Search the Community

Explore the Craft of Writing Poetry Invented Forms Poet's Garret is a poetic community who's leader Terry Clitheroe has an extensive knowledge of poetic form. There you can find established classic forms where Terry often offers his own view of poetic purpose. I love reading some of his descriptions. Then like other sites, there are some unique forms that seem to begin there at the Garret. Those I include here. Busta Sonnetto is a contemporary sonnet form created by Teagan De Danaan that other than stanza pattern leaves the rest of the elements up to the poet. The elements of the Busta Sonnetto are: a quatorzain made up of two quintets and a quatrain in any order. metric at the discretion of the poet rhyme, at discretion of the poet. Some ideas abcab deced ffgg or abcab decde fgfg or aabcc dede ffbgg and it goes on and on use your imagination. pivot or volta at the poet's discretion. The Cardinal Stanza is a creation of Kathy Anderson framed in five quintets. The elements of the Cardinal Stanza are: stanzaic, minimum of 5 quintets. syllabic, L1, L2, L4 & L5 (4 or 5 syllables), L3 (2 or 3 syllables) rhymed, L2 is rhymed with L2 of all subsequent quintets. composed with L1 repeated as L1 of subsequent quintets. composed with L3 an emphasis of L1 & L2 written with L4 making a statement and L5 completes the statement. Collins Stanza or Sestet is an invented form created by Devena Collins and is basically a sixain made up of rhymed couplets with the last line of the first stanza repeated as a refrain in the last line of subsequent sixains. When written in iambic pentameter or Heroic Couplets it is called the Divine Collins. The elements of the Collins stanza are: stanzaic, written in any number of sixains. rhymed, rhyme scheme aabbcC ddeecC ffggcC etc meter at the discretion of the poet. When written in Heroic Couplets it is called the Divine Collins Stanza. composed with a refrain, L6 of the first stanza is repeated as a refrain in L6 in subsequent sixains. Dutch Sonnet is a contemporary invented form by Dutch poet Lenny Roovers. The pivot in this sonnet comes earlier than most and although it has been described as 2 sestets separated by a couplet, I read this more as an octave sestet form with the pivot after L6. The elements are: an octave made up of 2 quatrains followed by a sestet. Or a sestet, a couplet, and a sestet in that order. metric, iambic pentameter the octave presents to the problem, the sestet provides a solution (the tone and cadence should slow in the last sestet rhymed, rhyme scheme abab aacc dedfef pivot within the later part of the 2nd quatrain. Zelensky A hero rises in this world today.Ukraine, an Eastern European state,a sovereign country is in the wayof Putin's dreams to reinstate the lateUSSR demised some 30 years away.Its President refuses to fall prey. To stay means death. he will not kau-tau. Is flight to fight a better option now? The people, teachers, store clerks, chefs, and morestand tall behind the man who chose to leadfrom where their capital resides. Where waris banging on the door. Assassins fail.He walks among his troops to show a needbut Russia's might may be much to prevail. ~~Judi Van Gorder The Envelope couplet sounds like an oxymoron to me. However it is in fact not a couplet at all but a sixain made up of couplets. Differing from the Stave Stanza only in adding L1 of the first stanza to repeat as well as L6. The elements of the Envelope Couplet are: stanzaic written in any number of sixains made up of 3 couplets. uniform length lines, often iambic tetrameter. rhymed, rhyme scheme A¹abbaA² A¹accaA² A¹addaA² etc. L1 of the first stanza is repeated as L1 of subsequent sixains and L6 is repeated as L6 or subsequent sixains. The German Sonnet was apparently created upon his death by "his colleagues" as a tribute to German poet, Johan Wolfgang von Goethe. The elements of the German Sonnet are: a quatorzain made up of 2 quatrains and a sestet. metric, preferably iambic pentameter. rhymed, rhyme scheme abba bccb cdd cdd placement of pivot at the discretion of the poet. The Goethe Stanza, is probably a recently invented form patterned from a poem or play in verse by 18th century poet and playwright, Johan Wolfgang von Goethe. The Garret simply describes the form by rhyme