Post by jeannerené on Jun 2, 2007 14:25:14 GMT -8
THE PANTOUM...
Definition:
Brought to the West by Victor Hugo, the pantoum is derived from a Malaysian form of interlocking four-line stanzas in which lines 2 and 4 of one stanza are used as lines 1 and 3 of the next. The lines may be of any length, and the poem can go on for an indefinite number of stanzas. Usually the paired lines are also rhymed. The form may be resolved at the end either by picking up lines 1 and 3 of the first stanza as lines 2 and 4 of the last, thus closing the circle of the poem, or simply by closing with a rhymed couplet.
***
The Pantoum Verse Form
by Ariadne Unst
www.baymoon.com/~ariadne/form/pantoum.htm
*History. *Form. *Your Composition. *References. *Example.
Do you want a form that unfolds memories of the past, of a slower time? Then the Pantoum with its dreamy and enchanting repetitions may be the form you need.
The Pantoum originated in France, based on a form from Malaya. The Pantoum's name and form derive from the Malayan pantun.
If you enjoy the music inherent in forms with refrains, also see the Triolet and the Villanelle.
History.
Historically, the Pantoum became popular in Europe and later North America in the nineteeth and especially the twentieth century.
The Pantoum tradition as a poem first appeared in France, in the work of Ernest Fouinet in the nineteenth century. Victor Hugo and Charles Baudelaire made the form fashionable. For more on this history and for examples of the Pantoum, see The Making of a Poem, edited by Mark Strand and Eavan Boland.
Examples include:
* Linda Pastan's Something about Trees (in Imperfect Paradise);
* Carolyn Kizer's Parents' Pantoum;
* John Ashbery's Pantoum; and
* Nellie Wong's Grandmothers' Song.
Form.
[Note: in the Malayan, the pantun follows the same rhyme and line patterns as the Pantoum. But pantun is traditionally improvised; the first two lines of each quatrain present an image or an allusion; the second two lines of each quatrain convey the theme and meaning, and may not have an obvious connection with the first two lines.]
In a traditional Pantoum:
* The lines are grouped into quatrains (4-line stanzas).
* The final line of the Pantoum must be the same as its first line.
* A Pantoum has any number of quatrains.
* Lines may be of any length.
* The Pantoum has a rhyme scheme of abab in each quatrain. Thus, the lines rhyme alternately.
* The Pantoum says everything twice:
1. For all quatrains except the first, the first line of the current quatrain repeats the second line in the preceeding quatrain; and the third line of the current quatrain repeats the fourth line of the preceeding quatrain.
2. In addition, for the final quatrain, its second line repeats the (so-far unrepeated) third line in the first quatrain; and its last line repeats the (so-far unrepeated) first line of the first quatrain.
* Thus the pattern of line-repetition is as follows, where the lines of the first quatrain are represented by the numbers "1 2 3 4":
1 2 3 4 - Lines in first quatrain.
2 5 4 6 - Lines in second quatrain.
5 7 6 8 - Lines in third quatrain.
7 9 8 10 - Lines in fourth quatrain.
9 3 10 1 - Lines in fifth and final quatrain.
In this example, we have 5 quatrains. You could have more. You could have fewer.
Your Composition.
The repetition in a Pantoum made this form popular with audiences. The repetition allowed the listener to catch the poem more clearly at first hearing or first reading.
Here are some steps to take in composing one:
1. Draft the first quatrain. Be sure to use the Pantoum's rhyme scheme. [When you have experience in writing the Pantoum, consider using the additional structure offered by the Pantun.]
2. Layout the lines that will repeat - the second and fourth lines go to their positions in the framework of the second quatrain, while the first and third lines hold places in what will become the final stanza.
3. Construct your second stanza.
4. Layout the second and fourth lines of that quatrain in the framework of the next quatrain.
5. Continue with these steps. Be sure to follow the above guidelines for form.
6. When you are approaching the desired length for you Pantoum, start looking for lines that fit in your current quatrain and can also work in the final quatrain.
7. Like packing an inflated helium balloon into a suitcase, tussle with modifying the repeated sentences to tug the poem into shape.
8. As with all formal poems nowadays, it is vital that the form does not "drive" your poem. If the rhyme scheme and form begin to feel forced, then you must assert the poem's content.
A Last Word.
Just because you start with the intention of writing a Pantoum, you do not have to keep your poem in that form if it does not work for you. Your attempt to write a formal poem may help you find words that you would not have found otherwise. And you may decide that you choose to end up with a poem in a different form, perhaps even a prose poem.
