Category rhyme schemes

The Diatelle

Colleen M. Chesebro 35 Comments

I’d like to suggest an optional form for us to experiment with. A few months ago, Merril D. Smith wrote a poem called a Diatelle. She found this form on shadowpoetry.com.

“The Diatelle is a fun, syllable counting form like the etheree with a twist. The syllable structure of the diatelle is as follows: 1/2/3/4/6/8/10/12/10/8/6/4/3/2/1, but unlike an etheree, has a set rhyme pattern of abbcbccaccbcbba. This poetry form may be written on any subject matter and looks best center aligned in a diamond shape.”

https://merrildsmith.wordpress.com/2020/07/10/flickering/

Merril shared a poem she created using the Diatelle form:

Light
comes, goes,
so it flows
to earth and sea,
flaming grassy meadows,
with photons streaming, gilds a tree.
Though shadows loom below, we let them be;
pretend we do not see the coming of the night,
but live, walk, talk—and love, the apogee
of our beings—humanity
with stardust traces glows
but faintly—see?
The flickers
dim. . .grow
bright.

©2020 Merril D. Smith

She also showed how she diagrams her poetry to get the correct rhyme scheme placement. Refer to my post HERE about rhyme schemes.

Merril says, “Maybe everyone does this, but if not, maybe it’s helpful to see. I made myself a template to keep track of syllables/lines and rhymes. I do this for many forms.”

a1 Light
 b2 comes, goes
 b3 so it flows
 c4 to earth and sea
 b6 flaming grassy meadows–
 c8 with photons streaming, gild a tree
 c10 though shadows loom below, we let them be,
 a12 pretend we do not see the coming of the night
 c10 but live, walk, talk–and love, the apogee
 c8 of our beings–humanity
 b6 with stardust traces glows
 c4 but faintly—see?
 b3 The flickers
 b2 dim, grow
 a1 bright.

I know some of you need an additional challenge. This is an optional form. Try it and see if it flows for you. I won’t add this until we’ve worked with the Diatelle for a while. It helps if you put it in the context of writing an Etheree. Take your time and just have fun. ❀

What is a Rhyme Scheme?

Colleen M. Chesebro 27 Comments

Did you know plants respond to the sounds of our voices? Sounds like an opportunity to read your poetry aloud! (Talking to Plants)

Hello Word Crafters! As I continue to introduce more syllabic poetry forms featuring an end rhyming scheme, I thought we would discuss what an end rhyme scheme is. Here is a quick definition:

A rhyme scheme is the pattern of sound found at the end of lines. These rhyme schemes are given a letter, usually beginning with the letter A.

A four-line poem with a rhyme scheme is something like this:

The first line rhymes with the third line, and the second line rhymes with the fourth line. The rhyme scheme is ABAB. 

Roses are red,
violets are blue,
Shakespeare is dead?
I had no clue.

Let’s use the Abhanga syllabic form as an example. The Abhanga is written in any number of four-line verses. The syllable count is 6/6/6/4 per stanza.

In this form, only L2 and L3 rhyme. Often, the letter x, is used to denote an unrhymed end word. This rhyme scheme is:

xaax, x = unrhymed.

magic is found within 
breathe deep into your core 
open your heart and soar 
find inner peace 

©2021 Colleen M. Chesebro

We use rhymes in all different kinds of poetry. They aren’t always used in patterns or at the end of lines, which means not all rhyming poetry has a rhyme scheme.

We only use rhyme schemes for poems that use end rhyme—which is rhymes at the end of lines.

Litcharts.com has an excellent discussion of end rhyme schemes you can read HERE.

Other Types of Rhyme Schemes

Alternate rhyme is ABAB CDCD EFEF used in ballads.

Coupled rhyme schemes occur in pairs like AABBCC. The rhymes are called couplets.

Momorhyme use one rhyme through the poem like AAAA.

Sandwich rhyme schemes are like ABA or ABBA.

Chain rhyme is where stanzas are linked together by rhymes that carry over from one stanza to the next, like ABA BCB CDC.

That’s just a few of the different rhyme schemes. For now, we will continue to work with the Abhanga syllabic form until I find a few more forms to share and experiment with. If you find an interesting syllabic form with a rhyme scheme, link to this post and I’ll check it out! Thanks.

Who’s ready to write some syllabic poetry?