Deibhidhe

Deibhidhe

The deibhidhe is an Irish form. In English it is more often spelt deibide, but you still have to pronounce it jayvee. (The Irish language uses a lot of unlikely-looking clusters of consonants, and most of them seem to be either pronounced as "v" or not pronounced at all. Exercise: pronounce the name of the poet Medbh McGuckian.) 

Here's a deibhidhe about the time I spent working in the oil industry: 

No, Watercolour...

Of a subject dire I sing:

Reservoir Engineering

I could never understand -

A queer and quaggy quicksand!

I was sent away to learn

About it in climes northern,

But while at Herriot-Watt

My zeal did not run riot.

All the years I worked in oil,

My conscience was in turmoil.

I floundered through the fog

Like a bogged-down wan warthog.

My colleagues would make a fuss.

Those strata - were they porous?

It bothered me not a whit

How the drill bit grey granite.

The mysteries of the rock

Made me feel like a pillock.

Underground movements of gas

Alas, my mind can’t compass.

I don’t work there any more,

Redundancy my saviour.

Not a tragedy at all -

A small but welcome windfall!

There was a TV advert for an airline some years ago which featured the following exchange between two passengers on a flight to Aberdeen. Large outgoing American: "D'you work in oil?" Weedy-looking bespectacled Brit: "No, watercolour." Hence the title. Herriot-Watt University is situated near Edinburgh and offers week-long courses on such arcane subjects as Reservoir Engineering, cleverly sugaring the pill by making them coincide with the Edinburgh Festival. 

As for the form, each stanza has 4 lines of 7 syllables each, rhyming aabb, and both of these rhymes are deibide rhymes i.e. in the first line of each rhyming pair, the rhyming syllable is stressed, and in the second it is unstressed.

The form also demands an aicill rhyme between lines 3 and 4 i.e. the word at the end of line 3 rhymes with a word somewhere in the middle of line 4 (as whit/bit, gas/alas above). 

Finally, there must be alliteration between the last word of each stanza and the preceding stressed word (as quaggy quicksand, welcome windfall above).

This amounts to a lot of constraints for the fourth line to satisfy in the space of only 7 syllables. I found this form a tough one, except when writing the last stanza. Perhaps I was getting into the swing of it by then.

Thanks to Bob Newman for his wonderful Volecentral resource site.

My example poem

Night Nymph     (Deibhidhe)

I was mesmerized, entranced

when she stood in the entrance.

Just one glance at her'd confur

instantly a pure pleasure

The nymph caused my heart to sing

and set my nerves to dancing

I viewed her in near undress

and dreamed she'd be my mistress.

But it was not meant to be,

this maiden oh so pretty.

for she was gone with the sun

a nighttime visit vision.

© Lawrencealot - April 10, 2014

art by Herbert James Draper [d. 1920]

Visual Template

Paired Triquin

This is a form recently invented by Gary Kent Spain, aka venicebard on allpoetry.

To Quote Gary:

 Some paired what, you say?  This is a form I invented recently, not just to invent a form but because I liked the sound of it.

‘Triquin’ is a reversal of ‘quatrain’ (I dropped the a because both ‘triquain’ and ‘troisquain’ sounded funny to me) and is defined as a three-line stanza consisting of:

L1 - trochee-iamb-iamb-iamb

(DUM de de DUM de DUM de DUM);

L2 - iamb-iamb-iamb-iamb

(de DUM de DUM de DUM de DUM)

L3 - (indented) iamb-iamb 

(de DUM de DUM);

and it must contain alliteration between two consecutive stressed words in one of its lines,

and the final consonant sound of L2 must match that of L3 (last two consonants,

if the last syllables of both end in two or more consonant sounds).

‘Paired Triquins’ specifically refers to two of these forming one six-line stanza,

with another variant allowed (only if one wishes) for the new L5, namely:

pyrrhic-spondee-iamb-iamb   (de de DUM DUM de DUM de DUM)

...and the additional requirement of having the 1st and 3rd DUMs of L2 rime the third DUM of L1,

and the 1st and 3rd DUMs of L5 rime the 2nd and 4th, respectively, of L4.

