“English Madrigal” aka Chaucerian Rondel

History: What’s currently considered the “English Madrigal”, that being, according to semi-common agreement and put in print by Lewis Turco, an Italian madrigal form given more strict English language rules by Geoffrey Chaucer, is in actuality a variation of the Rondel. It is mistaken for a madrigal variation on occasion because of the similarities between...
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20
Apr

Abhanga

April 20, 2019
History: Abhang, or AbhangaHistory: Abhang, or Abhanga, is a form of devotional poetry sung in praise of the Hindu god Vitthala also known as Vithoba. It was popular from the 13th thru 17th centuries Marathi Region of India. The word "abhang" comes from a for "non-" and bhang for "ending" or "interrupting", in other words, a...
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20
Apr
History: Pronounced ‘aye, freshly’ as in “has this room been painted?” “aye, freshly” (booo hisssss, baaad pun)…this is an Irish syllabic, quatrain stanza form. There is so much to say about Celtic Forms that we really should do a full post on it. So we will: check out the post on our favorite masochistic poetry past...
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03
Mar
History: The AlouetteHistory: The Alouette is a form created by Jan Turner on the poetry community site Shadow Poetry some time around 2008/2009. The form name means 'Skylark' in French, and also can mean a children's song sung in a group. Structure: • 2 or more stanzas • 6 lines per stanza • Meter: 5,...
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History: Amanda’s PinchHistory: Amanda's Pinch is a form created by Amanda Norton on AllPoetry.com, and we're still trying to find the original source page for this. Structure: • stanza of 8 lines • syllable count 12/12/10/8/8/10/12/12 • Rhyme Scheme abcDDcba • Line 5 repeats line 4 • Alliteration is required in every line • poem...
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04
Mar
History: AmaranthHistory: Amaranth is a form created by Viola Berg as a teaching tool in her 1977 book Pathways for the Poet. That's what we've been able to find so far, second hand, as we have yet to lay our grubby little hands on the book itself. So far the only source online for this...
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14
Aug
History: This one took some digging. The Argonelle is an invented was created many years ago by Sylvia Argow of the New York Poetry Forum in the 1970s. Structure: This was a hard poem to track down. The usual websites, who all cite each other and don’t give any other sources and admit to not...
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16
Aug
History: According to the internet (these contemporary invented forms are really hard to find the story of), the Atarlis FileataHistory: According to the internet (these contemporary invented forms are really hard to find the story of), the Atarlis Fileata is a contemporary invented form, invented by Cathy Bollhoefer. Atarlis Fileata is Gaelic for "repeating poetic"...
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25
Apr

Atrina

April 25, 2019
History: The AtrinaHistory: The Atrina is a stanzaic form contemporarily invented by Keith Metcalf Drew at AllPoetry. Structure: • Consists of 4 stanzas • The first three stanzas are 4 lines each (quatrains) • Each line is 8 syllables (octosyllabic) • The first line of a stanzas repeats in the last line of the same...
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11
Sep

Awdl Gywwwyd

September 11, 2019
History: One of four types of Cywydd, a Welsh metrical form originating in the 14th century, and one of three predominant Welsh metrical forms, the other two being the AwdlAn awdl was originally a poem of indeterminate length with a single end rhyme throughout, in a single meter. In the 12th century, The Poets of...
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