Pretty Ugly Words

Form: Monchielle Stanza  
Number of lines: 20
Rules: This form is the creation of the popular Norwegian poet Jim T Henriksen, and it consists of four stanzas.

Each stanza consists of five lines, and each line has six syllables (or, if you prefer, each line can be Iambic Trimeter).

The first line of each stanza is a refrain (i.e. the line is repeated, so that each stanza has the same first line) and in the four following lines, lines three (3) and five (5) rhyme, lines two (2) and (4) do not rhyme.

This gives a stanza pattern of:

R.x.a.x.a

R.x.b.x.b

R.x.c.x.c

R.x.d.x.d

Choices for the poets to make this week: You can write each line with either six syllables, or you can write in strict Iambic Trimeter.