Deibide Baise Fri Toin

Deibide Baise Fri Toin

A similar name, but not much in common with the common-or-garden deibide, apart from being Irish. I don't know how to pronounce this one, or the literal meaning of its name, but here's what the verse form looks like:

Against Vegetation

Move! Without

doubt it helps to get about.

Except for triffids, a plant

can’t.

Poor daisies!

In peril as cow grazes,

prospects of survival not

hot.

Such fodder

can't flee even a plodder;

inferior to the least

beast.

No better,

the shiftless non-go-getter,

potato sat on a couch.

Ouch!

The syllable count is 3, 7, 7, 1 and it rhymes aabb. It is essential to the form that the a rhymes have two syllables, and the b rhymes have one syllable. There are a fair number of Irish forms - some of them with longer and more unpronounceable names - and most of them stipulate the type of rhyme as precisely as this.

Pasted from <http://volecentral.co.uk/vf/deibhidhe.htm>

Thanks to Bob Newman for his wonderful Volecentral resource site.

My example poem

Wet Cats     (Deibide Baise Fri Toin)

Don't worry

although they're sometimes furry

it's okay to get a pet

wet.

Don't insist

on fresh fish they can't resist;

cats can convert once they've tried

fried.

I'm inclined

to think cats are not refined,

but just aloof. I don't know

though.

© Lawrencealot - April 11, 2014

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Deibhidhe

Deibhidhe

The deibhidhe is an Irish form. In English it is more often spelt deibide, but you still have to pronounce it jayvee. (The Irish language uses a lot of unlikely-looking clusters of consonants, and most of them seem to be either pronounced as "v" or not pronounced at all. Exercise: pronounce the name of the poet Medbh McGuckian.) 

Here's a deibhidhe about the time I spent working in the oil industry: 

No, Watercolour...

Of a subject dire I sing:

Reservoir Engineering

I could never understand -

A queer and quaggy quicksand!

I was sent away to learn

About it in climes northern,

But while at Herriot-Watt

My zeal did not run riot.

All the years I worked in oil,

My conscience was in turmoil.

I floundered through the fog

Like a bogged-down wan warthog.

My colleagues would make a fuss.

Those strata - were they porous?

It bothered me not a whit

How the drill bit grey granite.

The mysteries of the rock

Made me feel like a pillock.

Underground movements of gas

Alas, my mind can’t compass.

I don’t work there any more,

Redundancy my saviour.

Not a tragedy at all -

A small but welcome windfall!

There was a TV advert for an airline some years ago which featured the following exchange between two passengers on a flight to Aberdeen. Large outgoing American: "D'you work in oil?" Weedy-looking bespectacled Brit: "No, watercolour." Hence the title. Herriot-Watt University is situated near Edinburgh and offers week-long courses on such arcane subjects as Reservoir Engineering, cleverly sugaring the pill by making them coincide with the Edinburgh Festival. 

As for the form, each stanza has 4 lines of 7 syllables each, rhyming aabb, and both of these rhymes are deibide rhymes i.e. in the first line of each rhyming pair, the rhyming syllable is stressed, and in the second it is unstressed.

The form also demands an aicill rhyme between lines 3 and 4 i.e. the word at the end of line 3 rhymes with a word somewhere in the middle of line 4 (as whit/bit, gas/alas above). 

Finally, there must be alliteration between the last word of each stanza and the preceding stressed word (as quaggy quicksand, welcome windfall above).

This amounts to a lot of constraints for the fourth line to satisfy in the space of only 7 syllables. I found this form a tough one, except when writing the last stanza. Perhaps I was getting into the swing of it by then.

Thanks to Bob Newman for his wonderful Volecentral resource site.

My example poem

Night Nymph     (Deibhidhe)

I was mesmerized, entranced

when she stood in the entrance.

Just one glance at her'd confur

instantly a pure pleasure

The nymph caused my heart to sing

and set my nerves to dancing

I viewed her in near undress

and dreamed she'd be my mistress.

But it was not meant to be,

this maiden oh so pretty.

for she was gone with the sun

a nighttime visit vision.

