Glossary of Poetic Forms

---

 

The following are poetic forms that have appeared in Shot Glass Journal.

Cinquain
Cinquain is a short, usually unrhymed poem consisting of twenty-two syllables distributed as 2, 4, 6, 8, 2, in five lines

Rondolet
The Rondolet is a French form consisting of a single septet with two rhymes and one refrain AbAabbA. The capital letters are the refrains, or repeats. The refrain is written in tetra-syllabic or dimeter and the other lines are twice as long - octasyllabic or tetrameter.

Sijo
The Sijo is a Korean short poetry form the 7th Century. A cousin of Haiku having originated from the Chinese. Three lines of 14-16 syllables totaling 44-46 syllables. Beginning - Line 1 presents a problem. Development - Line 2 develops or "turns" the thought. Conclusion - Line 3 resolves the problem or concludes the theme - surprise turn or twist is a must. A natural pause occurs midway in each line. Each half line should be 6-9 syllables.

Tanka
Tanka consists of 31 onji sounds (or under). It is limited to 5 lines, with the traditional syllabic count usually being 5-7-5-7-7 onji. It is sometimes written in one line, but the more contemporary way of displaying Tanka is in 5 lines.

Triolet
The Triolet has two rhymes and two repeated or refrain lines. The first line is repeated as the fourth, and seventh lines, the second and eighth lines are the same line. Repeated lines 1, 4, and 7 rhyme with lines 3 and 5. Repeated lines 2 and 8 rhyme with line 6.

Zen Poetry
The traditional format was in four lines of Chinese characters (early Japanese poets also wrote in Chinese) but poetry changed over time to include Tanka, Haiku, and even much longer pieces. Many of most memorable were written in 8 lines such as the Hanshan (Cold Mountain) collection.