Post #241<\/p>\n
April 7, 2019<\/p>\n
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by Lynda McKinney Lambert<\/p>\n
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I\u2019ve selected a favorite word, and you do it too!<\/p>\n
My favorite word is \u00a0\u201chirsch\u201d and that word in German means, \u201cdeer.\u201d<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s see what we can create with our favorite word, and let\u2019s write a PANTOUM with that word in it!<\/p>\n
The Pantoum \u00a0as we know it today, is a verse form that originated in nineteenth\u00a0 century France.\u00a0 It was influenced by the earlier Malayan Pantoum verse form.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n The first two lines<\/strong><\/u><\/em>\u00a0of\u00a0each\u00a0<\/u>quatrain present an image or an illusion.<\/em><\/p>\n The second two lines<\/strong><\/u><\/em>\u00a0of\u00a0<\/em>each<\/u>\u00a0quatrain convey the theme and meaning and may not necessarily have an obvious connection with the first two lines. This is something that\u00a0 will bring pure magic to your quatrain and set the tone of the entire poem when you keep these two ideas in mind as you begin your poem.<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n I like this form because it repeats everything twice. This gives the poem a feeling of the passage of time; it slows down the pace and gives the sense that there is some \u201cbreathing space\u201d when\u00a0reading aloud. \u00a0Breath is an important consideration in your poems.\u00a0 Try to write in a way that gives the reader a pause.\u00a0 The Pantoum will do this due to its continuous repetition. \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n It\u2019s the perfect form for themes such as Nature, the recurring seasons, history, mythology, and reflection on memories.<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0One_ Choose a theme that will work with the repetition of the form.<\/em><\/p>\n Two_\u00a0 <\/strong><\/em>Group the lines into quatrains (4-line stanzas)<\/em><\/p>\n Three_ The last line of the LAST \u00a0QUATRAIN \u00a0in the \u00a0Pantoum \u00a0will be the SAME \u00a0as the FIRST LINE \u00a0in the first quatrain. That means, think carefully about your first line, because it will be the final image or thought \u00a0on which your poem ends.<\/em><\/p>\n Four_ The poem may have any number of quatrains.<\/em><\/p>\n this gives you ample opportunities to write your story.<\/p>\n Five_ Lines can be any length.<\/em><\/p>\n Six_ The Pantoum can rhyme or not. I prefer for my poems to NOT rhyme because I don\u2019t want to limit \u00a0the possibilities or force restrictions on the imagery. I have a personal aversion to poems that rhyme unless they were written at an earlier time when it was common \u00a0or customary to do it. To be honest, I really do not like a poem that rhymes! It is like chalk on the chalkboard to my ears. <\/em><\/p>\n If you choose to rhyme the Pantoum, it will be \u201ca, b, a, b\u201d<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/em>in each quatrain.<\/em><\/p>\n ***<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1_ Write a four line quatrain.\u00a0\u00a0Follow the \u00a0advice I provide above.<\/em><\/p>\n It might help if you put a number at the beginning of each line, for your own use, to keep them in order. You can take the numbers away when you have finished the poem. I use a number\u00a0 and that gives me a grid, or structure on which I can develop my poem without becoming confused. I think of that number as a road map. You have now written lines 1, 2, 3, and 4 of your first quatrain.<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n 2_ For the 2nd<\/span><\/sup><\/em>\u00a0<\/em>quatrain:<\/em><\/p>\n Lines 2 and 4 of the first quatrain will become lines 1 and 3 in the second quatrain. Then, write lines 1 and 3 of this quatrain. There, now you have your second quatrain already. Isn\u2019t this fun? (If you are numbering the lines, they will look like this:\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n Here is the pattern for the changing quatrains:<\/em><\/p>\n 1, 2, 3, 4,<\/em><\/p>\n 2, 5, 4, 6<\/em><\/p>\n 5, 7, 6, 8<\/em><\/p>\n 7, 9, 8, 10<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n ***<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0You will repeat this line pattern and create as many quatrains as you need for your poem. Your\u00a0concluding \u00a0quatrain\u00a0 is different than the quatrains that precede it.<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n FINAL QUATRAIN<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Line 1:\u00a0 Repeat line 2 of the quatrain above your FINAL quatrain.<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/em>Line 2:\u00a0 Repeat line 3 of the FIRST quatrain.<\/em><\/p>\n Line 3: Repeat Line 4 of the quatrain above the final quatrain.<\/em><\/p>\n Line 4:\u00a0 Repeat Line 1 of the first quatrain.<\/em><\/p>\n (Your Pantoum begins and ends<\/em>\u00a0with the same line.<\/strong><\/u><\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0For this reason, stop before you begin writing the Pantoum and think carefully how your poem will open in the first line. Is this how you want your poem to close in the final line?<\/em>\u00a0\u00a0Make sure when you write that first opening line of your poem that it is powerful enough to be the ending thought in your poem.<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n Note: you may find other combinations for writing the\u00a0last \u00a0quatrain \u2013 this is\u00a0 just one of several ways that it can be arranged. This will get you started, and you can explore other options later if you want to continue writing in this form. I find\u00a0 the PANTOUM to be exciting!<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0–<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0–<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Aubergine fields reflect the Red Blood Moon.<\/p>\n Throughout, a bracing October night.<\/p>\n Transformed, Yellow Crownbeard\u2019s lemon-flowers<\/p>\n Turned to thorny, dark, violet-brown seed pods.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Throughout a bracing October night<\/p>\n \u201cI sense slight movements near the Willow tree.\u201d<\/p>\n Turned to thorny, dark, violet-brown seed pods.<\/p>\n \u201cTonight, we watch the sky for celestial clues.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI sense slight movements near the Willow tree.\u201d<\/p>\n Listen to swift waters surging downstream<\/p>\n \u201cTonight, we watch the sky for celestial clues.\u201d<\/p>\n der Hirsch strides silently on damp fall leaves.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Listen to swift waters surging downstream<\/p>\n \u201cTonight, we watch the sky for celestial clues.\u201d<\/p>\n der Hirsch strides silently on damp leaves<\/p>\n \u201cI long to follow you \u2013 Come away my beloved!\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cTonight, we watch the sky for celestial clues.\u201d<\/p>\n Transformed, Yellow Crownbeard\u2019s lemon-flowers<\/p>\n \u201cI long to follow you \u2013 Come away my beloved!\u201d<\/p>\n Aubergine fields reflect the Red Blood Moon.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n _____ by Lynda McKinney Lambert_____<\/p>\n This article was first written in October 2014. Revised \u00a0April 2019. Copyright 2014 and 2019. All Rights Reserved.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n A version of this article first appeared on my blog, “Walking by Inner Vision.\u201d You can find the original version, with photos, by clicking on this link:<\/p>\n http:\/\/lyndalambert.com\/you-can-write-a-pantoum\/<\/a><\/p>\n\u00a0Your PANTOUM will consist of a series of\u00a0 4 lines, known as quatrains.<\/em><\/h2>\n
HOW to GET STARTED on your Pantoum Poem?<\/h2>\n
This form is cyclical, not linear.\u00a0<\/em><\/h3>\n
\nHere\u2019s the basic overview of the Pantoum:<\/em><\/strong><\/h2>\n
How to Write the Form?<\/strong><\/em><\/h2>\n
How to END your Pantoum?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
My EXAMPLE:\u00a0 My favorite word, \u201cHirsch.\u201d\u00a0 This German word means “Deer.”<\/em><\/h2>\n
\u201cder Hirsch\u201d<\/em><\/h2>\n