© Lawrencealot - April 10, 2014

art by Herbert James Draper [d. 1920]

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Cro Cumaisc Etir Casbairdni Ocus Lethrannaigecht

Cro Cumaisc Etir Casbairdni Ocus Lethrannaigecht

This is an Irish verse form. The name means "Sorry, the translator can't take your call at the moment". No, I'm kidding. I have no idea what it means, and not much idea how to pronounce it, though I expect there will be a few "v" sounds in there somewhere. I chose to tackle it because it had the longest name of any in Skelton's book.

The form calls for 4-line stanzas rhyming abab, with syllable counts of 7, 5, 7, 5. Being Irish, the lengths of the rhyming words are also specified, in this case as 3, 1, 3, 1. Note though that the 3's don't necessarily indicate triple rhymes; the requirement is simply that the rhyming words are three syllables long. The stress could be on any of the three syllables.

This example was provoked (I hesitate to say inspired) by the "MP's expenses" scandal/hysteria of 2009. It amounts to propaganda for the Official Monster Raving Loony Party, a long-established and respected force in British politics. At the time of the 1983 general election, when party splits were fashionable, there was a rival group called the Green Chicken Alliance.

Pasted from <http://volecentral.co.uk/vf/ccecol.htm>

Thanks to Bob Newman for his wonderful Volecentral resource site

My Example Poem

Suave     (Cro Cumaisc Etir Casbairdni Ocus Lethrannaigecht)

The man was not a millionaire

but ladies sought him out

for he appeared most debonair

and kind without a doubt.

He was at all times affable

with handshake or a hug,

and the idea was laughable

to picture him as smug.

His notions all seemed prevalent

well thought out and germane,

considered and most relevant

and certainly urbane.

He has a style to emulate,

a model for my role.

I'll have a cause to celebrate

If I achieve that goal.

© Lawrencealot - April 10, 2014

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Ochtfochlach

The ochtfochlach is an Irish verse form consisting of an eight-line stanza with a consistent but unspecified length and meter. The rhyme scheme is aaab cccb.

The Ochtfochlach

I like the form and rhythm, too;

It fits and wears like well-made shoe.

With luck it lasts a whole life through

And looks no worse for wear.

Iambic feet can march along

And lend their cadence to a song

With beats that switch from soft to strong,

A pace that's light to bear.

Pasted from <http://lonestar.texas.net/~robison/ochtfochlach.html>

My example poem

Fochlach It   (Ochtfochlach)

The Ochtingfochlach rocks

it's not some damn flummox;

I penned this wearing socks,

and yes, without my shoes.

Define most any style

this form will soon beguile

and render forth a smile.

So what is there to lose?

© Lawrencealot - December 4, 2013

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There is no requirement for meter or line-length, though I chose iambic trimeter for this write. 

Rionnaird tri-nard

Rionnaird tri-nard (RUN-ard tree-nard), traditional Irish quatrain 

form with 6-syllable lines ending in 2-syllable words, 

L2 and L4 riming and L3 in consonance thereto (meaning in this case, 

I gather, vowel-agreement rather than consonant-agreement, 

having at one time meant the same thing as assonance), 

alliteration in every line (ideally between the end-word and the 

preceding stressed word), two cross-rimes in the 2nd couplet,

and the 1st stressed word of L2 alliterating with the last syllable of L1.

 Being Irish, it requires the dunedh, to end where it began 

(first word, phrase, or line repeated in closing). 

Example Poem

Promise

Inviting just by sight,

almost tinsel trapping,

stilletoed toes tripping,

in her sheer hose wrapping.

She's surely sensuous;

Suggests sex is waiting,

waits while will is wilting.

Still fates are Inviting.

