Rondel (poem)

Verse form in 14th-century French poetry

For other uses, see Rondel.

A rondel is a verse form originating in French lyrical poetry of the 14th century (closely related to the rondeau, as well as the rondelet).[1] Specifically, the rondel refers to "a form with two rhymes, three stanzas, and a two-line refrain that repeats either two and a half or three times: ABba abAB abbaA(B)."[1]

## Definition

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Scholars have observed that the rondel is a relatively fluid construction, not always adhering to strict formal definitions. J.M. Cocking wrote that "the reader who comes across a poem bearing the title rondel by Banville, Rollinat, Dobson or Bridges and is curious enough to look for a definition of this form is likely to be more confused than enlightened."[2] Jeremy Butterfield, writing for Fowler's Dictionary of Modern English Usage, goes so far as to state that "there is no fixed metre" for the rondel.[3]

## Origins and evolution

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The origins of the rondel, however, are not so mysterious as its definition. The rondel first rose to prominence as a monophonic song in the 13th century and was associated with "round" folk dances. [4]

Later, famed Middle English poet Geoffrey Chaucer would adapt the French Rondel to serve as the basis for The Knight's Tale.[5] In the Chaucerian Rondel, two tercets followed by a quatrain comprise each stanza. Later, English poet and critic Algernon Charles Swinburne would devise the roundel, a form based on the rondeau rather than Chaucer's Rondel.

## See also

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* Pierrot lunaire (book)
* Rondeau (forme fixe)
* Rondelet, a shorter variant

## References

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1. ^ a b Greene, Roland, ed. (2017). "Rondel". The Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics (4th Online ed.). Princeton, New Jersey.: Princeton University Press. ISBN 9780190681173.
2. ^ Cocking, J..M. (1951). "The "Invention of the Rondel". French Studies. V (1): 49–55\. doi:10.1093/fs/v.1.49. ISSN 0016-1128.
3. ^ Butterfield, Jeremy, ed. (2015). "Rondel.". Fowler's Dictionary of Modern English Usage (4nd ed.). Oxford, United Kingdom.: Oxford University Press.
4. ^ Bjork, Robert E., ed. (2010). "Rondel". Oxford Dictionary of the Middle Ages. Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press.
5. ^ Eberhart, Lawrence (2014). "Chaucerian Roundel". Poets Collective.

## External links

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* Rondel of Merciless Beauty, a rondel in variant form by Geoffrey Chaucer

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Western medieval lyric forms

By regional tradition|

| Occitan|

* Alba (poetry)
* Arlabecca
* Aubade
* Canso
* Cobla esparsa
* Dansa
* Descort
* Devinalh
* Ensenhamen
* Enuig
* Gab
* Lo Boièr
* Maldit-comiat
* Partimen
* Pastorela
* Planh
* Salut d'amor
* Sestina
* Sirventes
* Tenso
* Torneyamen
* Tornada
* Trobar clus
* Trobar leu
* Trobar ric
* Viadera

|

French|

* Chanson de toile
* Formes fixes (Ballade, Rondeau, Virelai)
* Grand chant
* Pastourelle
* Reverdie
* Rondel
* Rondelet

Italian|

* Ballata
* Octave
* Ottava rima
* Petrarchan sonnet
* Sicilian octave

Welsh|

* Awdl
* Cerdd dafod
* Cywydd
* Traethodl

German|

* Leise
* Tagelied

Galician-Portuguese|

* Cantiga de amigo
* Cantiga de amor
* Cantigas de escárnio e maldizer

English|

* Madrigal

others|

* Kyrielle
* Triolet

By alphabetical order|

* Alba
* Arlabecca
* Aubade
* Awdl
* Ballade
* Ballata
* Canso
* Cantiga de amigo
* Cantiga de amor
* Cantigas de escárnio e maldizer
* Cerdd dafod
* Chanson de toile
* Cobla esparsa
* Cywydd
* Dansa
* Descort
* Devinalh
* Ensenhamen
* Enuig
* Formes fixes
* Gab
* Grand chant
* Kyrielle
* Leise
* Madrigal
* Maldit-comiat
* Octave
* Partimen
* Pastorela
* Pastourelle
* Petrarchan sonnet
* Planh
* Reverdie
* Rondeau
* Rondel
* Rondelet
* Salut d'amor
* Sestina
* Sicilian octave
* Sirventes
* Tagelied
* Tenso
* Tornada
* Torneyamen
* Traethodl
* Triolet
* Trobar clus
* Trobar leu
* Trobar ric
* Viadera
* Virelai

Authority control databases: National |

* United States
* Israel

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