Pentad~new poetic form? Options

[4rum]

New poetry form ???
Pentesam~Any number of five line stanzas in iambic pentameter, rhyme pattern ababb.
Example: (First one ever).

Improperly Pok't
Woulds't poking come more noble in the dark
Where not a prying eye is wont to see
Or pok't in darkness might he miss the mark
And leave thee with abrasions on thy knee
Time spent, methinks, in practice is the key

[Larry]

Hi Sam,

Having acquiesced to the fact that your "Pentasam" is unique in a number of ways and not wishing to be argumentative, I thought I would include a few facts about Cinquains and their offshoots or perhaps the roots of the Cinquain itself.

Traditional Cinquains are based on syllables.
line 1 - 2 syllables
line 2 - 4 syllables
line 3 - 6 syllables
line 4 - 8 syllables
line 5 - 2 syllables

Modern Cinquains are based on word count in conjunction with words of a certain types.
line 1 - one word, usually a noun used as a title or name of the subject about which the poem is written
line 2 - two words, usually adjectives which describe the title
line 3 - three words, usually verbs which describe an action relating to the title
line 4 - four words describing a feeling about the title, usually in the form of a complete sentence
line 5 - one word referring back to the title

Most of the time in both types of Cinquains, there is no end-rhyme and thus, could be construed to be more prosaic in form.

I don't know where Tinker obtained information about the origination of this form but the American Cinquain was, in fact, invented in the late 1800's to a little before or around 1915 by Adelaide Crapsey and was inspired by the Japanese Haiku and Tanka forms. Other "five-line" poems such as the Sicilian quintain, the English quintain, the Spanish quintella, the Japanese tanka, and the French cinquain all predate her americanization of this form.

With the Sicilian quintain, the original form had no set form or meter, but later it was formalized using IP with the rhyme scheme of a b a b a. Not like the "Pentasam" which is ababb...

The French cinquain is most probably a foreshortened version of the French Ballade consisting of three Stanza of eight lines each with the rhyme scheme of ababbcbC, with recurrent "last-lines" in each successive stanza and which was then followed by a four line envoy with a bcbC rhyme scheme.

With the English quintain (probably derived from the French cinquain), there is no set measure or foot requirements but has the ababb rhyme scheme of the "Pentasam". Again, some of the parameters are met but not all.

The Cinquain is described as unique in its syllable count of each line; 2 4 6 8 2 and is nearly always unrhymed. The original form did not utilize IP (this would have been very difficult with varying syllable counts). Once again, unlike the "Pentasam".

As to Browning's "Porphyria's Lover"; this is an English Quintain in Tet - not a Cinquain (see above description of such).

Larkin's "Reasons For Attendance" breaks the proported Cinquain (actually another English Quintain) form in the first stanza - (4 lines), (no rhyme scheme - Identicals do not rhyme!), and (extra syls in LL1&3 - not pure IP).

Sam, I could go on but I won't. With your set parameters, your "Pentasam" may have similarities to other forms but, like the Cinquain, it is unique and thus, in my opinion a new form. I hope this is where discussion ends and appreciation begins.

Larry