Hola comrades,
The structure I’m working on at the moment is the ghazal form.
The Oxford English Dictionary (Gawd bless all who sail in it) notes that a ghazal is “generally erotic in nature, limited in the number of stanzas, and uses a recurring rhyme”.
It usually has a minimum of five couplets and maximum of fifteen. Each couplet should be structurally, thematically, and emotionally autonomous. Each line of the poem is of the same length (meter is not imposed in English).
The first couplet is a rhyme followed by a refrain. Subsequent couplets rhyme the second line only, therefore rhyming the second line with both lines of the first couplet. The final couplet usually refers to the author in the first or third person, or including the poet’s own name or a derivation of its meaning.
I have to say I feel ill at ease with ‘signing’ the poem in this way, but I’m trying to get over that. It feels a little forced.
I have been looking at some excellent notes and discussions on ghazal form.
Today’s tea is Silvertip White Tea – no caffeine, please, I’m British. Last night’s sleep was disturbed to say the least. I blame getting up at 3 am to write the ghazal that wouldn’t get out of my head.
Sorry to have to provide a link to the Daily Fail, but as it’s tea-related… apparently there is a new tea grown on panda droppings. Now I’m usually the first to ‘panda’ to Shiny New Things, but I don’t think I could ‘bear’ to try this one. Especially not at £22,000 per lb. (That’s the tea, not the panda poo, in case you were wondering.) If you don’t fancy reading the article there’s a shot of two pandas flailing around on the grass with their paws in the air, which gives this blog +10 Additional Cuteness XP. (Two pandas, one cup?! I’ll stop now.)
I think I should be worried by the idea that I want to tackle a crown of sonnets. Seven Petrarchan sonnets (98 lines in total), addressed to one person, each sonnet explores one aspect of a theme. Each final line is repeated as the first line of the succeeding sonnet. The first line of the first sonnet is repeated as the final line of the final sonnet.
I’m not sure there’s enough tea in the world for that.
If I ever write a crown of sonnets for you, I expect at least a cup of Russian Caravan in exchange. Possibly served from a samovar…
until next time,
Miss Ju
poetryandtea 