Poetry Challenge—Introducing the Englyn: Form 12—the Robertson Davies Variant
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 a variant insisted on by novelist Robertson Davies.
Davies insisted that the englyn must
have four lines. The first line should have 10 syllables, the second should
have 6, and the last two lines should have 7 syllables each. His form also
states that there must be a break after the seventh, eighth OR ninth syllable,
and that this is where the rhyme is introduced. The second line rhymes with the
break, and the last syllable of the first line must be linked by either rhyme
or assonance with the 3rd or 4th syllable of the second line. The third and
fourth lines must rhyme on a weak syllable and must rhyme with the rhyme in the
first line—very similar to the first form of englyn.
The
Troll Queen
She
stands beneath the ancient-most bridges
where
there lingers bones lost
She
defies all Heaven’s hosts
Finds
the wand’rers, steals their souls
This
ancient beast of darkness rules by fear
She
quickly steers distress
and
death beneath the bridge, lest
hunters
come at our behest
Should
you see her, you should your soul beware
For
only there in bowls
of
stone, all filled with sorrow
gore
and bone, Hell’s tomorrow
The
troll queen’s fee for her long, long life
stricken
with spite, all wrong
made
right amidst summer’s song
which
weakens those once thought strong
The
female troll, no beauty queen, deceives
Gi’en
by Hell’s thieves in dreams
an
allure for mortal men
that
the good by Hell are gained
Why don’t you give it a try? Try writing at least one of these
tricky Robertson Davies’ englyns 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
Comments
Post a Comment