The Everything Writing Poetry Book (17 page)

•
Metered verse:
poems that fall under a metrical pattern like trochaic tetrameter or dactylic hexameter (
Blank verse
, a common form of metrical verse, is written in iambic pentameter.)

•
Rhymed verse:
poems that follow a strict rhyme scheme (Many rhymed verses will also follow a strict meter.)

•
Accentual verse:
poems that rely on a number of stressed syllables per line (These stressed syllables can be alliterated, usually three or four times per line, to form alliterative verse.)

•
Repeated verse:
poems that rely on a pattern of repeated words or lines

•
Syllabics:
poems that rely on a certain number of syllables in each line, or in the poem itself

Songs and Other Melodies

Though songs and poems follow similar forms and patterns, today they are often seen as very distinct. Songs are much more a part of popular culture, as they have the added effects of instrumentation and voice. Despite these distinctions, many poets try their hand at songwriting. For example, Ben Jonson wrote the following song, “Song: To Celia”:

Drink to me only with thine eyes
    And I will pledge with mine;
Or leave a kiss but in the cup,
    And I'll not ask for wine.
The thirst that from the soul doth rise
    Doth ask a drink divine;
But might I of Jove's nectar sup
    I would not change for thine
.

I sent thee late a rosy wreath,
    Not so much honoring thee
As giving it a hope that there
    It could not withered be
But thou thereon didst only breath
    And sent'st it back to me;
Since when it grows and smells, I swear,
    Not of itself but thee
.

To hear this song performed, you might not recognize its poetic structure. But behind the melody are the same meter and rhyme scheme underlying the ballad form. This work is not actually a ballad—the song does not contain a narrative—but Jonson did use a popular song pattern. In fact, this pattern became so widespread that it even constitutes the basis of the songs people sing in church.

The Common Meter

If you attend a Christian church, you very likely sing songs from a hymnal during service. Many songs found in hymnals follow a pattern called
common meter
. This structure, like the ballad, organizes its lines in an 8-6-8-6 syllable pattern and divides the lines into quatrains. Also like the ballad, you have your choice of the ABAB or the XAXA rhyme schemes. Here is an example of the common meter from a well-known hymn:

Amazing Grace! How sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now am found,
Was blind, but now I see
.

Can you see the common meter structure within this song? For more practice with this form, write out the lyrics from other hymns and try to break them up into lines. Some children's songs may also follow this pattern.

Modern Music

In the last 120 years or so, songwriters have relied on another common pattern. Popular songs during this period, regulated largely by the storage space of phonograph records and by radio airtime, usually take three or four minutes to play. To meet this demand, the modern song is divided into four major portions, with one or two minor ones added here and there for variety.

The first minor portion is an introduction, which begins the song. The introduction can be an instrumental riff or vocal introduction by the singer that establishes a context for the song. The first major portion of the song, the first verse, usually follows the introduction. A refrain (a repeated line) or a chorus (a repeated stanza) follows the first verse. Immediately after the first verse comes the second verse, followed by its refrain or chorus. Musically, the first two verses are very similar; they use the same melody in the music, the same lines, and the same rhyme schemes.

The third major portion marks a break from the previous two. This section can be marked by a performer's solo, or it can be marked in the song itself by a change in the melody and in the line and rhyme patterns of the words. Following this break comes the final major portion, the fourth verse, which returns to the melody and line patterns established in the first two verses. Another minor portion—perhaps another solo, or another vocal interlude by the singer—will usually finish the song.

Of course, several variations upon this basic pattern occur. A song might begin with the chorus, for example, or jump right into the first verse. The solo may come in a different section, or it may be extended, as in a live performance, with different musicians taking turns. But in general, the variations are easy to track once you understand the basic pattern.

Chapter 8
Sonnets, Odes, and Ghazals

T
hree poetic forms with a long history in European and Middle Eastern literature are the
sonnet
, the
ode
, and the
ghazal
. Because they began as closed-form poems, they may strike you as formal in appearance and tone. Modern-day poetics, however, allow you to be more playful with the rules. Feel free to explore these forms in any way you like.

Little Songs

In Italian, the word
sonnet
literally means “little song.” This translation is actually a good way to start a discussion about this popular form. Like a song, the traditional sonnet depends upon meter and rhyme to give energy to the lines. Also like a song, the traditional sonnet resolves itself by the final lines; it does not leave you with any open-ended questions to ponder.