scheme and line breaks. It is 3 stanzas in 1 that slows down the content to a thoughtful cadence. It gives the poet the discretion of meter. Upon further research I was unable to come up with an example. The elements of the Goethe are: stanzaic, 3 stanzas in 1. A quatrain created by rhyme scheme then broken by stanzaic thought units, a stich followed by a couplet followed by a stich with space between each. rhymed, rhyme scheme abab cdcd efef etc meter at the poet's discretion. Stepping Up I've always cringed when hearing the C word. It conjured long ago images of my dying Dad, straining to breathe, trying so hard to be heard. Since my diagnosis, it just makes me mad. The cure is long with needles and stitches. Again I wait word from another damn test to weigh whether or not to poison the bitches. Taking another step toward shaking the pest. ~~~Judi Van Gorder Irish Sonnet is similar to the English or Shakespearean Sonnet but with linking rhyme. The elements of the Irish Sonnet are: a quatorzain made up of 3 quatrains and ending in a couplet. metric, preferably iambi pentameter rhyme, rhyme scheme with linking rhyme abab bcbc cdcd dd. pivot at the discretion of the poet. Ivorian Sonnet is an invented form by Ivor Hogg with a progressive stanza that has a multitude of options. The elements of the Ivorian Sonnet are: a quatorzain made up of a couplet, a triplet, a quatrain and a quintain in that order. metric, preferably iambic pentameter. pivot at the discretion of the poet. rhymed, rhyme scheme aa bcb dede and the quintain can be any one of the below 120 combinations. Ivorian Sonnet Quintain Variations 1 - 24 a.b.c.d.e. a.b.c.e.d. a.b.d.c.e. a.b.d.e.c. a.b.e.c.d. a.b.e.d.c. a.c.b.d.e. a.c.b.e.d. a.c.d.b.e. a.c.d.e.b. a.c.e.b.d. a.c.e.d.b. a.d.b.c.e. a.d.b.e.c. a.d.c.b.e. a.d.c.e.b. a.d.e.b.c. a.d.e.c.b. a.e.b.c.d. a.e.b.d.c. a.e.c.b.d. a.e.c.d.b. a.e.d.b.c. a.e.d.c.b. Ivorian Sonnet Quintain Variations 25 - 48 b.a.c.d.e. b.a.c.e.d. b.a.d.c.e. b.a.d.e.c. b.a.e.c.d. b.a.e.d.c. b.c.a.d.e. b.c.a.e.d. b.c.d.a.e. b.c.d.e.a. b.c.e.a.d. b.c.e.d.a. b.d.a.c.e. b.d.a.e.c. b.d.c.e.a. b.d.c.a.e. b.d.e.a.c. b.d.e.c.a. b.e.a.c.d. b.e.a.d.c. b.e.c.a.d. b.e.c.d.a. b.e.d.a.c. b.e.d.c.a. Ivorian Sonnet Quintain Variations 25 - 48 c.a.b.d.e. c.a.b.e.d. c.a.d.b.e. c.a.d.e.b. c.a.e.b.d. c.a.e.d.b. c.b.a.d.e. c.b.a.e.d. c.b.d.a.e. c.b.d.e.a. c.b.e.a.d. c.d.e.d.a. c.d.a.b.e. c.d.a.e.b. c.d.b.a.e. c.d.b.e.a. c.d.e.a.b. c.d.e.b.a. c.e.a.b.d. c.e.a.d.b. c.e.b.a.d. c.e.b.d.a. c.e.d.a.b. c.e.d.b.a. Ivorian Sonnet Quintain Variations 73 - 96 d.a.b.c.e. d.a.b.e.c. d.a.c.b.e. d.a.c.e.b. d.a.e.b.c. d.a.e.c.b. d.b.a.c.e. d.b.a.e.c. d.b.c.a.e. d.b.c.e.a. d.b.e.a.c. d.b.e.c.a. d.c.a.b.e. d.c.a.e.b. d.c.b.a.e. d.c.b.e.a. d.c.e.a.b. d.c.e.b.a. d.e.a.b.c. d.e.a.c.b. d.e.b.a.c. d.e.b.c.a. d.e.c.a.b. d.e.c.b.a Ivorian Sonnet Quintain Variations 97 - 120 e.a.b.c.d. e.a.b.d.c. e.a.c.b.d. e.a.c.d.b. e.a.d.b.c. e.a.d.c.b. e.b.a.c.d. e.b.a.d.c. e.b.c.a.d. a.b.c.d.a. e.b.d.a.c. e.b.d.c.a. e.c.a.b.d. e.c.a.d.b. e.c.b.a.d. e.c.b.d.a. e.c.d.a.b. e.c.d.b.a. e.d.a.b.c. e.d.a.c.b. e.d.b.a.c. e.d.b.c.a. e.d.c.a.b. e.d.c.b.a. The John Tee Sonnet an invented sonnet form that I am assuming was created by John Tee. It appears to get its inspiration from the French Sonnet or Rondel Prime but give the poet discretion in meter, rhyme (or not) and pivot placement. The elements of the John Tee Sonnet are: a quatorzain, using the standard octave, sestet frame. However the octave is made up of a couplet, a quatrain and a couplet, in that order and the sestet is made up of a quatrain followed by a couplet. metric, or not at the discretion of the poet. rhymed or not at the discretion of the poet. /li> composed with the first couplet, L1-L2, repeated as a refrain in L7-L8 and L11-12 The Mabini Sonnet created by Filipino poet Jose Reyes in honor Apolinario Mabini y Maranan (1864-1903) the Philippine's first prime minister. The sonnet is made up of 2 sestets bridged by a couplet. These stanzas are created by thought units rather than by rhyme pattern. Looking at the rhyme pattern it would appear that the stanzas should be a quatrain followed by a sestet followed by a quatrain. The elements of the Mabini Sonnet are: a quatorzain made up of a sestet, a couplet and a sestet, in that order lines of uniform order. rhyme, rhyme scheme abbacc aa ddaeea pivot or volta sometime in last sestet The Magic 9 is not attributed to any inventor but this one almost seems to have invented itself. The magic word abracadabra with possibly the "r" key sticking transformed to abacadaba and a rhyme scheme magically appeared to a poet who incorporated the scheme into a 9 line poem. Personally I like the idea of the entire word being used, I guess then it would be called the Magic 11. The elements of the Magic 9 are: a nonet or poem in 9 lines, if you want the challenge make it 11. meter at discretion of poet rhyme, a b a c a d a b a c and d=unrhymed or for the Magic 11, a b r a c a d a b r a c and d unrhymed The Mathlish Sonnet joins the Persian and Arabic Mathwani stanzas into the first 10 lines of the sonnet. The creator of this brainchild is not indicated but I think any poet attempting this form would honor not only the frame but the exotic source of its name in the content. The elements of the Mathlish Sonnet are: a quatorzain made up of any combination of 2 Persian Mathwani couplets and 2 Arabic Mathwani triplets and ending with a quatrain. The Persian Mathwani couplets and the Arabic Mathwani triplets are complete and closed. syllabic, the Persian Mathwani adheres to a strict 11 syllable line. the rest of the poem can loosen the reigns a little. rhymed both the Persian and Arabic Mathwani stanzas are mono-rhymed, depending on sequence, the rhyme scheme could be aa bbb cc ddd or aaa bb ccc dd or aa bbb ccc dd etc. The quatrain can be abab, abba or aabb. the volta or pivot occurs after L10 within the closing quatrain. The Nocturna as an invented form carries a nocturnal theme contained within nine lines. The nine lines are divided into three units, each to address "lessons recited during the night". I'm not really sure what that means but my interpretation is the 3 units are each individual thoughts or musings that might come to one preparing to sleep, linked by rhyme and theme. The elements are: a poem in 9 lines made up of 3 tercets composed with 3 nocturnal thoughts meter at the discretion of the poet. rhymed aba cbc dbd. Nocturne Poetry is verse based on a nocturnal theme, evoking the moods of the night or late evening from dark, sinister, erotic, romantic, mysterious, frustrating or whatever happens in the night. The frame is at the discretion of the poet. The elements of Nocturne Poetry are: composed with the mood and theme of the night structure, meter and rhyme are at the discretion of the poet. Novelinee is a stanzaic form invented by Sarah Rayburn inspired by the Spencerian stanza. Unlike the Spencerian Stanza all lines are written in iambic pentameter. A unique feature is L9 of each stanza is chained as L1 of the next stanza and so on. In a "Closed Novelinee" which is a poem in 2 stanzas, L1 of the first stanza is repeated as L9 of the second stanza. The elements of the Novelinee are: stanzaic, written in any number of 9 line stanzas or a "Closed Novelinee" is limited to two 9 line stanzas. metric, all lines iambic pentameter. rhymed, ababcdcdD DedefhfhH HihijkjkK etc "Closed Novelinee" AbabcdcdD DedefafaA The Persepolis Sonnet created by the Netherland's, Leny Roovers is a merging of Eastern and Western poetic traditions. As with all sonnet's, it should sing but the octave has an Eastern flavor and the sestet carries the tempo of the West. The first eight lines fly on the magic carpet of the Persian Mathnawi and the next six float down the canals of Florence in an Italian sestet gondola. The elements of the Persepolis Sonnet are: lyrical, a sonnet should sing. a quatorzain, a poem in 14 lines made up of an octave followed by a sestet. part syllabic, part accentual syllabic meter. The octave is made up of 11 syllable lines. The lines of the sestet are iambic pentameter. rhymed, rhyme pattern aabbccdd efgefg. Rosarian Sonnet, sometimes spelled Roserian, is a name given to two invented forms, one an by Bruce Henderson found at poet's Garett and one by Jose Reyes found at Poet's Collective. I have no idea who was first. They appear to be exactly the same except the Reyes version doesn't have option of rhyme in the last quatrain. Henderson's Rosarian Sonnet uses linked quintets and gives the option to link or