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What is a hybridanelle?

This is a pretty involved explanation that defines and exemplifies the hybridanelle.

 


The hybridanelle (hi ‘brid an ,nell) is a 38 line poetic form that is a combination of the Italian villanelle and Lewis Turco’s terzanelle. It is created by interlacing the villanelle and terzanelle stanzaic structures together, kind of like shuffling cards, where the stanzas of each form are the individual cards. This means the villanelle and terzanelle refrains and end-line schemes leapfrog one another in the hybridanelle.

Instead of the villanelle-terzanelle end-line rhyme, the end-line scheme in the hybridanelle may use other types of parallelism, phonemic or associative. As such, in the hybridanelle, the end-line scheme is exactly that, an "end-line scheme", not a "rhyme scheme". I have posted an article, "
Some Alternatives to Rhyme", that discusses and exemplifies many phonological alternatives to rhyme, which I hope will aid your use and exploration of alternative end-line schemes. I intend for the hybridanelle to be very approachable as an English poetic form rather than being yet another hand-me-down from another language that does not share the linguistic characteristics of English.

There are two varieties of hybridanelle, type A and type B. Basically, the type A hybridanelle begins with a villanelle tercet and closes with a terzanelle quatrain, and the type B hybridanelle, the inverse of the type A, begins with a terzanelle tercet and closes with a villanelle quatrain.

The most useful way I have found to clarify all the points of a poetic form is to enumerate them:

General:

1) The hybridanelle is comprised of ten tercets and two closing quatrains, totaling twelve stanzas.

2) Lines may be in any length or meter within reason.

3) Hybridanelles may be written on any subject.

Type A:

A1) The first line from the opening tercet is refrained as the third line of the third and seventh tercets as well as the penultimate quatrain. The third line from the opening tercet is refrained as the third line of the fifth and ninth tercets and also the fourth line of the penultimate quatrain.

A2) The first line of the opening tercet begins an a end-line scheme, used by the first line of every odd numbered tercet along with the penultimate quatrain. The second line of the opening tercet begins a b end-line scheme, used by the second line of each odd numbered tercet along with the penultimate quatrain.

A3) The first and third lines of the second tercet are refrained as the second and fourth lines of the closing quatrain, and they use end-line parallelism between them.

A4) The even numbered tercets, starting with the fourth tercet, each refrain the second line of the preceding even numbered tercet as its third line. The first line of each of these tercets uses end-line parallelism with its refrained line.

A5) The third line of the closing quatrain refrains the second line of the last tercet and uses end-line parallelism between its first line and that refrain.

A shorthand notation for the above points follows. Like letters indicate the end-line scheme, and uppercase letters followed by a superscript numeric notation indicate the refrains.

A1bA2
;C1D1C2;abA1;cE1D1;abA2;eF1E1;abA1;fG1F1;abA2;gH1G1;abA1A2;hC1H1C2

Type B:

B1) The first and third lines of the opening tercet are refrained as the second and fourth lines of the penultimate quatrain and use end-line parallelism between them.

B2) The odd numbered tercets, starting with the third tercet, each refrain the second line of the preceding odd numbered tercet as its third line. The first line of each of these tercets uses end-line parallelism with its refrained line.

B3) The third line of the penultimate quatrain refrains the second line of the ninth tercet and uses end-line parallelism between its first line and that refrain.

B4) The first line from the second tercet is refrained as the third line of the fourth and eight tercets as well as the closing quatrain. The third line from the second tercet is refrained as the third line of the sixth and tenth tercets and also the fourth line of the closing quatrain.

B5) The first line of the second tercet begins a c end-line scheme, used by the first line of every even numbered tercet along with the closing quatrain. The second line of the second tercet begins a d end-line scheme, used by the second line of each even numbered tercet along with the closing quatrain.

The shorthand notation for the above points is as follows:

A1B1A2
;C1dC2;bE1B1;cdC1;eF1E1;cdC2;fG1F1;cdC1;gH1G1;cdC2;hA1H1A2;cdC1C2

This information may be difficult to visualize without examples, so the type A and type B hybridanelles are exemplified below with the shorthand notation for each type expanded out across the lines.

