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Taylor514ce · 05-22-2008, 08:44 AM

Cinquains are a poetic form, heavily influenced by haiku. Cinquains have five lines, and each line has a specific number of syllables. The pattern is 2, 4, 6, 8, 2. The form was developed by Adelaide Crapsey.

Cinquains don't generally rhyme, though alliteration and internal rhymes are common, as they are in Japanese haiku. Generally, the form allows for a tanka-like "turn", usually in the form of building and resolving tension.

One poet described it as stretching a rubber band. It starts small, and each line lengthens the rubber band further, building tension, until it snaps back in the final 2-syllable line.

Tension can also be built by skillful use of closed and enjambed lines.

I'll use one I wrote earlier to illustrate (not because it's brilliant, but because I know what I was trying to do).

Now what?
Now that we've each
said that sad, fateful word --
all we can hear now are fading
echoes.

Line 1 is closed. Line 2 is enjambed, and that syntactic breaks leaves the reader mentally reaching for closure. Each what? It builds a small amount of tension. Line 3 is closed, resolving tension, and slowing the poem down to a complete thought: divorce? Line 3 is enjambed, so creates tension, and then the poem slams shut abruptly on "echoes". It's so abrupt, the reader can almost hear the word "divorce", echoing. The long fourth line, especially when enjambed, is like rushing around a corner, only to hit a brick wall. Then other meanings can creep in, like aftershocks: echoes of love, still there, but fading? I also used the word "now" three times, to keep moving the poem forward in time by incremental degrees.

It's a very interesting form, and easy enough to try. You don't have to think too hard about closure and enjambment, tension and resolution, or the "snap". The form itself almost FORCES these characteristics. Give it a shot! Let's post some more cinquains.

05-22-2008, 08:44 AM	#169
Taylor514ce Actively passive. Posts: 2,042 Karma: 478376 Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: US Device: Sony PRS-505/LC	What are cinquains? Cinquains are a poetic form, heavily influenced by haiku. Cinquains have five lines, and each line has a specific number of syllables. The pattern is 2, 4, 6, 8, 2. The form was developed by Adelaide Crapsey. Cinquains don't generally rhyme, though alliteration and internal rhymes are common, as they are in Japanese haiku. Generally, the form allows for a tanka-like "turn", usually in the form of building and resolving tension. One poet described it as stretching a rubber band. It starts small, and each line lengthens the rubber band further, building tension, until it snaps back in the final 2-syllable line. Tension can also be built by skillful use of closed and enjambed lines. I'll use one I wrote earlier to illustrate (not because it's brilliant, but because I know what I was trying to do). Now what? Now that we've each said that sad, fateful word -- all we can hear now are fading echoes. Line 1 is closed. Line 2 is enjambed, and that syntactic breaks leaves the reader mentally reaching for closure. Each what? It builds a small amount of tension. Line 3 is closed, resolving tension, and slowing the poem down to a complete thought: divorce? Line 3 is enjambed, so creates tension, and then the poem slams shut abruptly on "echoes". It's so abrupt, the reader can almost hear the word "divorce", echoing. The long fourth line, especially when enjambed, is like rushing around a corner, only to hit a brick wall. Then other meanings can creep in, like aftershocks: echoes of love, still there, but fading? I also used the word "now" three times, to keep moving the poem forward in time by incremental degrees. It's a very interesting form, and easy enough to try. You don't have to think too hard about closure and enjambment, tension and resolution, or the "snap". The form itself almost FORCES these characteristics. Give it a shot! Let's post some more cinquains. Last edited by Taylor514ce; 05-22-2008 at 08:50 AM.