Huitain, eight lines ~ one rhyme in four lines, two in two lines each Options

[JustDaniel]

Huitain was a French verse form of an eight-line stanza with 8 or 10 syllables in each line, often iambic. It was written with three rhymes, one of them utilized in four lines. There were a number of rhyme schemes, like ababbcbc and abbaacac. Un huitain enlace is an enclosed huitain which has a rhyme scheme: aabaabcc.

The huitain evidently was popular in France in the 15th and early 16th centuries with such poets as François Villon and Clément Marot.

The Huitain went by a syllable count of eight originally, but with the fondness for English iambic pentameter, has also been seen with 10 syllables. The variations are all variations on the rhyme scheme; however, there is one type of pattern all variations follow: There must be one set of four rhyming words, and two sets of two rhyming words.
French/English #1: a, b, a, b, b, c, b, c
French/English #2: a, b, b, a, a, c, a, c
Spanish #1: a, b, a, b, a, c, a, c
Spanish #2: a, b, b, a, a, c, c, a


Here are two examples of my more laid-back version of un huitain enlace ( aabaabcc ):


Huitain Puzzle

Some poets are hobbled with stricture;
but pacing yourself can help pick your
precisely-voiced sound in the words.
huitains could again be a fixture;
you’ve eight lines for painting a picture
restored from French countryside sherds.
So piece them together with patience,
if only to rid your frustrations.

© Daniel J Ricketts 31 Jan 2005


it’shuit to be a cat

An outside cat can make a mess
inside your house, it seems, unless
you let it out each time it asks
to run about and more or less
do what it wants. Then it will bless
its servant, in whose smile it basks;
so long as there’s sufficient food
and room to rest… all will be good.

© Daniel J Ricketts 08 March 2004


Now... enjoy experimenting with the form. Maybe we can revive it!

[Larry]

Metamorphosis

All Hallows Eve; that night is nearly here
when Christian people of a common faith
will celebrate with ghoul and ghost and wraith
by proffering free candies out of fear
to children squealing, “Trick or treat”! We hear
their voice in neighborhoods that still believe
the spirits of dead Saints will oft appear
All Hallows Eve.