Quintain Poetry Forms

Introduction
Sicilian Quintain
English Quintain
Quintilla
Cinquain

Introduction

There are many great poems that use a five line stanza, often called a Quintet. It can be any five line stanza poem of any meter or line length and is often mis-used because of it's alleged simplicity. The limerick springing to mind right away and is probably the most abused and misused poetry forms.

A Quintet can also be an object of beauty,such as when two lovers use it to converse as in a Tanka or a Cinquain and combined as a series of poems it can be dramatic as Coleridges use of it in the "Rime of the Ancient Mariner" or Philip Larkin's "Home is so sad"

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Sicilian Quintain

Written in Iambic Pentameter with a rhyme sequence of a.b.a.b.a. This form has been used by many great poets and like the Tanka it is a valid and wonderful poetry form in it's own write.
Lets look at an example of the form

And on and on it goes, on through endless time
Never letting go of the person we love.
Two souls always searching for a path sublime
Connected yet apart, always cognizant of
That to others we will always be, a paradigm.
Ryter Roethicle
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English Quintain

This is much more popular form of Quintet having no set measure or foot and has a rhyming scheme of a. b. a. b. b.

Fields we have planted
have ripened slowly to golden husk.
soon they will be harvested.
the air rich with wheaten musk
the fields once more return to dust.
Ryter Roethicle

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Quintella

This is a Spanish form of eight syllable (Iambic Tetrameter) lines. The rhyming scheme can vary in presentation ie a.a.b.b.a, a.b.b.a.a. etc but only two consecutive lines may have the same rhyme scheme.
In the Example below, the poet uses two couplets and links back to the starting rhyme in this very graphic poem:

a flickering flame, on the wall
the sound of a, coyotes call
the desert winds, singing at night
sandstorms dancing, in the moonlight
embracing lovers, to befall
Pat Bibbs

Here is a lovely example by Sharon where she uses a rhyme scheme of, a.b.b.a.a.

Your quiet cries echo loudly with pain
I feel you suffer in silence
Honest open hearts lend true credence
Comfort found in friendships gained
Toss me the key, let's free your chains
Sharon Mimi

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Cinquain

A very popular five-line stanza. Originally it was a very casual French form where the lines could be of any length, and the form could have either any rhyme scheme or no rhyme.
Now, however, when anyone refers to a Cinquain, they usually mean the version of form set out by Adelaide Crapsey.
This form still consists of five lines, but now has a specific syllable count starting with a two syllable line, and followed by three lines which increase by two syllables each time and the final line reverting to a two syllable line again. The example below might explain it better.
In addition, the lines are usually iambic, that is, the stresses fall on every other syllable, eg:

First two
And two make four
And two to four is six
And two and two to four is eight
The end.

Ryter Roethicle

Cinquain Chain

Many poets have written Cinquains as a sequential series of unlinked poems. As a variation to this it is possible to link them by using the last line of the first stanza as the first line of the next. The final stanza linking the last line back to the first line of the first stanza.

Sunshine

sunshine
warm on my face
tilted to catch spring breeze
refreshing, uplifting after
winter

winter
ice drapes on roofs
frigid air, frozen breath
car won't start, cloaked people scurry
cranky

cranky
suffocating
winter's chill seizes heart
seasonal depression's cure is
sunshine

Lori Martin

Cinquain Swirl

Taking the chain one step further the first line becomes the link between the former stanzas and swirling effect is created and the poem can go on 2, 4, 6, 8, 2, 4, 6, 8, 2, 4, 6, 8, 2, ad infinitum.

Sunshine

"Someday"
he'll say when asked
when we'll be together;
impatient, discouraged,
vision short-sighted, heart can't see
someday,
mythical time
where all hopes and dreams dwell
while future plans wrestle with Fate's
someday
rides a rainbow
into happier thoughts
then dances a Passe doble
someday
I'll find my smile,
my heart will stop aching,
life will be painted in pastels
someday

Lori Martin

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Limerick

There was a young lady of Lynn
Who was so excessively thin
That when she essayed
To drink lemonade
She slipped through the straw and fell in.

anonymous

Limericks probably get their name from the old custom of each person at a party being required to sing a nonsense verse off the top of their head followed by the chorus which included "Will you come up to Limerick?"
Though light and humorous in nature, Limericks can be more difficult to write than they at first appear to be and do require definite poetic skill. Limericks usually come in two forms: a five-line stanza, as in the above example, or a four-line form. Traditionally, the first and fifth lines ended in the same word, as in this anonymous example:

There once was a man from Nantucket
Who kept all his cash in a bucket;
But his daughter named Nan
Ran away with a man,
And as for the bucket, Nantucket.

This practice, however, is less common, though the effect is more striking if it can be pulled off. Regardless, the rhyme scheme is still aabba:
The other form is a four-line stanza, though the only real difference is typographical. The 3rd and 4th lines are combined, but the now internal rhyme is kept. Here are two examples from the undisputed master of the Limerick, Edward Lear:

There was an old man with a beard,
Who said, "It is just as I feared!-
- Two Owls and a Hen, four Larks and a Wren,
Have all built their nests in my beard!"
There was an old man who supposed,
That the street door was partially closed;
But some very large rats, ate his coats and his hats,
While that futile old gentleman dozed.

Notice that the first example uses the more traditional ending, while the second one doesn't.A limerick is a very structured poem that can be categorized as "short but sweet." They are usually humorous, and are composed of 5 lines, in an a. a. c. c. a. rhyming pattern. In addition, the first, second and fifth lines are usually 3 anapestic feet (uu/, 2 unstressed followed by 1 stressed) each. The third and fourth lines are usually 2 anapestic feet. An average limerick would be similar to this:

There once was a princess named Rose,
And where she is now, no one knows.
It is rumored she fled,
Or at least, so it's said,
From a prince with a very long nose.
-- Prinny Running

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