Englyn Byr Cwca: Poetic Forms
Poetic forms are an opportunity to play poetic games with structure. Today, we look at the englyn byr cwca, a Welsh tercet form that incorporates both end and internal rhymes.
Poetic forms are an opportunity to play poetic games with structure. Today, we look at the englyn byr cwca, a Welsh tercet form that incorporates both end and internal rhymes.
Englyn Byr Cwca Poems
Like the englyn cyrch, the englyn byr cwca is a Welsh form that uses both end and internal rhymes. But there are quite a few differences beyond this. It has the following guidelines:
- poem comprised of tercets (from one tercet to infinity) or 3-line stanzas
- first line has 7 syllables, second has 10, and third has 6
- lines 1 and 3 end rhyme with each other
- line 2 rhymes with a syllable somewhere in the middle of the 3rd line
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Here’s my attempt at an englyn byr cwca:
sun, by Robert Lee Brewer
burn deep into every night
& illuminate every single day
with your rays of pure light
Robert Lee Brewer is Senior Editor of Writer's Digest, which includes managing the content on WritersDigest.com and programming virtual conferences. He's the author of 40 Plot Twist Prompts for Writers: Writing Ideas for Bending Stories in New Directions, The Complete Guide of Poetic Forms: 100+ Poetic Form Definitions and Examples for Poets, Poem-a-Day: 365 Poetry Writing Prompts for a Year of Poeming, and more. Also, he's the editor of Writer's Market, Poet's Market, and Guide to Literary Agents. Follow him on Twitter @robertleebrewer.