***
Pantoum
www.newpoetspress.com/pantoum.html
"The pantoum is a Malay form. It is written in
couplets and repeats whole lines in an interlocking
pattern. The second and fouth lines of any stanza
become the first and third lines of the stanza that
follows. In the pantoum's last stanza, the first and
third lines of the opening are finally repeated as the
fourth and second lines. The order of those lines
can be reversed, but an ideal pantoum will end with
the poem's opening line - creating a kind of circle."
Pattern for repeating lines in a pantoum:
First line a (letters = whole lines,
Second line b not rhymes)
Third line c
Fourth line d
Second line b Note: Don't think, because
Fifth line e of this example, that pantoums
Fourth line d must always be three stanzas
Sixth line f long. They can be any length.
Fifth line e
Third line c
Sixth line f
First line a
"Pantoums can expand, accordion-like, into infinitely
long poems, but most are fairly short since they tax
the poet's ingenuity and the reader's patience. The
shortest pantoum would consist of two stanzas, since
something must repeat and circle around. A pantoum
can rhyme, but doesn't have to. If it does rhyme, the
obvious scheme is the interweaving A-B-A-B."
"Here is 'Details,' a pantoum by Judith Baumel:
A particular understanding, peculiar knowledge -
the weaver knows each string of warp;
a comfort of touch. Fingertips
sleying, drawing-in the thread,
the weaver knows each string of warp,
its path and place in the fabric.
Sleying, drawing-in the thread,
each thin piece evolves specific, separate.
Its path and place in the fabric
join with others to form the whole.
Each thin piece evolves specific, separate,
something calm and repetitive,
joins with others to form a whole
as the cook making prune jam -
something calm and repetitive -
repeats each task with regular skill.
As the cook making prune jam
pits and skins the fruit,
repeats each task with regular skill,
warm boiled fruit slips through hands.
Pits and skins. The fruit:
each reward of familiar flesh.
Warm boiled fruit slips through hands
and fingers remember
each reward of familiar flesh
for lovers in a darkened, quiet bed.
And fingers remember
how the body's map of texture changes.
For lovers in a darkened, quiet bed
each velvet hair on the low curve of back,
the body's map of texture changes
to find, perhaps, the zipper of a scar.
Each velvet hair on the low curve of back;
a comfort of touch, though fingertips
find, perhaps, the zipper of a scar,
a particular understanding, peculiar knowledge."
*****
Other Links:
Parents Pantoum
www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/15246
***
Definition:
Brought to the West by Victor Hugo, the pantoum is derived from a Malaysian form of interlocking four-line stanzas in which lines 2 and 4 of one stanza are used as lines 1 and 3 of the next. The lines may be of any length, and the poem can go on for an indefinite number of stanzas. Usually the paired lines are also rhymed. The form may be resolved at the end either by picking up lines 1 and 3 of the first stanza as lines 2 and 4 of the last, thus closing the circle of the poem, or simply by closing with a rhymed couplet.
***
The Pantoum Verse Form
by Ariadne Unst
www.baymoon.com/~ariadne/form/pantoum.htm
*History. *Form. *Your Composition. *References. *Example.
Do you want a form that unfolds memories of the past, of a slower time? Then the Pantoum with its dreamy and enchanting repetitions may be the form you need.
The Pantoum originated in France, based on a form from Malaya. The Pantoum's name and form derive from the Malayan pantun.
If you enjoy the music inherent in forms with refrains, also see the Triolet and the Villanelle.
History.
Historically, the Pantoum became popular in Europe and later North America in the nineteeth and especially the twentieth century.
The Pantoum tradition as a poem first appeared in France, in the work of Ernest Fouinet in the nineteenth century. Victor Hugo and Charles Baudelaire made the form fashionable. For more on this history and for examples of the Pantoum, see The Making of a Poem, edited by Mark Strand and Eavan Boland.
Examples include:
* Linda Pastan's Something about Trees (in Imperfect Paradise);
* Carolyn Kizer's Parents' Pantoum;
* John Ashbery's Pantoum; and
* Nellie Wong's Grandmothers' Song.
Form.
[Note: in the Malayan, the pantun follows the same rhyme and line patterns as the Pantoum. But pantun is traditionally improvised; the first two lines of each quatrain present an image or an allusion; the second two lines of each quatrain convey the theme and meaning, and may not have an obvious connection with the first two lines.]
In a traditional Pantoum:
* The lines are grouped into quatrains (4-line stanzas).
* The final line of the Pantoum must be the same as its first line.
* A Pantoum has any number of quatrains.
* Lines may be of any length.
* The Pantoum has a rhyme scheme of abab in each quatrain. Thus, the lines rhyme alternately.
