Rondeau

rondeau · form · validated

Fifteen lines on two rhymes in which the opening words return unrhymed as a short refrain twice over.

Provenance

• Source: Traditional; French fixed form of the 14th and 15th centuries
• Attribution: traditional — classical or folk; no single origin to name
• Checkability: self — decidable from the text and its parameters alone
• Attested: codified — formulated as a rule by a tradition rather than declared by an author

Details

• Kind: restrictive
• Languages: en, fr
• Requires: tokens, phonemes
• Deterministic: yes
• In other languages: Rondeau (de), Rondeau (fr)

Prompt hint

Write fifteen lines on two rhymes, returning the opening words as a refrain twice.

Parameters

Name	Type	Default	Description
rentrement_words	integer	3	How many opening words the rentrement repeats.
unknown_rhyme	string	undecidable	What a line ending absent from the pronouncing dictionary means: leave the pair unscored (undecidable), let it satisfy the scheme (free), or fail it (strict).

Examples

two-rhymes-and-a-rentrement

en — this text satisfies the procedure.

the summer holds the door
the tiles lie warm upon the floor
a single swallow crosses sky
no one can say the reason why
the garden waits for something more
the bread is kept inside the store
the boats are drawn along the shore
a distant gull begins to cry
the summer holds
the thunder starts its far off roar
the candle burns an hour before
the wind goes past with one long sigh
the truth is not one to deny
the harvest time will soon restore
the summer holds

Parameters: rentrement_words=3

Source: constructed example

broken-rentrement

en — this text does not satisfy the procedure.

the summer holds the door
the tiles lie warm upon the floor
a single swallow crosses sky
no one can say the reason why
the garden waits for something more
the bread is kept inside the store
the boats are drawn along the shore
a distant gull begins to cry
the winter holds
the thunder starts its far off roar
the candle burns an hour before
the wind goes past with one long sigh
the truth is not one to deny
the harvest time will soon restore
the summer holds

Parameters: rentrement_words=3

Source: constructed counterexample

zwei-reime-und-rentrement

de — this text satisfies the procedure.

der Sommer hält das Land
die Ziegel liegen warm am Rand
die Schwalbe kreuzt das Licht
und keiner sagt warum sie spricht
der Garten wartet an der Wand
das Brot bleibt hinter jener Hand
die Boote ziehen an den Strand
die Möwe ruft und schweigt doch nicht
der Sommer hält
der Donner rollt und wird zum Brand
die Kerze brennt am weißen Band
der Wind geht fort mit dem Gedicht
die Wahrheit zeigt ihr Gesicht
die Ernte kehrt zurück zum Sand
der Sommer hält

Parameters: rentrement_words=3

Source: constructed example

deux-rimes-et-rentrement

fr — this text satisfies the procedure.

Sous le grand ciel s'étend l'amour
Le temps s'écoule et dure toujours
Il traversait un long chemin
Il se levait tôt le matin
Les fleurs se penchent tout autour
Il espérait un prompt retour
La nuit tombait douce et de velours
Il s'endormait dans le jardin
Sous le grand
Le roi passait dans la cour
Le peuple appelait au secours
Chacun suivait son destin
Le loup rôdait chez le voisin
Le silence régnait alentour
Sous le grand

Parameters: rentrement_words=3

Source: constructed example

rentrement-rompu

fr — this text does not satisfy the procedure.

Sous le grand ciel s'étend l'amour
Le temps s'écoule et dure toujours
Il traversait un long chemin
Il se levait tôt le matin
Les fleurs se penchent tout autour
Il espérait un prompt retour
La nuit tombait douce et de velours
Il s'endormait dans le jardin
Sous le grand
Le roi passait dans la cour
Le peuple appelait au secours
Chacun suivait son destin
Le loup rôdait chez le voisin
Le silence régnait alentour
Dans le grand

Parameters: rentrement_words=3

Source: constructed counterexample

rondeau-mccrae-flanders

en — this text satisfies the procedure.

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
  That mark our place; and in the sky
  The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
  Loved and were loved, and now we lie,
      In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
  The torch; be yours to hold it high.
  If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
      In Flanders fields.

Parameters: unknown_rhyme='free', rentrement_words=3

Source: John McCrae, 'In Flanders Fields', Punch (London), 8 December 1915, p. 468 (published anonymously); text as in In Flanders Fields and Other Poems (New York/Toronto, 1919)

rondeau-orleans-13line

fr — this text does not satisfy the procedure.

Le temps a laissié son manteau
De vent, de froidure et de pluye,
Et s'est vestu de brouderie,
De soleil luyant, cler et beau.

Il n'y a beste, ne oyseau,
Qu'en son jargon ne chante ou crie:
Le temps a laissié son manteau.

Riviere, fontaine et ruisseau
Portent, en livrée jolie,
Gouttes d'argent d'orfaverie;
Chascun s'abille de nouveau:
Le temps a laissié son manteau.

Parameters: unknown_rhyme='free', rentrement_words=6

Source: Charles d'Orléans, 'Le temps a laissié son manteau' (rondeau); common editions, NOT verified against a named pre-1929 edition. Rejected: wrong_line_count (12 against 15) and broken_rentrement. This is the older thirteen-line rondeau, which the row cannot express — its fifteen lines are module constants, not a parameter.