Poetry Challenge—Introducing the Englyn: Form 10—the Englyn Toddaid
An englyn is a form of Welsh or Cornish verse, with a reputation of being hard to master. It has several different variants, all of which are governed by strict rules. This week, we’ll look at the englyn toddaid, which is a cross between the toddaid form and the englyn.
The englyn toddaid consists of a verse
at least four-lines long. The first line has 10 syllables, the second has 7,
and the remaining two or more lines have ten syllables each. The rhyme is introduced
in the seventh, eighth or ninth syllable of the first line, and repeated at the
end of the remaining lines. The fourth syllable of the second lines uses rhyme
or consonance to echo the last syllable of the first line.
Dragon’s Wrath
Furious,
the dragon marred the blue skies.
I
saw him fly, far too soon.
I
saw him setting fire, felt fear anew.
I
saw his shadow and knew what to do.
Who
had stirred his angry heart to war
raided
his stores, golden art,
and
fled, the dragon’s vengeance, war to start?
Now
wizards we must call to do their part.
And
when we the culprits hunt down and find
then
we will bind those who clown
with
dragon’s horde, thus reaping dragon’s frown
for
ev’ry man who dwells within this town.
And
thus the dragon’s peace we seek to earn
—winter
is bleak when crops burn—
and
wizards will with dragon speak to learn
what
must be done, the great beast’s wrath to turn.
Why don’t you give it a try? Try writing at least one englyn toddaid
for each day of the week.
You can find out more about how to
write englyns from the following sites:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Englyn
http://www.oocities.org/sca_bard/childrensenglynmilwr.html
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