But does it rhyme with orange? #WondrousWordsWednesday

My way of celebrating National Poetry Month

Who knew that A Poetry Handbook would be good for so many new words?

Words to describe the sounds that letters make
Words to describe the rhythm of a poem

This week, I learned words that describe rhyme from page 59 of A Poetry Handbook by Mary Oliver.

I would have guessed couplet — that’s just when line 1 rhymes with line 2 and line 3 rhymes with line 4 (aa bb cc dd, etc). Tercet, or triplet is the same, only with three rhyming lines (aaa bbb ccc ddd, etc).

I remember the word quatrain, but I didn’t remember the rhyming pattern — it’s abab cdcd, etc.

I don’t recall ever hearing the term terza rima (according to Wikipedia, I would have if I’d ever studied Dante). The scheme is aba bcb cdc ded, etc. That looks like it would be fun to write, or a big head ache, depending on the mood of the poet.

Did you remember these terms? Or ever learn them in the first place?

Wondrous Words Wednesday is hosted by Bermudaonion’s Weblog. Kathy says: “Wondrous Words Wednesday is a weekly meme where we share new (to us) words that we’ve encountered in our reading.”

Comments

But does it rhyme with orange? #WondrousWordsWednesday — 6 Comments

booketta on April 23, 2014 at 8:40 am said:

Couplet, triplet and quatrain are very familiar but the others are new to me.

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bermudaonion (Kathy) on April 23, 2014 at 9:23 am said:

I remember couplet and its meaning and know I’ve heard quatrain but the other words are totally new to me. Who knew poetry is so complicated!

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Margot on April 23, 2014 at 10:23 am said:

I remember the alphabetical diagrams for various poetry but I couldn’t recall what they are called. I haven’t studied Dantes either but I’d like to check it out to see what terza looks like. I agree it sounds like it would be fun to try it.

I’ve enjoyed your poetry month’s look at the Handbook. Great set of posts.

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Julia Tomiak on April 23, 2014 at 10:26 am said:

Thanks for the review Joy! I knew couplet- Shakespeare has Romeo speak in rhyming couplets to emphasize his importance. Terza rima is completely new, and I read Dante (many years ago…). Now to go check on last week’s post…

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Judy B on April 23, 2014 at 4:18 pm said:

Oh My, it’s been way too long ago that I studied the workings of poetry. I guess it’s nice the different rhymes have names. Couplet makes sense, though I am sure I did not know quatrain. Wonder if I’ll remember any of them later?

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Shannon @BooksDevoured on April 23, 2014 at 7:22 pm said:

I feel like I need this book in my life. I don’t really write poetry but I still think I need it!

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