Gone Ashore, painting by Andrew Wyeth 2003
PREMIERE CONTEST
POETIC FORM: Iambic pentameter
I am calling for ONE unrhymed 5-line verse in iambic pentameter hypercatalectic: hendecasyllable (11 syllables): [*/|*/|*/|*/|*/|*], featuring the introduction to a hypnagogic dream.* You may use any poetic device at your disposal, other than rhyme. A title of your choice.
MY EXAMPLE OF A HYPNAGOGIC DREAM
THROUGH THE KEYHOLE (1st stanza)
Deceit of sun when rays are still but porous;
unwelcome thief, afford my dream more seconds.
Some dappled shadows flit through mystic keyhole;
alight upon pellucid remnant image.
I stifle yawn as thoughts embrace the vision.
ALL WINNERS (maximum of 10) in this Premiere Contest will receive an approx 3 MB PDF copy (via e-mail) of the booklet, DOWNTOWN – Poetic Devices, by Suzette Richards 2023.
The inspiration for the title of the book
Downtown
And you may find somebody kind to help and understand you
Someone who just like you and needs a gentle hand to
Guide them along …
Downtown, by Petula Clark
Released November 1964
See the contest page for the FULL details and provisos. I have supplied a handy tick list to help you keep track of the requirements.
As per usual, please use this BLOG to pose questions or make suggestions.
Happy quills!
Suzette
*hypnagogic dreams/hallucinations: These occur in the state between waking and sleeping. They are different from regular dreams, which occur during REM sleep. You may be having these if you’re seeing extremely realistic objects or events right before falling asleep, or before becoming fully awake after a period of sleep.
This is more akin to the fantasy genre. Although fairytales fall within the fantasy genre, I do NOT want a fairytale, therefore, do NOT use phrases such as ‘Once upon a time’, etc. The difference between a fairytale and fantasy: A fantasy has a focus on the development of a different world and systems of magic, while a fairytale simply assumes that magic exists and is set in our world or a facsimile equivalent to it.
Edit: Handy tip as to how to identify the stressed syllables: Using the app howmanysyllabkes.com: type in the word, for example, 'vision'. It will not only tell you how many syllables, but also tell you 'VI-sion' (I am using caps to show you the stressed syllable). When you want to use a word that has a stem/root word, type in that word only. NB a pronoun (which is unstressed) will show up as being stressed in this app, so you need to be a bit knowledgeable. For this reason, I have included the link to an older article, SCANSION, here on Poetry Soup dealing with this matter, as well as which monosyllabic words are stressed, and which are not. To get your eye in, you may read any of my SUZETTE SONNET sonnets written in iambic meter. Also, Craig Cornish's winning poem, Beyond the Veil, in my earlier The Moon by Day contest - his meter is spot on. My example poem is written in iambic meter throughout with the required 11 syllables, ending each line in an unstressed syllable. I hope this helps. And check my example on the content page.