Thursday, November 7, 2013

A New Form of Poetry?

It is difficult to know where to begin discussing the relevance and purpose of this blog.  As an amateur writer I have a tendency to ramble, and such ramblings have brought me around the literary genre "block," if you will, and along the way, I picked up a form of poetry I can find no name for.  This blog is a place I will showcase this poetry I have named "Scarlequain."

Scarlequain is strikingly similar to Cinquain and even Haiku in its structure, but the emphasis relies on a simple AABBC form instead of syllabic meter.  Further, the first four lines describe the fifth line, much as a riddle would, and the fifth line is usually no longer than three words.  Below are two examples of Scarlequain:

A simple mystery,
Spiritual music history?
Coffee stains
On Scarlequain:
Romanticism defined.

and...

Immortalize, defame,
Always leaves a stain.
Villain or hero,
All reduced to zero.
Time.

The second poem is a prime example of the form I'm striving for, specifically with the first four lines describing the last.  The first poem is more vague, focusing more on the author's experience at the time; however, all of the aspects of the first four lines are indeed connected in some way (albeit loosely) with the last.

The long and short of this blog is this: if you know what this form of poetry is actually called and I have just missed it in my research, please tell me.  If, however, this is indeed a new form of literary expression (HURRAY, HUZZAH, and SOUND THE TRUMPETS!), then this is the place I will continue to write, critique, and tweak the form as I mature as a writer.  And even if it is a current form, I will probably continue to post.  Merely for my own pleasure.

There you have it.  I hope you enjoy my scribblings as much as I do.  Until next time.

-J

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