The Rispetto is a 15th century Italian verse form. The name was taken from the purpose of the poetry, which was the poet paying respects to his lady love.
It consists of two rhyme quatrains with strict meter. The meter is usually iambic tetrameter with a rhyme scheme of ababccdd, abababcc, or abab cddc. A Heroic Rispetto is written in iambic pentameter, usually featuring the same rhyme scheme.
Meter is the organization of speech rhythms (stresses) into regular patterns. Poetry is organized by the division of each line of verse into "feet," metric units which each consist of a particular arrangement of strong and weak stresses. The most common metric unit is the iambic foot, in which an unstressed syllable is followed by a stressed one.
Meter is also determined by the number of feet in a line. A line with five feet is called pentameter; thus, a line of five iambs is known as "iambic pentameter" (the most common metrical form in English poetry).
The most common line lengths are:
trimeter: three feet
tetrameter: four feet
pentameter: five feet
hexameter: six feet (an "Alexandrine" when iambic)
heptameter: seven feet (a "fourteener" when iambic)
Though typically the Rispetto only had one stanza, it was not uncommon to have more. I, of course, chose to stick with one for my example. :-)
Unfated
We met by chance, it was not planned;
A glance, a touch, and we were lost
There’s no denying love’s demand -
We did not think about the cost.
We should have known life isn’t fair
When perfect love became despair;
Two lovers torn apart again,
Where once was love is naught but pain.
Jul 29, 2010
Jul 28, 2010
Jul 27, 2010
Fairy Tale Origins - Part XI
Cinderella, Part Two
For part one, go HERE
When someone talks about a “fairy tale ending” they’re almost always referring to the story of Cinderella. How many little girls dream of rising up and becoming a beautiful princess? And who doesn’t want to live happily ever after?
This story has been told across cultures for thousands of years before being made into numerous Hollywood movies. The identity of the Fairy Godmother changes often, and in fact she first showed up in Perrault's version, along with the pumpkin coach and the mice attendants which were all used in the Disney version.
One thing the early versions have in common, is that they revolve around the death of the true mother and the entrance of the wicked step-mother with her own daughters. The step-child is treated like a slave, while the step-sisters live in luxury. There is no fairy godmother to save the day, just the powerful magic of the dead.
Some scholars believe Perrault confused "vair" (an Old French word for "ermine or fur") with "verre" (Old French for "glass") when describing Cinderella’s shoes. Of course a prince looking for the owner of a “glass” slipper is very different from a prince who’s looking for the girl with the perfect “fur” slipper. Perhaps the prince wasn’t so noble after all. Other scholars believe that the tiny glass slipper can be equated to a small vagina, symbolizing virginity and the midnight curfew a taboo on pre-marital sex.
As with most fairy tales, the father is an ambiguous figure at best. Is he so blind that he can’t see what’s being done to his first daughter? Or does he just not want to cause disharmony in his new household? Yet he is the underlying, organizing principle. Without the absent father, there would have been no conflict, and therefore no story, much as in Snow White.
It’s not surprising that the Victorians preferred Perrault’s version of the fairy tale. It was a gentler, more elegant story. Cinderella is more virtuous, and less clearly self-motivated. The step-sisters are not obsessively cruel, merely vain and selfish. Not only does Cinderella forgive them in the end, she also finds husbands for them.
At its heart, Cinderella is a story concerned with relationships between women: between Cinderella and her mother; between the step-mother and her daughters; and between Cinderella and her step-family. It is not to her father that Cinderella turns for help — help must come from another source, such as the mother's ghost or the bones of a fish; a giant stork in a Javanese version; a talking doll in a Russian variant; the king of the frogs in an African version; or from spiders, eagle–women and spirits in Native American renditions.
Like most fairy tales, not only has the story changed subtly over the years, so has the character of Cinderella herself. She began as an intelligent, clever girl who overcame great hardships before she received magical assistance. Even then she needed to keep her wits about her to reach her happily ever after. Unfortunately, by the time Disney made his animated version in 1949, Cinderella had devolved into a long-suffering, passive character who would have been lost without her fairy godmother and little animal friends.
