Spenserian stanza¶
spenserian_stanza · form · validated
Nine lines rhyming ABABBCBCC, the first eight in pentameter and the last an alexandrine.
Provenance¶
- Source: Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene (1590)
- Attribution:
primary— a named author, work and year this catalogue stands behind - 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
- Requires:
tokens,phonemes,stress,syllables.heuristic - Deterministic: yes
Prompt hint¶
Write nine lines rhyming ABABBCBCC, closing with a six-foot line.
Parameters¶
| Name | Type | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
feminine_ending |
boolean | False |
Whether a line may close on one extra unstressed syllable (a feminine or klingende ending) as well as on the bare metre. |
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¶
ababbcbcc-with-alexandrine¶
en — this text satisfies the procedure.
the cat can see the moon above the tree
the dog will run across the field today
a kestrel flies around the house at three
the sun will set behind the hill in may
the birds will sing before the break of day
the fox will hide beneath the fallen stone
the mice will creep beside the ancient way
the owl will call across the dark alone
and now the birds will sing before the day has flown
Source: constructed example
ninth-line-is-a-pentameter¶
en — this text does not satisfy the procedure.
the cat can see the moon above the tree
the dog will run across the field today
a bird can fly around the house at three
the sun will set behind the hill in may
the birds will sing before the break of day
the fox will hide beneath the fallen stone
the mice will creep beside the ancient way
the owl will call across the dark alone
the rain will fall upon the moor
Source: constructed counterexample
nine-lines-one-mis-rhymed¶
en — this text does not satisfy the procedure.
the cat can see the moon above the tree
the dog will run across the field today
a bird can fly around the house at dawn
the sun will set behind the hill in may
the birds will sing before the break of day
the fox will hide beneath the fallen stone
the mice will creep beside the ancient way
the owl will call across the dark alone
and now the birds will sing before the day has flown
Source: constructed counterexample; nine lines, one broken rhyme and nothing else
nine-lines-one-unmetrical¶
en — this text does not satisfy the procedure.
the cat can see the moon over the tree
the dog will run across the field today
a bird can fly around the house at three
the sun will set behind the hill in may
the birds will sing before the break of day
the fox will hide beneath the fallen stone
the mice will creep beside the ancient way
the owl will call across the dark alone
and now the birds will sing before the day has flown
Source: constructed counterexample; nine lines, one trochee against the beat
ababbcbcc-mit-alexandriner¶
de — this text satisfies the procedure.
der Wandrer zieht durch jenes weite Land
der Wind bewegt die Blätter in der Nacht
das Feuer brennt und wärmt die kalte Hand
der Regen fällt und niemand hat gelacht
die Glocke schlägt und alles ist vollbracht
ein Vogel singt am Morgen auf dem Baum
der Morgen kommt und hat den Tag gebracht
ein Kind erwacht und ruft nach seinem Traum
der Nebel füllt den stillen kalten weiten Raum
Source: constructed example; the ninth line is the twelve-syllable alexandrine
spenser-faerie-queene-1-1-1¶
en — this text does not satisfy the procedure.
A Gentle Knight was pricking on the plaine,
Y cladd in mightie armes and siluer shielde,
Wherein old dints of deepe wounds did remaine,
The cruell markes of many' a bloudy fielde;
Yet armes till that time did he neuer wield:
His angry steede did chide his foming bitt,
As much disdayning to the curbe to yield:
Full iolly knight he seemd, and faire did sitt,
As one for knightly giusts and fierce encounters fitt.
Source: Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, Book I, Canto i, stanza 1 (1590 edition); original spelling, i/j and u/v as in the early print (ADR 0040 D5 — transcribed as printed, not modernised). Rejected: two lines read the wrong syllable count for this package's pentameter model — "Y cladd in mightie armes and siluer shielde," (line 2) reads 9 syllables because the archaic "Y-" prefix is not read as adding a syllable, and "The cruell markes of many' a bloudy fielde;" (line 4) reads 11 because the elided "many' a" is not read as one syllable (wrong_line_length). The ninth-line alexandrine itself scans clean. Measured on this HEAD: score 0.9688, 2 violations.