The sonnet had been a popular form in Italy for at least 200 years before its introduction into English poetics during the Renaissance. The early English sonneteers discovered that the original sonnet form, as the Italians developed it, was hard to reproduce in English. The Italian language has many natural true rhymes, but in English, rhyming does not come as easily. The English sonneteers, therefore, developed their own rhyme pattern to accommodate the difficulties raised by their language.

The Italian (or Petrarchan) Rhyme Scheme

The Italian rhyme scheme, as it has been translated into English, has two parts: the
octave
(an eight-line scheme) and the
sestet
(a six-line scheme). The poem is therefore fourteen lines long and divided into unequal halves. In the octave, the lines rhyme like this: ABBAABBA. In the sestet, you have your choice of many schemes, including: CDECDE, CCDCCD, or CDCDCD. The content of the sonnet is organized around this division as well. Any images or ideas begun in the octave must be resolved so that a new set can be developed in the sestet. A turning point or transition word, called a
volta
, is often inserted at the beginning of the sestet to mark the division. The meter, too, is strictly regulated. Each line in the sonnet must be in iambic pentameter. While alternate feet may appear in the poem, the iamb is dominant and so establishes the rhythm of the poem.

Consider an example of the Italian sonnet form: “On First Looking into Chapman's Homer,” by John Keats. Note that Keats uses the CDCDCD scheme in the sestet. Also, take note of his use of the word
then
in line nine as the volta.

Much have I travell'd in the realms of gold,
And many goodly states and kingdoms seen;
Round many western islands have I been Which bards in fealty to Apollo hold.
Oft on one wide expanse had I been told
That deep-brow'd Homer ruled as his demesne;
Yet did I never breathe its pure serene
Till I heard Chapman speak out loud and bold:
Then felt I like some watcher of the skies
When a new planet swims into his ken;
Or like stout Cortez when with eagle eyes
He star'd at the Pacific—and all his men
Look'd at each other with a wild surmise—
Silent, upon a peak in Darien
¹
.

1
A region of Panama

The English (or Shakespearean) Rhyme Scheme

The English version of the sonnet is also fourteen lines long, but the rhyme scheme divides the poem into four unequal parts. The first three parts are quatrains because they each consist of four lines. The last part is called a
couplet
because it consists of two lines. Taken together, the quatrains and the couplet create the following rhyme scheme: ABABCDCDEFEFGG.

Like the Italian sonnet, the English sonnet imposes its form upon the content of the poem. For anyone strictly following the standards, each quatrain in the poem should have its own image or idea. When a new quatrain begins, a new image or idea should start. A volta usually signals the transition along with the change in the rhyming words. The final couplet also has its own controlling idea, often one that comments upon the themes developed in the quatrains. The meter of the English sonnet, like the Italian, is strictly regulated. Iambic pentameter dominates the poem. Alternate feet, when they appear, provide a conversational rhythm or different shades of meaning for particular words.

The following is a Shakespearean sonnet (Sonnet 130) displaying this rhyme scheme. Pay close attention to the content of this sonnet as it provides a satiric look at a common sonnet convention—effusive praise of one's love.

My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun;
Coral is far more red than her lips' red;
If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun,
If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head.
I have seen roses damask'd red and white,
But no such roses see I in her cheeks;
And in some perfumes is there more delight
Than in the breath that from my mistress reeks.
I love to hear her speak, yet well I know,
That music hath a far more pleasing sound;
I grant I never saw a goddess go:
My mistress, when she walks, treads on the ground.
And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare
As any she belied with false compare
.

Build a Sonnet

Creating a sonnet is no easy task. Therefore, don't expect to produce a perfect sonnet on your first, second, or even third try. You must be patient with yourself while your skills develop. However, there are several tools you can use and exercises you can do to practice. To do these exercises properly you will need to give yourself plenty of time, limit your distractions, and work with them consistently over the course of several days. Also, remember that these exercises are only meant to familiarize you with the structure of a sonnet—the subject matter is entirely up to you.

Using Rhyme

A good place to start is the sound of the sonnet. Since you have two rhyme schemes to choose from, your first exercise will be to gather two groups of fourteen words. Arrange one set of words to form an Italian rhyme scheme, and arrange the other using the English rhyme scheme. The words do not have to make any sense when you put them together in this exercise; they simply have to rhyme. Consider the following example:

Rhyme Scheme Exercise