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Saturday, December 22, 2012

The Sunday Mini-Challenge

It is time to deck the halls, mull the wine, wrap the gifts and turn our thoughts to giving and sharing. For those who would like to turn their minds to Christmas poetry this weekend, perhaps as an added gift to attach to a present, I offer the basics of Common and Hymnal Measure, with the option of an 8-line verse form.

© Teresa Perin


Common Measure is a standard 4-line stanza written in alternate lines of iambic tetrameter (8 syllables, with the beat on the even syllables) and iambic trimeter (6 syllables, with the beat on the even syllables too.). The rhyme scheme is as follows with x signifying a single unstressed syllable, and x a single stressed syllable.

x x x x x x x a
x x x x x b
x x x x x x x c
x x x x x b


© Ellen Wilson


Hymnal Measure is basically the same stanza form, except the
c rhyme is replaced with an a rhymeSource


x x x x a
x x x x b
x x x x x x a
x x x x b


© Margaret Bednar
i and I


The Common or Hymnal Octave is an 8-line poem based on the forms above:

Common Octave

x x x x a
x x x x b
x x x x x x c
x x x x b
x x x x a
x x x x b
x x x x x x c
x x x x b

Hymnal Octave

x x x x a
x x x x b
x x x x x x a
x x x x b
x x x x a
x x x x b
x x x x x x a
x x x x b                                                                                                       

Many thanks to the friends and members of Real Toads who generously share their photographic talent with us year round. Please remember to acknowledge the name of the photographer if you include her image on your blog.

© Isadora Gruye



The Sunday Challenge is posted on Saturday at noon CST to allow extra time for the form challenge.  Please provide a link on your blog back to Real Toads.  We stipulate that only poems written for this challenge may be added to the Mr Linky.  Management reserves the right to remove unrelated links, but invites you to share a poem of your choice on Open Link Monday.




10 comments:

  1. Love the form! Thank you Kerry. Merry Christmas!

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  2. Thank you Kerry! I'll be back, when the house is quiet and I can write~
    Yes, I'm a night owl... ;D

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  3. I can't believe it, thankstoyour form I've written a carol (ofsorts). it came together in about half an hour and with some work and a tune I reckon it might pass muster. thanksso much for helping me, I've wanted to do this for years.

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  4. whoo-wee, fun! thank you, Kerry!

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  5. Hey,

    Oh, I have so much to learn about poetry, but it fun to come over here, take a look see and try figure out why this x is red and that one is green...

    And there I was thinking that an iambic trimeter was a form of measurement used by Eastern Europeans...

    I'm going back to mulling the wine...

    Red or white?

    Chardonnay or Pinot Noir?

    So many choices, too little livers :)

    Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year to you and yours :)

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  6. With the help of an Izy photo, I've drummed up something simple from what moved me. I won't be catching up on reading and responding until after Christmas--I am so sorry! Thank you, artists and writers, for all you do and dream.

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  7. cripes, i'm so distracted that i forgot to post Izy's great photo that inspired my poem. it's there now, & thank you, Izy!

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  8. Thank you for the lesson on these different measures and stanza formats.

    It was a lot of fun.

    happy holidays!

    Randy @ thewritersvillage.wordpress.com

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  9. Kerry, I've been very busy and dontknow whether ican do this one, but wanted to thank you for your wonderful forms and inspiration. Sorry for crazy typing,onipad. Have a great holiday!

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  10. I enjoyed this form! Thank you Kerry. Merry Christmas!

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