Syllabic schematic:

XxxXxAxX

xAxXxAxT

     xXxT [‘T’= terminal consonant]

XxxBxXxC

xBxXxCxT [or xxBXxCxT]

       xXxT

Example Poem

Mentor   (Paired Triquin Pair)

Scoundrels will scheme and squirm to make

you learn what you have spurned in past

    these tasks attest.

Welsh as this seems, it to's been true

in dreams,  these I eschew sometimes,

     but not new forms.

Granted not gracing our fair bard

this hour would only sour myself.

    There'd be no riff.

Colleges fail,  but mentors don't;

they're hale and really won't give up.

    They just can't stop.

© Lawrencealot - June 20, 2013

Visual Template

Cyrch Gymeriad

Earliest strata of British Celtic poetry #1: cyrch gymeriad (wreathing).

Information provided by Gary Kent Spain.

In Welsh, cymeriad (‘memory’) refers to repetition of the same word or syllable, often at the start of successive lines.  Cyrch gymeriad means what we call ‘wreathing’, that is, to repeat the word or syllable ending one line (or line segment) at or near the start of the next (see below).  It can involve meaning as well, that is, synonyms.

Your prompt is to assemble short (roughly two-stress) line segments of 3-6 syllables (mostly 3-4 if possible) into at least two longer lines (printed as stanzas) that rime on the last syllable (stressed or not), and to link each line segment with its neighbors by one (or more) of the following techniques:

1.  Cymeriad (beginning with the same word or syllable, or a homophone or synonym)

2.  Cyrch gymeriad (word or syllable repetition linking end of one with start of next)

3.  Alliteration, or consonance (repetition of two or more sounds of a word, can both be consonant sounds or one can be a vowel sound)

4.  Rimed syllable, which even should it occur at the ends of two successive line segments still constitutes ‘internal’ rime, since more than one make up the complete ‘line’ (i.e. stanza)

...again, the cymeriad may involve homophones (different words that sound the same) or synonyms, in addition to actual repetition.

Schematic, where each letter represents a syllable, x = unlinked, lower case (abc etc.) rimed, upper case (ABC etc.) repeated (cymeriad)—spaces separate words, bold and italics (alternating) indicate alliteration, and underlinedindicates a proper name.

x  A-B / B  A-c

xxx  C / C  DD

DD  EE / EE  xf

G-GG  f / G-GG  H

H  xx / f   x  xH

x  x-xx / x-x-x-h

x  xxi / x x i / x-x  h

Example Poem

Abalone abound

bound below to rocks;

rocked not by salty waves

but safety waived by men.

Men- selfish divers

"shell-fish dinners" served as

dining divers' can.

Bountiful before man

manufactured- gear

that fractured, broke the ban

banning air- breathing man.

Man equipped to submerge

then eclipsed by base urge-

Urgent need for meals

of otters, and seals.

Tasting abalone,

Shellfish about alone

in taste, attests to why-

Why we've failed fishing ban.

© Lawrencealot - July 13, 2013

I have provided a Visual Template below that shows my attempt at various linkages.

Unfortunately, I could not make this schematic fit the example poem provide, and pretty much believe it is UNREALISITIC to assume a template can be constructed since almost everything is optional, from line-length to type of linkage. 

Rannaigheacht bheag (ran-á-yah voig)

 A traditional Irish quatrain of 7-syllable lines ('old-school'),   or 8-6-8-6, ending in 2-syllable words all linked by consonance  (in its old  meaning, 'having the same vowels'),   with at least two cross-rimes in each couplet   (can be consonance in first but should be rime in second) 

 and alliteration in every line, which in the second couplet   must be between the last two stressed words in each line,  and with the dunedh, of course (ending in the same word, phrase,   or line it began with).

  

 As with the other Irish forms, a template can show you the syllable count and a bit more,  but cannot be definitive as so much variation

 is possible while meeting the formal  requirements.

 In the example below some words not hi-lited could have been as serving one or more rules.

Alliterisen

The Alliterisen (Complex and Rhyming), a form created by Udit Bhatia, is a simple seven-lined poem with a specific syllable pattern and two alliterations per line.  For example: Glorious Graves, and wonderful waves. Alliteration is the succession of similar consonant sounds. They are not recognized by spelling, but rather by sounds.