(c) Lawrencealot - May 17, 2012

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Rannaigheacht mhor

Rannaigheacht mhor (ron-á-yach voor, the ‘great versification’) is an ancient Irish quatrain using 7-syllable lines with 1-syllable end-words rimed abab—a-rime can be assonance, but b-rime must be rime, here meaning perfect ‘correspondence’ or Comharda, in which consonants of the same class (p-t-k, m-n-ng etc.) are interchangeable—plus alliteration in every line—preferably between end-word and preceding stressed word (always thus in each quatrain’s closing couplet)—with at least two cross-rimes per couplet (assonance okay in leading couplets), one being L3’s end-word rimed within L4.  Being Irish, it requires the dunedh(first word, phrase, or line repeated in closing).  Each quatrain, as well as each leading couplet, must be able to stand on its own.  Modern specs for this form are given here:

http://www.thepoetsgarret.com/celtic1.html#mho">http://www.thepoetsgarret.com/celtic1.html#mho</a>

Example Poem

Great Versifiers

Men sometimes are dreamers, lost,

lust-driven schemers who, when

hunting, deceive.  With trust  tossed

at great cost; none believe men.

(c) Lawrencealot - May 16, 2012

No template can be more than a rough guide, but here one is:

Note here, I failed to use proscribed alliteration in the final line! Damn.

And upon sober review I find that this fails also, in that the first

couplet cannot stand alone.  Someone competent, please provide me

with a perfect example.  I shall replace this.

Rannaigheacht bheag (ran-á-yah voig)

 A traditional Irish quatrain of 7-syllable lines ('old-school'),   or 8-6-8-6, ending in 2-syllable words all linked by consonance  (in its old  meaning, 'having the same vowels'),   with at least two cross-rimes in each couplet   (can be consonance in first but should be rime in second) 

 and alliteration in every line, which in the second couplet   must be between the last two stressed words in each line,  and with the dunedh, of course (ending in the same word, phrase,   or line it began with).

  

 As with the other Irish forms, a template can show you the syllable count and a bit more,  but cannot be definitive as so much variation

 is possible while meeting the formal  requirements.

 In the example below some words not hi-lited could have been as serving one or more rules.

Rannaigheacht bheag (ran-á-yah voig)

A traditional Irish quatrain of 7-syllable lines ('old-school'),

 or 8-6-8-6, ending in 2-syllable words all linked by consonance 

(in its old meaning, 'having the same vowels'),

 with at least two cross-rimes in each couplet

 (can be consonance in first but should be rime in second) 

and alliteration in every line, which in the second couplet

 must be between the last two stressed words in each line, 

and with the dunedh, of course (ending in the same word, phrase,

 or line it began with).

Poem Example

Ron-a'yach Rhyme

Writing rhyming words, giving

living lines, fit for fighting

biting boredom while living

in style with witty writing.

 (c) Lawrencealot - May 16,2012

Visual Template

As with the other Irish forms, a template can show you the syllable count and a bit more, but cannot be definitive as so much variation

is possible while meeting the formal  requirements.

In the example below some words not hi-lighted could have been as serving one or more rules.

Rannaigheacht mhor (ron-á-yach voor)

Rannaigheacht mhor (ron-á-yach voor, the ‘great versification’) is an ancient Irish quatrain using 7-syllable lines with 1-syllable end-words rimed abab—a-rime can be assonance, but b-rime must be rime, here meaning perfect ‘correspondence’ or Comharda, in which consonants of the same class (p-t-k, m-n-ng etc.) are interchangeable—plus alliteration in every line—preferably between end-word and preceding stressed word (always thus in each quatrain’s closing couplet)—with at least two cross-rimes per couplet (assonance okay in leading couplets), one being L3’s end-word rimed within L4.  Being Irish, it requires the dunedh(first word, phrase, or line repeated in closing).  Each quatrain, as well as each leading couplet, must be able to stand on its own.  Modern specs for this form are given here:

http://www.thepoetsgarret.com/celtic1.html#mho">http://www.thepoetsgarret.com/celtic1.html#mho</a>

Example Poem

Great Versifiers

Men sometimes are dreamers, lost,

lust-driven schemers who, when

hunting, deceive.  With trust  tossed

at great cost; none believe men.

(c) Lawrencealot - May 16, 2012

No template can be more than a rough guide, but here one is: