Poetry Forms are Intriguing

I find the various poetry forms intriguing. Using a poetry form to create a poem is like using a pattern to make a dress. A poetry form will, in many cases, have specific syllable counts per line and specific rhyme scheme. There are Welsh, Irish, English, French and a multitude of other forms, which have specific line meters and rhyme scheme.

There are officially 24 Welsh meters (Lewis Turco in The Book of Forms, page 153). One of these Welsh forms is the clogyrnach (clog-ír-nach). A clogyrnach stanza consist of six lines with a syllable count of 8 8 5 5 3 3 and a rhyme scheme of aabbba. The poem can have as many stanzas as the poet feels are necessary.

You can find some examples of this form at Clogyrnach and Clogyrnach, Welsh form. Each of these web pages also includes an explanation of this form.

Using a specific poetry form is a good way to wake your muse up and write poetry. Sometimes a poet needs to get out of his or her usual way of writing and try a new form to get a fresh approach to writing poetry.

Using a specific form is a bit stressful sometimes, especially if you want the rhyme scheme to sound natural rather then forced or artificial when the poem is read aloud. However, completing a form poem is rewarding and spirit lifting. Once a poet gets the poem completed then reading it before an audience is a good idea because then you can see if the rhyme scheme sounds natural.