The syllable structure for the Complex Alliterisen is as follows:

1st line- x syllables

2nd line- x+2 syllables

3rd line- x-1 syllables

4th line- (x+2)-1 syllables

5th line- x-2 syllables

6th line- (x+2)-2 syllables

7th line- x syllables

which allows for infinite syllable sequences.

Pasted from <http://www.shadowpoetry.com/resources/wip/alliterisen.html>

Example Poem

The Knight of the Shopping Queen (  Complex Alliterisen with monorhyme)

Momma mumbles and grandpa grumbles but off they go.

She's got stores selected and he's got gumption and lots of dough.

Solicitous salesmen appear, all with grand goods to show

needles, brass bobbins, templates and many fine fabrics to sew

Gramps grabs her next favored choice;  takes it in tow.

Store after store momma's  proven plaza pro

And Gramps just grins and waits until when momma says whoa.

© Lawrencealot - Feb 3, 2012

ALLITERISEN - Rhyming

--Must have only 7 syllables in each line (isosyllabic)

--Must use aabbccd rhyme scheme.

--Must have only 7 lines in the stanza.

--Must have one alliteration per line.

--Must be only one stanza (although you could create one with two stanzas and call it a Double Rhyming Alliterisen-which means a three stanza one would be called a Triple Rhyming Alliterisen, and so on.)

Example Poem

Facing Off

My clock was clearly mocking

with its tick-ing and tock-ing.

"Get to work, write right away.

I track time through-out the day.

I'm not mocking you, fine friend,

just prodding your plodding pen."

His song's sure despite his face.

© Lawrencealot - April 13, 2013

Visual Template

Byr a Thoddaid

Byr a Thoddaid (beer ah TOE-thy’d), one of the 24 traditional Welsh

stanza forms, consists of four lines of syllable count 10-6-8-8 

(or 8-8-10-6), rimed on last syllable except for the 10-syllable line,

 which has the main rime on the 7th, 8th, or 9th syllable with the 

remainder set off by dash and either rimed within the 6-syllable 

line or with its sequence of consonant-sounds repeated at the 

start of the 6-syllable line, as above.

This poem has the Cynghanedd (consonance, harmony of sound) 

required of Welsh bards, as detailed here:

http://allpoetry.com/column/7546199-Welsh_Poetry_-_Part_I_Cynghanedd_-by-Welshbard

Specifically, all but the last line of the first stanza 

and the penultimate line of the second have Cynghanedd lusg

(trailing consonance), in which the accented penultimate syllable

 of the end-word is rimed earlier in the line 

(the part of each 10-syllable line after the dash being excluded);

S1L4 and S2L3, then, both have Cynghanedd groes (cross-consonance),

 in which the second part of the line repeats the sequence of 

consonant sounds in the first (end of last syllable of either 

sequence can be ignored, as can n, while w and y the Welsh treat as vowels).

This form makes use of the gair cyrch in which the main rhyme appears somewhere near the end of a longer line and the end word is a secondary rhyme. The secondary rhyme is then echoed by alliteration or assonance in the first half of the next line.

• stanzaic, written in any number of quatrains made up of 2 couplets,
• syllabic, either L1-L2 8 syllables, L3 10 syllables L4 6 syllables, or the couplets are reversed L1 10 syllables, L2 6 syllables, L3-L4 8 syllables.
• rhymed, either AAbA with the main rhyme A occurring somewhere near the end of L3 and the secondary rhyme b echoed by alliteration or assonance in the first half of L4 or the couplets are reversed bAAA.

Example Poem

Potential

I know that my life's potent-- gauged not small-- 

gives notice of quotient 

believed not achieved to extent 

that make it thus, this man's intent .

Say I, one day still invent-- mankind's balm-- 

Might call on all unspent 

forces of mine formerly misspent 

then would I feel good and content? 

