Can you PANTOUM with me?
Post #241
April 7, 2019
April is National Poetry Month
Day 7:
“ CAN YOU PANTOUM WITH ME?”
Let’s write a Pantoum Poem today.
~ YOU CAN DO IT~
When I Write a Pantoum
by Lynda McKinney Lambert
I ask,
“Would you like to learn a new way to CREATE a poem?”
You say,
“Sure, I love a challenge, let’s go!”
Lets think for a moment about a FAVORITE WORD . We all have words we particularly like, and some we don’t like so much!
I’ve selected a favorite word, and you do it too!
My favorite word is “hirsch” and that word in German means, “deer.”
What is your favorite word?
Let’s see what we can create with our favorite word, and let’s write a PANTOUM with that word in it!
What is a Pantoum?
The Pantoum as we know it today, is a verse form that originated in nineteenth century France. It was influenced by the earlier Malayan Pantoum verse form.
Your PANTOUM will consist of a series of 4 lines, known as quatrains.
The first two lines of each quatrain present an image or an illusion.
The second two lines of each quatrain convey the theme and meaning and may not necessarily have an obvious connection with the first two lines. This is something that will bring pure magic to your quatrain and set the tone of the entire poem when you keep these two ideas in mind as you begin your poem.
HOW to GET STARTED on your Pantoum Poem?
I like this form because it repeats everything twice. This gives the poem a feeling of the passage of time; it slows down the pace and gives the sense that there is some “breathing space” when reading aloud. Breath is an important consideration in your poems. Try to write in a way that gives the reader a pause. The Pantoum will do this due to its continuous repetition.
This form is cyclical, not linear.
It’s the perfect form for themes such as Nature, the recurring seasons, history, mythology, and reflection on memories.
Here’s the basic overview of the Pantoum:
One_ Choose a theme that will work with the repetition of the form.
Two_ Group the lines into quatrains (4-line stanzas)
Three_ The last line of the LAST QUATRAIN in the Pantoum will be the SAME as the FIRST LINE in the first quatrain. That means, think carefully about your first line, because it will be the final image or thought on which your poem ends.
Four_ The poem may have any number of quatrains.
this gives you ample opportunities to write your story.
Five_ Lines can be any length.
Six_ The Pantoum can rhyme or not. I prefer for my poems to NOT rhyme because I don’t want to limit the possibilities or force restrictions on the imagery. I have a personal aversion to poems that rhyme unless they were written at an earlier time when it was common or customary to do it. To be honest, I really do not like a poem that rhymes! It is like chalk on the chalkboard to my ears.
If you choose to rhyme the Pantoum, it will be “a, b, a, b” in each quatrain.
***
How to Write the Form?
1_ Write a four line quatrain. Follow the advice I provide above.
It might help if you put a number at the beginning of each line, for your own use, to keep them in order. You can take the numbers away when you have finished the poem. I use a number and that gives me a grid, or structure on which I can develop my poem without becoming confused. I think of that number as a road map. You have now written lines 1, 2, 3, and 4 of your first quatrain.
2_ For the 2nd quatrain:
Lines 2 and 4 of the first quatrain will become lines 1 and 3 in the second quatrain. Then, write lines 1 and 3 of this quatrain. There, now you have your second quatrain already. Isn’t this fun? (If you are numbering the lines, they will look like this:
Here is the pattern for the changing quatrains:
1, 2, 3, 4,
2, 5, 4, 6
5, 7, 6, 8
7, 9, 8, 10
***
You will repeat this line pattern and create as many quatrains as you need for your poem. Your concluding quatrain is different than the quatrains that precede it.
How to END your Pantoum?
FINAL QUATRAIN
Line 1: Repeat line 2 of the quatrain above your FINAL quatrain.
Line 2: Repeat line 3 of the FIRST quatrain.
Line 3: Repeat Line 4 of the quatrain above the final quatrain.
Line 4: Repeat Line 1 of the first quatrain.
(Your Pantoum begins and ends with the same line.
For this reason, stop before you begin writing the Pantoum and think carefully how your poem will open in the first line. Is this how you want your poem to close in the final line? Make sure when you write that first opening line of your poem that it is powerful enough to be the ending thought in your poem.
Note: you may find other combinations for writing the last quatrain – this is just one of several ways that it can be arranged. This will get you started, and you can explore other options later if you want to continue writing in this form. I find the PANTOUM to be exciting!
–
My EXAMPLE: My favorite word, “Hirsch.” This German word means “Deer.”
–
“der Hirsch”
Aubergine fields reflect the Red Blood Moon.
Throughout, a bracing October night.
Transformed, Yellow Crownbeard’s lemon-flowers
Turned to thorny, dark, violet-brown seed pods.
Throughout a bracing October night
“I sense slight movements near the Willow tree.”
Turned to thorny, dark, violet-brown seed pods.
“Tonight, we watch the sky for celestial clues.”
“I sense slight movements near the Willow tree.”
Listen to swift waters surging downstream
“Tonight, we watch the sky for celestial clues.”
der Hirsch strides silently on damp fall leaves.
Listen to swift waters surging downstream
“Tonight, we watch the sky for celestial clues.”
der Hirsch strides silently on damp leaves
“I long to follow you – Come away my beloved!”
“Tonight, we watch the sky for celestial clues.”
Transformed, Yellow Crownbeard’s lemon-flowers
“I long to follow you – Come away my beloved!”
Aubergine fields reflect the Red Blood Moon.
_____ by Lynda McKinney Lambert_____
This article was first written in October 2014. Revised April 2019. Copyright 2014 and 2019. All Rights Reserved.
A version of this article first appeared on my blog, “Walking by Inner Vision.” You can find the original version, with photos, by clicking on this link:
http://lyndalambert.com/you-can-write-a-pantoum/
The Pantoum Poem can be a challenge but I think it is fun to write.
Follow the PATTERN for the PANTOUM, and you can do this form without tears.
You will be delighted when you have finished your first Pantoum.
Why not send me a copy of it and I would love to read it.
Tell me how it goes for you? OK?