The 15 Line Rondeau: How to Write One
©2017, Olan L. Smith
Most people know the poem On Flanders Fields by WW1 poet Dr. John McCrae but may not recognize the style, a 15-line rondeau.
In Flanders fields the poppies blow (a)
Between the crosses, row on row, (a)
That mark our place; and in the sky (b)
The larks, still bravely singing, fly (b)
Scarce heard amid the guns below. (a)
We are the Dead. Short days ago (a)
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow, (a)
Loved and were loved, and now we lie (b)
In Flanders fields. (R)
Take up our quarrel with the foe: (a)
To you from failing hands we throw (a)
The torch; be yours to hold it high. (b)
If ye break faith with us who die (b)
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow (a)
In Flanders fields. (R)
Dr. McCrae, as the story goes, wrote this poem, crumpled it up, and threw it away. His direct superior found it in the trash and told him it was good; the rest is history. Now, to the challenge of writing one—and it is a challenge, believe me. You have three stanzas of 5, 4, and 6 lines in iambic octameter or pentameter (8 or 10 iambic feet per line), plus a refrain or four syllables or five depending on the meter. It has to be something catchy, and it must stand alone as a line.
I find the 15-line rondeau is good for somber moods, but I have worked on pieces where I used humor. The main thing is the subject, 15 lines, meter, stanzas, and a catchy refrain. Don't worry if you don't get it perfect, work on it, and remember all the constraints you can fudge if it is for effect. Below are two examples of my 15-line rondeaus, My Heart Does Ache: Two Cousins and Bluebeard's Ghost. In the first, I stick with the classic iambic pentameter with the aabba a, a,b, R (repeat); a, a,b,b, a, R, rhyme scheme, and the second is still a 15-line rondeau but with a slightly different rhyme scheme of a,a,b,b,a c,c,d,R e,e,f,f,e,R.
Without the meter—any good meter—the rondeau will not work; it will just be a 15-line poem with a refrain. Meter is important, as are consistent rhyme schemes. The meter with 5, 4, and 6 lined stanzas is key to the 15-line divisions, but you have wiggle room for poetic license; just make it a good case because of your licensure as a poet.
My Heart Does Ache: Two Cousins
©10-22-14, Olan L. Smith
My heart does ache―she calls me currently. (a)
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HOW TO WRITE POETRY, BY OLAN L. SMITH
Non-FictionThe following articles are essays on how to write poetry, by Olan L. Smith, aka Cotton Jones. I was asked to write these article for Wattpad's Poets Pub's Handbook for Poets, 2017. I am collecting them here for my site so they may be easy to find. L...