©  Lawrencealot - June 29,2012

Authors's Notes

This poem has the Cynghanedd (consonance, harmony of sound)

required of Welsh bards, as detailed here:

http://allpoetry.com/column/7546199-Welsh_Poetry_-_Part_I_Cynghanedd_-by-Welshbard

Specifically, all but the last line of the first stanza

and the penultimate line of the second have Cynghanedd lusg

(trailing consonance), in which the accented penultimate syllable

 of the end-word is rimed earlier in the line

(the part of each 10-syllable line after the dash being excluded);

S1L4 and S2L3, then, both have Cynghanedd groes (cross-consonance),

 in which the second part of the line repeats the sequence of

consonant sounds in the first (end of last syllable of either

sequence can be ignored, as can n, while w and y the Welsh treat as vowels).

Please note the correction suggested in the comments below and navigate there

for a fuller treatment of this form.

This correction by Gary Kent Spain, aka, Venicebard on Allpoetry.

You might want to alter the Cynghanedd part of your AN here (lifted from one of my poems, which is okay except it is inaccurate with respect to your poem) to reflect the slightly looser form of Cynghanedd Groes (and echoing of the gair cyrch) you have aimed for in this poem.  The following link gives for C. Groes the stipulation that all that is necessary is repetition of the initial consonants of words, which is close to what you've tried to do here:

Visual Template of sorts

Rannaigheacht bheag (ran-á-yah voig)

A traditional Irish quatrain of 7-syllable lines ('old-school'),

 or 8-6-8-6, ending in 2-syllable words all linked by consonance 

(in its old meaning, 'having the same vowels'),

 with at least two cross-rimes in each couplet

 (can be consonance in first but should be rime in second) 

and alliteration in every line, which in the second couplet

 must be between the last two stressed words in each line, 

and with the dunedh, of course (ending in the same word, phrase,

 or line it began with).

Poem Example

Ron-a'yach Rhyme

Writing rhyming words, giving

living lines, fit for fighting

biting boredom while living

in style with witty writing.

 (c) Lawrencealot - May 16,2012

Visual Template

As with the other Irish forms, a template can show you the syllable count and a bit more, but cannot be definitive as so much variation

is possible while meeting the formal  requirements.

In the example below some words not hi-lighted could have been as serving one or more rules.

Séadna

Séadna is:
1. written in any number of quatrains.
2. syllabic 8-7-8-7.
3. written with L1 and L3, 2 syllable end words; L2 and L4, 1 syllable end words.
4. rhymed. L2 and L4 end rhyme, L3 rhymes with the stressed word preceding the final word of L4. There are two aicill-rhymes in the second couplet.
5. composed with alliteration in each line, the final word of L4 alliterating with the preceding stressed word. The final syllable of L1 alliterates with the first stressed word of L2.
   
   x x x x x x (x a)
   x a x x x x b
   x x x b x x (x c)
   x b x c x x b


Pasted from <http://www.poetrymagnumopus.com/index.php?showtopic=1168>




Séadna (shay'-na):
A quatrain stanza of alternating octosyllabic lines with disyllabic endings and heptasyllabic lines with monosyllabic endings. Lines two and four rhyme, line three rhymes with the stressed word preceding the final word of line four. There are two cross-rhymes in the second couplet. There is alliteration in each line, the final word of line four alliterating with the preceding stressed word. The final syllable of line one alliterates with the first stressed word of line two.


B x x x x x (x a)
x x x x x x b
x x x x c x (x c)
x b x c x x B


Caring for the watercolor
I find you looking at me there
Blush to white palor, dim valor,
Thus, where its blue core had found care.


Kathy Anderson




Pasted from <http://www.thepoetsgarret.com/celtic1.html#sea>


Example poem


Fight on Poet


Fight on against fear of failure;
cure your weary will and fright.
Pursue dreams; ignore cause killing
themes, write-- winning thrilling fight.


(c) Lawrencealot - July 4, 2012


Visual Aid





  
This is my 2nd attempt to write specs for this form.  It is without a doubt the most demanding poetry form I have encountered.  Since it is not possible to make a template that is much more than the equivalent of house plans on a napkin, handed to an architect...I have included the check list I referred to repeatedly while writing this one verse poem.
Besides being overly challenged for a long while; I chose a one verse poem so I could demo the Line 4 2nd word rhyme, and the first-last unity.
Enjoy...this form will help fight off dementia.