Our guest contributor this month is aprille, a long-standing Follower of Real Toads. I hand over to her to talk us through her choice of multisyllablic words.
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| © aprille.me Used with Permission |
Higgledy piggledy
IN A HURRY?
Go for the double dactyl
I was asked to make up a word list and the ones that floated into my mind were all 3-syllable words with the stress on the first.
yesterday, crystalized, fanciful, hazardous
And then this jumped up, which form seemed to fit.
Hilary Clinton,
who's now sixty five
Twelve years ago was
the President's wife
We are so used to let our poems glide into the IAMB [ de-dah ] with an occasional side step into the TROCHEE [ dah -de ], that we forget there are other metric feet out there at our disposal.
Today let's play with the DACTYL and if you feel strong, the DOUBLE DACTYL.
Just keep on saying: HIGGLEDY PIGGLEDY, or if you prefer HIGGLETY PIGGLETY.
The dactyl has three feet, [dah -de-de ] whereas the iamb [ de-dah] has only two.
Obviously, the double dactyl has two dactyls.
The verse form by that name usually consists of two stanzas often with the name of a person in it.
I made this up as an easy way to count the syllables of each dactyl, and indicate where the stress should fall:
ONE two three ONE two three
ONE two three ONE two three
ONE two three ONE two three
ONE two three DONE
Just think of it as a Waltz and play about with the dactyls, fitting in what you feel you need..
But don't get too dizzy twirling around.
My attempt:
encyclopedia
so many articles
so much to read there but
so little time
read all the poems by
Emily Dickinson
either you hate them or
think they're sublime
This last one has the requirements:
Proper Noun/Name
one 6 syllable word
No particular rhyme needed.
But put it in by all means.
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| © aprille.me Used with Permission |
Some handy 3-syllable dactyl words you may like to play with:
yesterday
crystalized
fanciful
hazardous
smouldering
fortitude
normal ones:
honest
endeavour
integrity
vanished
bizarre
minaret
theme park
copious
and if you feel like using a 6-syllable one in your first or second stanza, as is sometimes mentioned as a requirement, then maybe one of these would work.
authoritarian
disciplinarian
egalitarian
humanitarian
octogenarian
parliamentarian
totalitarian
utilitarian
unconstitutional
ambassadorial
conspiratorial
entrepreneurial
alphanumerical.
I have also included two of my 'England in the Seventies' [infra structure breaking down] paintings, in case you prefer ekphrastic to form.
The option also remains to use any of the listed words provided in a free verse poem written to a theme of your choice.
wow, i can barely wrap my brain around this but i'm totally gonna do it! thank you, Aprille.
ReplyDeleteHi!! I tried and I think some of my stresses may be off but that's alright right? ;)
ReplyDeleteThank you, Aprille!
This could go either way, depending on how Aprille pronounces her name:
ReplyDeleteNow, thanks to Aprille, I know that a dactyl's
Neither a dinosaur, nor a refractal!
Can't wait to get started. The first line can also be (if she's an "a-PREEL")
Thanks so Aprille, I now know that a dactyl...
Ha ha. After several full-blown anxiety attacks after Boston (I have PTSD), I woke up feeling hopeful and calm. I think hanging in the Garden for NaPoWriMo has a lot to do with it.
Toadally yours, Amy "Bar Lib"
Thanks to Aprille for providing us with a fun form and some words to really stretch our imaginations here today.
ReplyDeleteI. Love. This. Form.
ReplyDeletewatch out, i think an obsession might be brewing! thanks so much, Aprille. love this one!
This was fun, but it was harder than I expected!
ReplyDeleteAprille, such a fantastic challenge. I couldn't wrap my brain around the form today so I chose a word from your list and wrote my piece.
ReplyDeleteIn the spirit of the challenge I have attempted the double dactyl, but I shall come back to your word list again, Aprille, for something more in the way of free verse.
ReplyDeleteThe form was helped by your word list which practically dictated the poem.
ReplyDeleteWhoa! Thanks Aprille! This was more difficult than I thought it would be, but fun for sure! :o)
ReplyDeleteI went back to the drawing board to make another attempt. Is there such a thing as a triple dactyl? I came up with three stanzas any way. :)
ReplyDeleteWow that was hard but I really enjoyed the challenge, thanks aprille
ReplyDeleteI stretched the rules and did a triple dactyl...hope there is a style like that.
ReplyDelete"We are so used to let our poems glide into the IAMB [ de-dah ] with an occasional side step into the TROCHEE [ dah -de ], that we forget there are other metric feet out there at our disposal."
ReplyDeleteOmg. That happens to me, like, CONstantly.
This seems like quite the challenge... I'm putting my thinking hat on... I might be posting late... we'll see. Thanks Aprille.
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ReplyDeleteMy day ran out of hours and I couldn't participate today. I would have needed quite a bit of time to meet this challenge. But I loved reading all the well crafted poems that were shared today. Great stuff,,,
ReplyDeleteThank you all so much for having a go at his form and particularly this new 'foot'.
ReplyDeleteI have so enjoyed seeing what came out of the trials, and have to confess that I too found this 44-syllable DD deceptively difficult.
Hey Toads - I don't have a link to this today...I wrote today's poem earlier. I just wanted to tell you that I'm going to be traveling and not sure about internet access, but I'll keep writing and post when I can. I just want to thank you for the daily prompts and support, and wish everyone a successful end to NaPoWriMo! :o)
ReplyDeleteI am not sure I can wrap my home improvement brain around it all...
ReplyDeleteIs this your art? Wow...
I will be by to read what I missed!
:D
This uncomfortable vision occurred as I rearranged the words in the first two lists. Perhaps it is overly informed by the events of the week.
ReplyDelete