What is a paradelle?
A paradelle is a difficult French poetic form first used in the eleventh century. Or so Billy Collins said in a footnote when he first published the “Paradelle for Susan” in 1997…more on this in the history part.
Structure…
This fixed form of poetry consists of four six-line stanzas with a repetitive pattern.
The first three stanzas:
The first two lines as well as the third and fourth lines of the first three stanzas must be the same (repeat). Where it begins to get difficult and become more of a poetic puzzle is when reaching fifth and sixth lines. These lines must contain all the words from the preceding four lines within the stanza using them only once to form completely new lines.
In other words…
The first line is also the second line
The third line is also the forth line
The fifth and sixth lines must contain the words used in the first four lines (using each word only once) and this pattern continues on for the first three stanzas.
Another example of the first three stanza’s
Line one
Line one repeated
Line two
Line two repeated
Line five using words from the first four lines
Line six using words from the first four lines
The last stanza:
The final stanza of the paradelle does not repeat like the preceding stanzas, rather the final six lines must contain every word from the first three stanzas and only those words using them only once to form six completely new lines.
In other words every word used in the prior three stanzas gets used to make up the last stanza but you can only use each word one time.
To the best of my knowledge and from the few poems I have read that use this form there is nothing that clearly states you cannot use the same words twice except in the last two lines of the first three stanza’s and the complete last stanza. In the fifth and sixth lines of the first three stanza’s each word can only be used one time and in the last stanza each word can only be used one time.
So in all actuality you only have six lines of words to make a twenty-four line poem.
History…
Billy Collins invented this form of poetry in 1997 as a hoax…it is not an eleventh century French form it is a twentieth century American form developed by America’s poet laureate from 2001 to 2003.
The footnote in “Paradelle for Susan” stated;
“The paradelle is one of the more demanding French fixed forms, first appearing in the langue d'oc love poetry of the eleventh century. It is a poem of four six-line stanzas in which the first and second lines, as well as the third and fourth lines of the first three stanzas, must be identical. The fifth and sixth lines, which traditionally resolve these stanzas, must use all the words from the preceding lines and only those words. Similarly, the final stanza must use every word from all the preceding stanzas and only these words."
Apparently many people actually fell for the hoax. While some reviewers knew that the paradelle was a parody of a villanelle others criticized the “Paradelle for Susan” stating it was “an amateurish attempt at a difficult form…” apparently they did not know it was a hoax. Some poets took the form seriously writing their own paradelles. Others seeing a very strict form although invented as a hoax could not help trying it out and so the paradelle was born.
Billy Collins was born in New York City in 1941. He became America’s poet laureate from 2001 to 2003 and is a professor of English at Lehman College and has written several books of poetry including Sailing alone around the room, The Apple that Astonished Paris and Questions about Angels…check them out they are pretty good.
This is a very difficult poem to write mainly because you cannot use the same word twice…except for the identical lines of course. So if you attempt to write one of these poems choose your words carefully.
Now my poem…
On this night
On warm grass holding you gently this night
On warm grass holding you gently this night
The quiet darkness folds softly around us
The quiet darkness folds softly around us
Darkness holding us on this warm quiet night
The grass folds softly gently around you
Eyes like deep pools look into mine
Eyes like deep pools look into mine
Bright stars shine down from above
Bright stars shine down from above
Deep pools from above look down
Eyes like stars shine bright into mine
Hands moving lovingly across my body
Hands moving lovingly across my body
Your soft caress sliding over bare skin
Your soft caress sliding over bare skin
Soft hands caress over my body sliding
Moving lovingly across your bare skin
Your hands lovingly caress bare skin
Soft warm eyes shine like bright stars
Look down from deep pools above
Folds around us sliding over the grass
My body holding you gently into quiet darkness
Softly moving across mine on this night
Fri May 05, 2006 4:16 am
ghost
Joined: 06 Nov 2005
Posts: 2828
Location: MIA
brilliantly done, eire!
you know i love these styles you uncover for us... wish i could find the time and patience to try my hand at it.
ghost runs off to go and find her muse... she has been missing for weeks now...
I give ghosts muse a hug and a kiss then send her skipping back to ghost with a handful of cookies...knowing that if ghost lets her run out of cookies she will be back.
You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot vote in polls in this forum