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:
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.
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