Hello to all the toads and pond visitors !
Today we are going to tackle a poetry form called nocturna.
Picture credit: Grace
The word was first used by Christians and was a form of night prayers. Later it appeared in the 18th century and was derived from the French nocturnal and was usually music inspired by the night and played at evening parties. During that time poetry was also recited.
The painter Whistler used that name in some of his paintings, they also had a night theme, which in turn inspired Chopin to write his well loved Nocturnes.
The Nocturna is basically a nine line poetry form based on the nocturne theme containing three, three line lessons recited during the night. The subject must be nocturnal and it consists of three couplets linked by the rhyme of the centre line. This is usually written in decasyllabic or iambic pentameter (10 syllables per line).
a. b. a. c. b. c. d. b. d.
| My Star 'Till The Morn She sang softly like a bird taking flight, It was then that I fell in love with her. I wanted to hear her all through the night Though the radio now plays another song, I imagined that her voice was pure sugar Her presence now haunts me all winter long I close my eyes, because a dream's been born, I know I will see her soon this summer The woman who's now my star til the morn. Terry Clitheroe |
The Sunday Challenge is posted on Saturday at noon CST to allow extra time for the creative process, so please do not link up old work which kind of fits an image. This is in the spirit of our Real Toads project to create opportunities for poets to be newly inspired. Management reserves the right to remove unrelated links but invites you to share a poem of your choice on Open Link Monday.
I look forward to reading your words ~ Happy Sunday to all ~
Grace (aka Heaven)
Hmm, interesting. I think I might enjoy this one, Grace.
ReplyDeleteSee you later (lunch date with friends).
K
Grace, thank you for this prompt - it was indeed a challenge. ~ M
ReplyDeleteThank you, Grace! This was just what I needed to complete a thought today. :)
ReplyDeleteVery intriguing, Heaven. I will see Got another one in the hopper atm, but will see what (if anything) might wash up on night's shore.
ReplyDeleteKay, hope to see you with a poem ~
ReplyDeleteMichael, I am happy to see you trying out this form ~
Hannah, lovely to see you ~
Hedgewitch, looking forward to it ~
Not the easiest of challenges, I must say. Wanted to do something a bit different.
ReplyDeleteHappy Sunday, Grace and prompters.
Aprille, yours is different ~ Thank you for participating ~
ReplyDeleteThanks for this prompt, Grace.i have written about three poems inspired by the night this week, and I don't know if I have another one on me, but I would like to try this form with a different subject.
ReplyDeleteKerry, its uncanny that we thought about the same theme ~ I had this form already prepared two weeks before and when I saw your prompt, oh my goodness, what a coincidence ~
ReplyDeleteWell your post is different in that it focuses on a new form for us to try, which is always fun!
ReplyDeletewow, i assumed this nocture/nocturna thing was planned! wonderful.
ReplyDeletei really enjoyed these rhymes, Grace. thank you!
Marian, your work is beautifully done ~ You never lose your voice in the form ~
ReplyDeleteThank you for participating ~
This was fun. I have a question about form. I think managed to get the rhyme structure, syllable count and meter right on this but I most of my lines had enjambments and I kept the stanza to 1 long 9-line stanza.
ReplyDeleteMy quetion si if I broke it into 3/ 3-line stanzas with caps at the start of each line would that be acceptable form?
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
Thanks in advance :)
All Caps
ReplyDeleteA
B
A
Hmmm. I'm trying a revision exercise, aware I should have developed a brand new poem. it works best with the Grieg playing.
ReplyDeleteDoes Marian have her comments closed or am I overlooking them?
ReplyDeleteAprille, Marian has stated in the previous post that she is experimenting with no comments.
ReplyDeleteSam, you can start each line with a capital letter. Strictly, if you are doing iambic pentameter, you should keep the 10 syllables per line, following the stress as required. But that is quite a challenge, so I thought of just using the rhyming pattern first.
I might not get to this today, but will try for Open Link Monday. Two dance recitals and another daughter took another daughter to the airport. Thank goodness no school tomorrow as summer has begun!
ReplyDeleteThis is hard challenge for me (rhyme and rhythm always are) but I will give it a try. Thanks!
Hi everyone! I linked one for my sister! She's been making some rounds...great fun!
ReplyDeleteI tried, but my brain cannot wrap around this prompt, sorry. I'm not very good at
ReplyDeleteA
B
B
A
...although I do love their music! Love you all, Amy
I discovered your blog by chance, via another poet. I absolutely loved your prompt and the work I've seen from some of the others. Thanks for doing this!
ReplyDeleteGrace, I tackled this. It took me a while since I am not good with rhyme. I didn't manage iambic pentameter though. Thanks for the challenge.
ReplyDeleteA latecomer here, nevertheless! Managed the rhyme and syllables but not the meter
ReplyDeleteHi everyone ~ I am catching up with all your posts ~
ReplyDeleteSusie, don't worry about the 10 syllabic requirement as this exercise is more about the rhyming pattern ~
Amy, I love ABBA but I used the rhyming dictionary (google it) whe I am writing to form ~ I look up the rhyming words and work backwards like a crossword puzzle ~