Write a poem in Leonine rhyme
Poetry Contest
I was first introduced to Leonine rhyme when I read "The Northern Lights" by Tony (tfawcus). I was very drawn to it.
Leonine rhyme occurs when a word near the middle of the line rhymes with a word at the end. Thus Alfred, Lord Tennyson writes in The Princess (1847):
"The splendor falls on castle walls
And snowy summits old in story:
The long light shakes across the lakes,
And the wild cataract leaps in glory" [from The Poet's Glossary by Edward Hirsch]
Tony graciously consented to have his poem "The Northern Lights" serve as an example.
The Northern Lights:
Dissolved lights rise like spectral eyes
when Viking gods awake the sky's
haphazard glow. A writhing show
of rose and bruise begins to grow.
As forked tongues snake, their eerie wake
recalls brave men who've crossed the lake
of time; their pyre, a restless fire.
Illusions form a firefly choir
in flight, a symphony of light
to mystify a star-strewn night
of eldrich spells above the hell
of kraken deeps, where monsters dwell.
I guess, there is no prescribed end rhyme. In Lord Tennyson's example it is ABCB, in Tony's "Northern Lights" it is AABB, CCDD, EEFF.
The contest winner will win half of the prize pool which is based on the number of entries. The second and third place winners will each share the remaining prize pool. The prize pool is currently 55.00 member dollars. There are 7 spots still open. If all open spots are used the prize pool will be 90.00 member dollars. In this contest at least 2 submissions must be made for the vote to begin.
Deadline: Contest is closed. Deadline was Tuesday, August 22, 2017.
Full Contest Listing
Leonine rhyme occurs when a word near the middle of the line rhymes with a word at the end. Thus Alfred, Lord Tennyson writes in The Princess (1847):
"The splendor falls on castle walls
And snowy summits old in story:
The long light shakes across the lakes,
And the wild cataract leaps in glory" [from The Poet's Glossary by Edward Hirsch]
Tony graciously consented to have his poem "The Northern Lights" serve as an example.
The Northern Lights:
Dissolved lights rise like spectral eyes
when Viking gods awake the sky's
haphazard glow. A writhing show
of rose and bruise begins to grow.
As forked tongues snake, their eerie wake
recalls brave men who've crossed the lake
of time; their pyre, a restless fire.
Illusions form a firefly choir
in flight, a symphony of light
to mystify a star-strewn night
of eldrich spells above the hell
of kraken deeps, where monsters dwell.
I guess, there is no prescribed end rhyme. In Lord Tennyson's example it is ABCB, in Tony's "Northern Lights" it is AABB, CCDD, EEFF.
The contest winner will win half of the prize pool which is based on the number of entries. The second and third place winners will each share the remaining prize pool. The prize pool is currently 55.00 member dollars. There are 7 spots still open. If all open spots are used the prize pool will be 90.00 member dollars. In this contest at least 2 submissions must be made for the vote to begin.
Deadline: Contest is closed. Deadline was Tuesday, August 22, 2017.
