POETRY: the Rondel

The Rondel:

• 13 or 14 lines, two rhymes
• 2 quatrains followed by either a quintet or sestet
• First two lines of the first stanza are the last lines of stanzas two and three
• Meter: open, but typically 8 syllables

VARIATIONS:

• Only the first line of stanza one is repeated at the end of stanza three

Associated Forms:

• Triolet
• Rondeau
• Rondelet

Worksheet:

RONDEL::

A

B
b
a

a
b
A
B

a
b
b
a
A
[B]

EXAMPLE:

Love comes back to his vacant dwelling,
      The old, old Love that we knew of yore!
      We see him stand by the open door,
    With his great eyes sad, and his bosom swelling.

    He makes as though in our arms repelling
      He fain would lie as he lay before;
    Love comes back to his vacant dwelling,
      The old, old Love that we knew of yore!

    Ah ! who shall help us from over-spelling
      That sweet, forgotten, forbidden lore?
      E'en as we doubt, in our hearts once more,
    With a rush of tears to our eyelids welling,
    Love comes back to his vacant dwelling

Henry Austin Dobson, 1840 -- 1921

Gabriel's Horn Poetry Anthology

to submit your formal poetry