Perhaps the most disturbing aspect of the Cinderella fairy tale is the lie it perpetuates in the “happily ever after”. The term “fairy tale” itself has come to refer to a lie or fanciful untruth and Cinderella is no exception. “They lie to us by reducing our dreams to simplistic formulas that empower no one, neither those who wait for Happily Ever After to arrive on the back of a shining white horse, or those who seek it in a pretty face. By contrast, the oldest Ash Girl tales use simple language to tell stories that are not really simple at all. They go to the very heart of truth. They've spoken the truth for a thousand years.” From Terri Windling’s Cinderella: Ashes, Blood, and the Slipper of Glass.
We all would like good to triumph, evil be punished, and justice prevail. Our sense of justice and fair play is rewarded in the story of Cinderella. She is treated badly by her step-mother and step-sisters but, though they seem to be in charge and “winning” at the beginning of the story, they are relegated to misery and disappointment at the end. Those who treat others badly do not prosper in fairy tales.
When someone talks about a “fairy tale ending” they’re almost always referring to the story of Cinderella. How many little girls dream of rising up and becoming a beautiful princess? And who doesn’t want to live happily ever after?This story has been told across cultures for thousands of years before being made into numerous Hollywood movies. The identity of the Fairy Godmother changes often, and in fact she first showed up in Perrault's version, along with the pumpkin coach and the mice attendants which were all used in the Disney version.
One thing the early versions have in common, is that they revolve around the death of the true mother and the entrance of the wicked step-mother with her own daughters. The step-child is treated like a slave, while the step-sisters live in luxury. There is no fairy godmother to save the day, just the powerful magic of the dead.
Some scholars believe Perrault confused "vair" (an Old French word for "ermine or fur") with "verre" (Old French for "glass") when describing Cinderella’s shoes. Of course a prince looking for the owner of a “glass” slipper is very different from a prince who’s looking for the girl with the perfect “fur” slipper. Perhaps the prince wasn’t so noble after all. Other scholars believe that the tiny glass slipper can be equated to a small vagina, symbolizing virginity and the midnight curfew a taboo on pre-marital sex.
As with most fairy tales, the father is an ambiguous figure at best. Is he so blind that he can’t see what’s being done to his first daughter? Or does he just not want to cause disharmony in his new household? Yet he is the underlying, organizing principle. Without the absent father, there would have been no conflict, and therefore no story, much as in Snow White.
It’s not surprising that the Victorians preferred Perrault’s version of the fairy tale. It was a gentler, more elegant story. Cinderella is more virtuous, and less clearly self-motivated. The step-sisters are not obsessively cruel, merely vain and selfish. Not only does Cinderella forgive them in the end, she also finds husbands for them.
At its heart, Cinderella is a story concerned with relationships between women: between Cinderella and her mother; between the step-mother and her daughters; and between Cinderella and her step-family. It is not to her father that Cinderella turns for help — help must come from another source, such as the mother's ghost or the bones of a fish; a giant stork in a Javanese version; a talking doll in a Russian variant; the king of the frogs in an African version; or from spiders, eagle–women and spirits in Native American renditions.
Like most fairy tales, not only has the story changed subtly over the years, so has the character of Cinderella herself. She began as an intelligent, clever girl who overcame great hardships before she received magical assistance. Even then she needed to keep her wits about her to reach her happily ever after. Unfortunately, by the time Disney made his animated version in 1949, Cinderella had devolved into a long-suffering, passive character who would have been lost without her fairy godmother and little animal friends.
Perhaps the most disturbing aspect of the Cinderella fairy tale is the lie it perpetuates in the “happily ever after”. The term “fairy tale” itself has come to refer to a lie or fanciful untruth and Cinderella is no exception. “They lie to us by reducing our dreams to simplistic formulas that empower no one, neither those who wait for Happily Ever After to arrive on the back of a shining white horse, or those who seek it in a pretty face. By contrast, the oldest Ash Girl tales use simple language to tell stories that are not really simple at all. They go to the very heart of truth. They've spoken the truth for a thousand years.” From Terri Windling’s Cinderella: Ashes, Blood, and the Slipper of Glass.
We all would like good to triumph, evil be punished, and justice prevail. Our sense of justice and fair play is rewarded in the story of Cinderella. She is treated badly by her step-mother and step-sisters but, though they seem to be in charge and “winning” at the beginning of the story, they are relegated to misery and disappointment at the end. Those who treat others badly do not prosper in fairy tales.
Jul 26, 2010
Manumission Monday
manumission ~ emancipation; freedom from slavery
You know, last week started out really well . . . I got rid of some of the excess books from my office and straightened up the papers. Giving up the games was much easier than I thought it would be, for the first half of the week anyway. As for the reading for reward purposes only . . . well, let’s just say I have five more books sitting on my desk to be added to the list for the reading challenge (three of which I read this weekend).
