Half-Eleven

 

 

One poem in my newly invented “Half-Eleven” form.

Some people have been telling me that my slight obsession with metre (my problem, not yours!) makes my contests a little tricky.

So I’ve been working on a simple little form that works equally well whether you like your poetry sing-songy or free as a bird.

I’ve called the form the “Half-Eleven”. Please bear with me and read the three examples I have lovingly prepared for you - you’ll see it is far simpler than it sounds!

The form consists of four rhyming couplets and one final rhyming tercet (three-liner).

There are two options for the final tercet.

Syllable counts and rhyme scheme as follows:

11 (A)
5* (a)

11 (B)
5* (b)

11 (C)
5* (c)

11 (D)
5* (d)

And then a closing tercet of EITHER:
11 (A) (Exact repeat of line 1)
5* (a)
5* (a)

OR:
5* (a)
5* (a)
11 (A) (Exact repeat of line 1)

*5 syllables is best, but the odd sixth syllable is allowed in these shorter lines if you deem it absolutely Poetically Necessary!

The form also requires you to luxuriate in those long, eleven syllable lines. Include some interesting word choices (not necessarily words that few people will know the meaning of - more everyday words used in unusual ways) and interesting combinations of word-sounds - give me some stimulating mouth-moments people!

Example of a less rhythmical style, with an 11-5-5 closing tercet:

Giving in to it

Examples of a more rhymical style, one with a 5-5-11 closing tercet, and one with a 5-6-11 closing tercet:

Hot Pepper

Spider

Got it! Have a go! Honestly I found it quite an easy form to write in. Happy half-elevening!

Please note: I do NOT use howmanysyllables.com to count syllables! I use my fingers (and one toe)! So please don't tailor a poem to suit howmanysyllables' whims. I will recognise words like "fire" which can have 1 or 2 syllables and adjust my count accordingly. Please trust me to apply some common sense!