not to the concluding quatrain. The elements of the Rosarian Sonnet are: a quatorzain made up of 2 quintains followed by a quatrain. preferably iambic pentameter. rhymed, rhyme scheme aabcc ddbee followed by fggf or bbaa or ffbb etc. pivot or volta L10 or after. Rainbow Promise The day designed for celebration, a movement spread across the nation. Rainbow colors light the scene proclaiming love has conquered hate, intolerance and fear to date. Don't get me wrong there's still a lot of work to do. To overcome the thought that man is judge, not God. Obscene. He made us all and each is His, we love who we love, it's not a quiz. To those who fight the fight to live as they were born to be, ignite respect this day and honor their right to live with dignity, inclusive. ~~Judi Van Gorder The Septilla is described at Poet's Garret as a Spanish septet. It has the appearance of an old Spanish form but I could find no reference to it other than at the Garret. So this could possibly be a more recent invented form taking its cue from Spanish prosody. The elements of the Septilla are: stanzaic written in any number of septets, 7 line stanzas, metric or syllabic, in line with Spanish prosody this can be written with 8 syllable lines or it can follow English prosody which tends to be written in tetrameter or pentameter without designated metric pattern. rhymed, rhyme scheme aabccba or abbacca. Friday, Fall The punctual Fall Fairy rides in on the back of chilled wind that twirls a vibrant crayon blend of gold's and reds and Cranberry to paint the summer leaves anew with autumn's orange signature hue, the harvest's moon emissary. ~~Judi Van Gorder 9-22-2017 1st day of Fall Soneto Cinco, Cuatro y Cinco is an invented sonnet form that incorporates the Quintanilla or Spanish Quintain at head and tail with a quatrain inbetween. The elements of the Soneto are: a quatorzain made up of a quintain, a quatrain and a quintain in that order. syllabic, in keeping with the Quintanilla, lines are 8 syllables. rhymed, rhyme scheme. aabba ccdd eeffe (the rhyme of the Quintanilla can be any combination of rhyme accept it can never end in a rhymed couplet.) pivot or volta any time after L9 The Sonnetina, little song, is described as a poetic, metric, decastich at Poet's Garret. It is also a Sestina-like sonnet form which I include separately, Sonnetina here. The invented forms described at Poet's Garret include five Sonnetinas, Uno, Due, Tre, Quatro and Cinque. Each has different features. Whatever frame chosen within the decastich, the poem should not be broken by stanza but appear as a one unit 10 line poem. All five must be metric, be one unit of 10 lines and in the spirit of the sonnet, all five must sing. Sonnetina Uno is a decastich or ten line poem written in unrhymed iambic tetrameter. Sonnetina Due is a decastich or 10 line poem made up of 5 couplets. The poet has the discretion to use any couplet form. Meter and rhyme of course would correspond with couplet form choice. If Heroic Couplets are chosen the form should be referred to as a Heroic Sonnetina. Sonnetina Tre is a decastich made up of 3 stanzas, two quatrains and a couplet. The obvious frame would be much like the English or Shakespearean Sonnet, shy one quatrain. iambic pentameter with rhyme, abab cdcd ee. However there are many quatrain frames and the poet has the discretion to use any quatrain frame, (alternating rhyme, envelope rhyme, In Memoriam, Heroic Quatrain etc as long as the frame is metric) and may use any combination of the 2 quatrains and couplet. Sonnetina Quatro is a decastich that gives the appearance of a mini Italian or Petrarchan Sonnet. It consists of a sestet followed by a quatrain, like a trimmed down octave-sestet. Rhyme and meter are at the discretion of the poet but some metric measure must be selected. Sonnetina Cinque is a decastich made up of of two cinquains. Any 5 line frame may be used as long as it is has some metric or syllabic measure. The first stanza makes its statement, and the second gives an argument to that statement or the first asks a question and the second answers. The Sapphic Ode Sonnet is a hybrid sonnet form created by Jeremy Farmer as the result of a sonnet contest and a Sapphic stanza challenge running simultaneously. "Ode" is probably not