On the other hand, I did get all my posts done and posted in a timely fashion, and I even did a bonus post on Saturday for a cool hand-writing meme.
So, while I seem to be getting the game addiction somewhat under control, the reading for pleasure only didn’t last long. I think my mistake was reading while I ate lunch – once I started reading I wouldn’t want to stop. So this week we’re going to try not reading until after my writing and editing is done.
This Week’s Goals:
Tuesday: Part XI of my fairy tale series, which is part two of Cinderella.
Wednesday: A new hunk for your viewing pleasure.
Thursday: This week’s Passion for Poetry is the Italian form of Rispetto.
Friday: Chapter 48 of the Space Opera. Who’s waiting for them at the space port, friend or foe? And more importantly, what had Nakeisha being going to tell Chaney right before they were rescued?
Elsewhere in my week:
I have no meetings this week. Be still my heart!
August will soon be upon us (where has the time gone??) and I need to start choosing the poems I’ll be reading on the 19th. This is not an easy task as I have to fill in about 20 – 30 minutes with poetry. AND to make matters worse, not only do I go on first, I’m followed by the town’s Poet Laureate.
Over on Random Writings, moving the flash piece to Saturday worked out rather well, so I’ll try it again this week. Also, my Pearl of Wisdom this week will be Point of View. Pop on over there to read my (deliberately) bad, 200 word, single sentence beginning to a novel.
And that’s pretty much it for the week. I feel like a slacker. :-)
You know, last week started out really well . . . I got rid of some of the excess books from my office and straightened up the papers. Giving up the games was much easier than I thought it would be, for the first half of the week anyway. As for the reading for reward purposes only . . . well, let’s just say I have five more books sitting on my desk to be added to the list for the reading challenge (three of which I read this weekend).
On the other hand, I did get all my posts done and posted in a timely fashion, and I even did a bonus post on Saturday for a cool hand-writing meme.
So, while I seem to be getting the game addiction somewhat under control, the reading for pleasure only didn’t last long. I think my mistake was reading while I ate lunch – once I started reading I wouldn’t want to stop. So this week we’re going to try not reading until after my writing and editing is done.
This Week’s Goals:
Tuesday: Part XI of my fairy tale series, which is part two of Cinderella.
Wednesday: A new hunk for your viewing pleasure.
Thursday: This week’s Passion for Poetry is the Italian form of Rispetto.
Friday: Chapter 48 of the Space Opera. Who’s waiting for them at the space port, friend or foe? And more importantly, what had Nakeisha being going to tell Chaney right before they were rescued?
Elsewhere in my week:
I have no meetings this week. Be still my heart!
August will soon be upon us (where has the time gone??) and I need to start choosing the poems I’ll be reading on the 19th. This is not an easy task as I have to fill in about 20 – 30 minutes with poetry. AND to make matters worse, not only do I go on first, I’m followed by the town’s Poet Laureate.
Over on Random Writings, moving the flash piece to Saturday worked out rather well, so I’ll try it again this week. Also, my Pearl of Wisdom this week will be Point of View. Pop on over there to read my (deliberately) bad, 200 word, single sentence beginning to a novel.
And that’s pretty much it for the week. I feel like a slacker. :-)
Jul 24, 2010
Write On!
Yeah, I know. Normally I don't post on Saturdays but this was just too fun not to pass on. :-)
I saw this penmanship meme first on my e-friend Erica's blog, and then on my e-friend Adam's blog, so I figured the universe was trying to tell me something.
Instructions:
Write out the following on a piece of paper, then upload it so everyone can see:
1. Name/Blog Name.
2. Right handed, left handed or both?
3. Favorite letters to write?
4. Least favorite letters to write?
5. Write: The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.
6. Write in caps:
CRAB
HUMOR
KALEIDOSCOPE
PAJAMAS
GAZILLION
7. Favorite song lyrics?
8. Tag 7 people.
9. Any special note or drawing?
And here's my scan of my answers(click on the image to make it bigger):
And now you see why the computer is such a godsend. :-)
You might also note that the more I write, the less legible my writing becomes. Give it a try! You have nothing to lose but your pride! ;-)
I saw this penmanship meme first on my e-friend Erica's blog, and then on my e-friend Adam's blog, so I figured the universe was trying to tell me something.
