a following along the way? With the multitude of social networking opportunities available today, it’s never been easier to connect with other poetry enthusiasts. Within minutes, you can set up a blog and share your poems and insights with like-minded readers.

Discover how to expand your readership and apply it to your poetry sharing goals today!

Click to continue.

*****

Here’s my attempt at a virelai:

talk the talk, by Robert Lee Brewer

talkers like to talk
& walkers will walk
without
weighing who to block
or watching the clock
about
when to tick or tock
or pick up a rock
& shout

there’s never a doubt
about the right route
to take
whether north or south
or straight from her mouth
to make
a smile into pout
or a with without
real fake

& see what’s at stake
in a william blake
or mock
poem to forsake
near the shallow lake
we talk
about what we fake
when we’d rather take
a walk

The post Virelai: Poetic Forms appeared first on Writer's Digest.

Rondelet Poems

The rondelet is a typical French form with rhymes and refrains. Here are the basic guidelines for this poetic form:

• 7 lines
• Lines 1, 3, and 7 are refrains
• Refrain lines are 4 syllables long, other lines are 8 syllables
• Rhyme scheme: AbAabbA

*****

Master Poetic Forms!

Learn how to write sestina, shadorma, haiku, monotetra, golden shovel, and more with The Writer’s Digest Guide to Poetic Forms, by Robert Lee Brewer.

This e-book covers more than 40 poetic forms and shares examples to illustrate how each form works. Discover a new universe of poetic possibilities and apply it to your poetry today!

Click to continue.

*****

Here’s my attempt:

promises, by Robert Lee Brewer

we were all told
to wait for things to get better
we were all told
our lead actions would turn to gold
and our desert thoughts get wetter
but there’s no show for the letter
we were all told

The post Rondelet: Poetic Forms appeared first on Writer's Digest.

Chanso Poems

Chanso poems are adaptable to the needs of the poet. This French form consists of five or six stanzas with an envoy that is roughly half the size of a regular stanza. So what is a regular stanza?

That depends on what the poet decides. The main rules are that each line of the poem should have the same number of syllables, and each stanza should be uniform when it comes to length and rhyme scheme. Beyond that, the poet has final say.

So a chanso could consist of 5 tercets followed by a couplet written with an abc rhyme scheme for each line; or it could be 6 12-line stanzas with an intricate rhyme scheme that is halved to a 6-line envoy. For my example below, I went with simple quatrains.

*****

Play with poetic forms!

Poetic forms are fun poetic games, and this digital guide collects more than 100 poetic forms, including more established poetic forms (like sestinas and sonnets) and newer invented forms (like golden shovels and fibs).

Click to continue.

*****

Here’s my attempt at a Chanso Poem:

On the Forest Moon, by Robert Lee Brewer

“3PO! Come in, 3PO! 3PO! Where could he be?”
-Luke Skywalker

With all the things I have been through,
I thought it must be obvious–
the odds good you already knew–
like R2 I’ve grown mischievous

and abandoned Jedi and Sith
for a vacay with my Ewoks,
who love to hear me spin a myth
and always listen when I talk.

Not that I hate on Master Luke,
though I could do without that Han,
who’s quick to give a tough rebuke
every time things don’t go to plan.

It’s just I don’t like being shot
or getting pulled into pieces.
After all, I’m not a robot
when I’ve got telekinesis,

or at least, that’s what Ewoks think
as they sing “yub-yub” on their moon,
which was once on the very brink
of the Empire’s galactic doom.

So look and you’ll find me no more:
I’ll be the droid you’re looking for.

The post Chanso: Poetic Form appeared first on Writer's Digest.

Huitain Poems

If you know me, you know I love the French poetic forms. The huitain is actually a derivative of the French ballade. In fact, it is a complete 8-line poem composed of one ballade stanza.

Here are the guidelines for the huitain:

• 8-line stanza
• ababbcbc rhyme scheme
• Usually 8 to 10 syllables per line

Note: You may remember me previously covering the dizain, which is a 10-line poem composed of a ballade supreme stanza. (If not, check it out here.)

*****

Play with poetic forms!

Poetic forms are fun poetic games, and this digital guide collects more than 100 poetic forms, including more established poetic forms (like sestinas and sonnets) and newer invented forms (like golden shovels and fibs).

Click to continue.

*****

Here’s my attempt at a Huitain Poem:

The Dragon, by Robert Lee Brewer

Then, once upon a time, I spied
a dragon hover over trees
and thought perhaps that I should hide
before the beast also spied me,
but my fear would not let me see
that for me it had no real care
while it used its wings to be free
of the water, the earth, and air.

The post Huitain: Poetic Forms appeared first on Writer's Digest.