Lauranelle Poetry

Synopsis

The Lauranelle was created by Laura Lamarca. It is a combination of the Villanelle and Terzanelle poetry forms. Lauranelle's are made up of 22 lines of iambic pentameter (10 syllables alternating unstressed then stressed). Lines 1 and 3 are repeated at the end of the poem in lines 21 and 22 respectively. The first 6 stanzas are tercets with rhyming first and third lines. The second line of the tercet should rhyme with the first line of the next tercet (aba bcb cdc ded efe fgf). Finally, the last four lines make up a quatrain with the repeated lines (ggaa).

My Tips, Tricks, & Opinions

Feel free to leave your thoughts and advice in the comment section below.

Overview

I've never tried to write a Terzanelle—that's still on my to do list—but I have attempted the Villanelle. The hardest thing about a Villanelle is choosing the right word for the end of a line, because you know most of the poem has to rhyme with that one word. The Terzanelle eliminates this problem, but it adds the problem of iambic pentameter. I've always struggled with iambic meter. As a southerner, I find I often pronounce words differently which throws off my stresses. For me it takes a while to get into writing iambs, particularly in pentameter (it never fails that my "complete" line only has 8 syllables). Luckily, iambic pentameter in tercets feels a little easier than iambic pentameter in couplets. For me, this is one of the trickier types, but I did like the challenge.

What I Don't Like

This is one of the styles I need lots of criticism on. Content gets lost as I struggle to keep up with both the rhyme scheme and the meter. Before I could feel comfortable with this type I think I would need an "expert" critiquing the basic style so I could concentrate on content. Overall I think this is an interesting style and perhaps as I have more time I'll perfect my iambic pentameter for this style. In the mean time, I'll probably be leaving this style on the shelf.

Examples

Coming Soon

References

1. Lawrencealot. "Lauranelle". All Poetry; visited August 2014
2. "Lauranelle". Shadow Poetry; visited August 2014
3. Lawrence Eberhart. "Lauranelle". Poets Collective. February 24, 2013

The Perils of Negative Thoughts

Angry words of modern men fall flat
The weight of adverse thoughts plague empty minds
While the joys of life slip away from that...

Time is wasted, whittled and undefined--
Leaves trouble to brew in unattended gaps,
Devours and defines the rot of mankind.

Something about this emotion unwraps
From inside minds unstable and impure--
Takes over the soul of whom it entraps.

Ask not the soul this trouble we let lure
Why oft we fall--unconcerned unattached
Our emotions run away strong but unsure?

Frivolous and trivial be detached,
Wherefore positive thought can entertain
Free from this sorrow we've already hatched.

We stand with idle minds free from gain
Writhe at the mercy of the fear it reminds
As though we are unable to sway the brain.

We press on in spite this unsightly rut--
Frantic we argue, we try to rebut
Angry words of modern men--fall flat
While the joys of life slip away like that...