Instructions:
Write out the following on a piece of paper, then upload it so everyone can see:
1. Name/Blog Name.
2. Right handed, left handed or both?
3. Favorite letters to write?
4. Least favorite letters to write?
5. Write: The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.
6. Write in caps:
CRAB
HUMOR
KALEIDOSCOPE
PAJAMAS
GAZILLION
7. Favorite song lyrics?
8. Tag 7 people.
9. Any special note or drawing?
And here's my scan of my answers(click on the image to make it bigger):
And now you see why the computer is such a godsend. :-)
You might also note that the more I write, the less legible my writing becomes. Give it a try! You have nothing to lose but your pride! ;-)
Jul 22, 2010
Abecedarius
An abecedarius is a poem in which each line or stanza begins with a successive letter of the alphabet. To be honest, when I first came across this form I thought it was going to be a modern, invented form. Imagine my surprise when I discovered the Abecedarius is a very old form. It was often used in ancient cultures for sacred compositions, such as prayers, hymns and oracles.
Historically, alphabets have often been given significance similar to that of numerology, in which numbers are given mystical meaning. This could explain why abecedarii are often religious in nature.
One of the most highly regarded examples is Psalm 118 (or 119 by King James numbering). It consists of twenty-two eight-line stanzas, one for each letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Unfortunately, the translation does not reflect the Hebrew alphabetical sequence, although I did find a bible that listed the Hebrew letter at the beginning of each stanza.
In 1375, Geoffrey Chaucer wrote "An ABC", a translation of a French prayer into twenty-three eight-line stanzas that follow the medieval alphabet (minus J, U, V, and W).
The modern Abecedarian poem is most often used as a mnemonic device or word game. There are, however, many more serious examples such as Carolyn Forché’s forty-seven page poem, "On Earth," where she adheres not only to alphabetical order as a guide to the stanzas, but also the words themselves.
To see some excellent examples of this form, click HERE.
And here is my own example:
A path lies before me
But before I make that first step
Careful consideration must be taken,
Direction must be chosen with care
Else all I have worked for will be
Forgotten, lost to time.
Gainsay me not
However you may feel.
Independence is gained at a cost,
Justified by circumstance perhaps but
Kindling forever a doubt that
Leaving the old behind
Might not be the wisest choice.
Nomadic wanderings are not the answer.
Oblivion beckons,
Paradise is waiting in the wings, filled with
Quixotic imaginings and
Ragamuffin dreams.
Sanctimonious souls preaching restraint
Taint the free will but leave me
Unmoved by their words.
Venomous thoughts seep through the cracks,
Waiting their turn for recognition like
Xenolith fragments in a rock.
Yearning to be elsewhere, the
Zephyr takes me away.
Historically, alphabets have often been given significance similar to that of numerology, in which numbers are given mystical meaning. This could explain why abecedarii are often religious in nature.
One of the most highly regarded examples is Psalm 118 (or 119 by King James numbering). It consists of twenty-two eight-line stanzas, one for each letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Unfortunately, the translation does not reflect the Hebrew alphabetical sequence, although I did find a bible that listed the Hebrew letter at the beginning of each stanza.
In 1375, Geoffrey Chaucer wrote "An ABC", a translation of a French prayer into twenty-three eight-line stanzas that follow the medieval alphabet (minus J, U, V, and W).
The modern Abecedarian poem is most often used as a mnemonic device or word game. There are, however, many more serious examples such as Carolyn Forché’s forty-seven page poem, "On Earth," where she adheres not only to alphabetical order as a guide to the stanzas, but also the words themselves.
To see some excellent examples of this form, click HERE.
And here is my own example:
A path lies before me
But before I make that first step
Careful consideration must be taken,
Direction must be chosen with care
Else all I have worked for will be
Forgotten, lost to time.
Gainsay me not
However you may feel.
Independence is gained at a cost,
Justified by circumstance perhaps but
Kindling forever a doubt that
Leaving the old behind
Might not be the wisest choice.
Nomadic wanderings are not the answer.
Oblivion beckons,
Paradise is waiting in the wings, filled with
Quixotic imaginings and
Ragamuffin dreams.
Sanctimonious souls preaching restraint
Taint the free will but leave me
Unmoved by their words.
Venomous thoughts seep through the cracks,
Waiting their turn for recognition like
Xenolith fragments in a rock.
Yearning to be elsewhere, the
Zephyr takes me away.
Jul 21, 2010
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