* The Pantoum says everything twice:
1. For all quatrains except the first, the first line of the current quatrain repeats the second line in the preceeding quatrain; and the third line of the current quatrain repeats the fourth line of the preceeding quatrain.
2. In addition, for the final quatrain, its second line repeats the (so-far unrepeated) third line in the first quatrain; and its last line repeats the (so-far unrepeated) first line of the first quatrain.
* Thus the pattern of line-repetition is as follows, where the lines of the first quatrain are represented by the numbers "1 2 3 4":
1 2 3 4 - Lines in first quatrain.
2 5 4 6 - Lines in second quatrain.
5 7 6 8 - Lines in third quatrain.
7 9 8 10 - Lines in fourth quatrain.
9 3 10 1 - Lines in fifth and final quatrain.
In this example, we have 5 quatrains. You could have more. You could have fewer.
Your Composition.
The repetition in a Pantoum made this form popular with audiences. The repetition allowed the listener to catch the poem more clearly at first hearing or first reading.
Here are some steps to take in composing one:
1. Draft the first quatrain. Be sure to use the Pantoum's rhyme scheme. [When you have experience in writing the Pantoum, consider using the additional structure offered by the Pantun.]
2. Layout the lines that will repeat - the second and fourth lines go to their positions in the framework of the second quatrain, while the first and third lines hold places in what will become the final stanza.
3. Construct your second stanza.
4. Layout the second and fourth lines of that quatrain in the framework of the next quatrain.
5. Continue with these steps. Be sure to follow the above guidelines for form.
6. When you are approaching the desired length for you Pantoum, start looking for lines that fit in your current quatrain and can also work in the final quatrain.
7. Like packing an inflated helium balloon into a suitcase, tussle with modifying the repeated sentences to tug the poem into shape.
8. As with all formal poems nowadays, it is vital that the form does not "drive" your poem. If the rhyme scheme and form begin to feel forced, then you must assert the poem's content.
A Last Word.
Just because you start with the intention of writing a Pantoum, you do not have to keep your poem in that form if it does not work for you. Your attempt to write a formal poem may help you find words that you would not have found otherwise. And you may decide that you choose to end up with a poem in a different form, perhaps even a prose poem.
***
Pantoum
www.newpoetspress.com/pantoum.html
"The pantoum is a Malay form. It is written in
couplets and repeats whole lines in an interlocking
pattern. The second and fouth lines of any stanza
become the first and third lines of the stanza that
follows. In the pantoum's last stanza, the first and
third lines of the opening are finally repeated as the
fourth and second lines. The order of those lines
can be reversed, but an ideal pantoum will end with
the poem's opening line - creating a kind of circle."
Pattern for repeating lines in a pantoum:
First line a (letters = whole lines,
Second line b not rhymes)
Third line c
Fourth line d
Second line b Note: Don't think, because
Fifth line e of this example, that pantoums
Fourth line d must always be three stanzas
Sixth line f long. They can be any length.
Fifth line e
Third line c
Sixth line f
First line a
"Pantoums can expand, accordion-like, into infinitely
long poems, but most are fairly short since they tax
the poet's ingenuity and the reader's patience. The
shortest pantoum would consist of two stanzas, since
something must repeat and circle around. A pantoum
can rhyme, but doesn't have to. If it does rhyme, the
obvious scheme is the interweaving A-B-A-B."
"Here is 'Details,' a pantoum by Judith Baumel:
A particular understanding, peculiar knowledge -
the weaver knows each string of warp;
a comfort of touch. Fingertips
sleying, drawing-in the thread,
the weaver knows each string of warp,
its path and place in the fabric.
Sleying, drawing-in the thread,
each thin piece evolves specific, separate.
Its path and place in the fabric
join with others to form the whole.
Each thin piece evolves specific, separate,
something calm and repetitive,
joins with others to form a whole
as the cook making prune jam -
something calm and repetitive -
repeats each task with regular skill.
As the cook making prune jam
pits and skins the fruit,
repeats each task with regular skill,
warm boiled fruit slips through hands.
Pits and skins. The fruit:
each reward of familiar flesh.
Warm boiled fruit slips through hands
and fingers remember
each reward of familiar flesh
for lovers in a darkened, quiet bed.
And fingers remember
how the body's map of texture changes.
For lovers in a darkened, quiet bed
each velvet hair on the low curve of back,
the body's map of texture changes
to find, perhaps, the zipper of a scar.
Each velvet hair on the low curve of back;
a comfort of touch, though fingertips
find, perhaps, the zipper of a scar,
a particular understanding, peculiar knowledge."
*****
Other Links:
Parents Pantoum
www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/15246
***