the correct word to insert into the name, sonnets and odes are two different genres. An ode is lofty praise a sonnet is a thoughtful reflection. Plus, Sapphic meter is not iambic it is a combination of dactyl and trochee patterns. Probably the creator connected with the Adonic line in the Sapphic Stanza that is dimeter. However that dimeter line is a dactyl followed by a trochee. The elements of the Sapphic Ode Sonnet are: stanzaic, written in 3 quatrains followed by a couplet. metric, L1-L3 of each quatrain iambic tetrameter. L4 of each quatrain is iambic dimeter. The couplet is iambic tetrameter. rhymed, rhyme scheme abab cdcd efef gg. The Swannet is simply an invented sonnet form made up of three envelope quatrains followed by a rhymed couplet repeating L1 and L4 in the couplet. The elements of the Swannet are: a quatorzain made up of three quatrains followed by a couplet metric, preferably iambic pentameter rhymed, rhyme scheme A¹bbA² cddc effe A¹A². L1 is repeated in L13 and L4 is repeated in L14 pivot placement at the poet's discretion. Triolet Sonnet is an invented form that appears to be a marrying of the Triolet and the Italian Sonnet forms. The octastich of the triolet becomes the octave of the sonnet. The elements of the Triolet-Sonnet are: a quatorzain, an octave followed by a sestet. metric or syllabic at the informed discretion of the poet. To stay true to the two forms merging, the sonnet in English is primarily written in iambic pentameter, the Triolet is a French form originally written 8 syllable lines. Your choice. Or you can go off the reservation and change the rhythm completely. the octave is composed with a refrain, L1 is repeated as L4 and L7. There is also repetition of L2 in L8. rhymed, with only 2 rhymes, rhyme scheme, the octave A-B-a-A-a-b-A-B. the sestet continues the repeated lines as a-A-a-b-A-B. pivot at the discretion of the poet. Wreathed Verse and Unwreathed Verse were the idea of Welsh poet George Herbert in 1633, most likely inspired by the ancient Welsh Meters liberal use of internal rhyme. It is simply a poetic device that can be adapted to many stanzaic and verse forms. It is basically creating internal rhyme from the end rhyme of the previous line (Wreathed) or reversing the rhyme beginning with the internal rhyme that will rhyme with the end word of the next line (unwreathed). This can be done with most stanzas Wreathed Octave, Wreathed Quintain, Unwreathed Quatrain etc., Unwreathed Sestet. Wreathed Verse Placement of internal rhyme can be anywhere in the first half of the line. x x x x x x x x x a x x x a x x x x x b x x b x x x x x x c x x x x c x x x x a Unwreathed Verse is simply wreathed verse in reverse. x x x a x x x x x x b x x x x x x x x x x a x a x x x x x x x x b x x x x x x x x x x a

As an exercise on Writing.com this week, I was challenged to write a Goethe Stanza. Considering the fact that the rhyme scheme and apparent rhythm of the Goethe Stanza is the same as my typical style of poetic form, this was a fairly easy task. Goethe merely formatted the stanza differently by adding in two blank lines. I hope you enjoy this offering. It is a very personal account of my latest foray into extreme exercise. As someone, who is no longer in my twenties, I am thrilled to accomplish more or less successfully with simply a pair of sore legs to show for it. We march and march down ev'ry step. We find the bridge to cross, and soon thighs quiver ev'ry rep. The way seems but a loss. The bridge it moves with each foot fall. The swaying gives us pause, but o'er the boards we pass them all. The way a just, true cause. Five hundred steps from top to last. The signs warn all the weak. All caution to the wind you cast. Traverse each step you seek. All sage foreboding we'd express. Make sure thy shoes be true. Unfit ones be in deepest mess. The base step taunts at you. "You have but come five hundred down." "Five hundred you have more. "Surmount the top and win the crown." "The more you must explore." We drank our walker's draft to full. Returned we heads hung low. The last few steps with mouths of wool. More water would we know. One day now hence on stilted legs. The pain doth shoot and pinch. Our memories seem bitter dregs. More walking, it's a cinch! by Jay O'Toole on July 9th, 2017