This first poem exemplifies the type A hybridanelle:

Stormlight
by Erin Thomas

A1:  Frantic flashes illustrate my view,
b:   Random moments shot into the light;
A2:  Thunder crushes every hope anew.

C1:  I pass the night in a frail abandoned home,
D1:  A weary vagrant teen deprived of will
C2:  Awaiting the dawn within its quaking hold.

a:   Visions strobe throughout the empty room,
b:   Shadows briefly singed by every bolt;
A1:  Frantic flashes illustrate my view.

d:   I curl within my bag against the wall;
E1:  There’s nothing left for the winds to rip from me,
D1:  A weary vagrant teen deprived of will.

a:   Etched amid the suffocating gloom,
b:   Monster clouds roll black against the night;
A2:  Thunder crushes every hope anew.

e:   I’ve struggled to grasp what life could ever mean
F1:  As memory and mind are stripped away;
E1:  There’s nothing left for the winds to rip from me.

a:   Leafless limbs are drawn in sepia hues;
b:   Stark against the darkness of my thought,
A1:  Frantic flashes illustrate my view.

f:   I watch and listen, numb and half-aware,
G1:  My slumber but vivid streaks of fitful dream,
F1:  As memory and mind are stripped away.

a:   Anxious waiting constantly resumes;
b:   Shocked repeatedly from fugue to doubt,
A2:  Thunder crushes every hope anew.

g:   I try to manage what rest I can redeem,
H1:  Protected from the storm by shifting frames,
G1:  My slumber but vivid streaks of fitful dream.

a:   Desolation roars the whole night through;
b:   Forces seem to tear the world apart;
A1:  Frantic flashes illustrate my view;
A2:  Thunder crushes every hope anew.

h:   Uncertain shadows pose in countless forms;
C1:  I pass the night in a frail abandoned home,
H1:  Protected from the storm by shifting frames,
C2:  Awaiting the dawn within its quaking hold.

In this poem the end-line parallelisms used for the a and b schemes are assonance and consonance, respectively. The end-line parallelisms used for the remaining end-line schemes alternate between reverse rhyme (some of which is partial reverse rhyme) and frame rhyme.

Although a fixed meter is not a requirement of this form, a consistent meter or set of meters will contribute greatly to the way your hybridanelle flows. This is a form of poetry that is not very forgiving of clumsy phraseologies or word flow. In this poem, the villanelle "weave" uses catalectic trochaic pentameter while the terzanelle weave uses a combination of iambic pentameter and iambic-anapaestic pentameter.

This next poem exemplifies the type B hybridanelle:

Inhumation
by Erin Thomas

A1:  locked wards cower in the distant gloom;
B1:  grated windows pattern all my dreams;
A2:  heavy haze distorts my heavy mood.

C1
:
  my eyes are weary of watching faded lights;
d:   i wait throughout the dismal night to hear
C2:  the call of a rooster just beyond my sight.

b:   silence is an ever-present drone;
E1:  tempered springs betray my slightest move;
B1:  grated windows pattern all my dreams.

c:   these cinderblocks enfold my spirit in lime;
d:   interred in tomblike walls of concrete halls,
C1:  my eyes are weary of watching faded lights.

e:   thoughts amid this broken darkness brood;
F1:  restless motions lurk within the shade;
E1:  tempered springs betray my slightest move.

c:   this is the crypt where my rotting soul is set,
d:   thus laid to rest beyond that twilight hail,
C2:  the call of a rooster just beyond my sight.

f:   time is fractured into mental shards,
G1:  strewn against the darkness of my view;
F1:  restless motions lurk within the shade.

c:   and the images betray my heart with lies
d:   that flash against my mind as crumbled hopes;
C1:  my eyes are weary of watching faded lights.

g:   here i watch them phase in empty hues,
H1:  omens of a future laid in brick
G1:  strewn against the darkness of my view.

c
:  
this lucid static is comfort of a sort
d:   that’s lost with every sunrise when i hear
C2:  the call of a rooster just beyond my sight.

h:   black within the slowly rising brume,
A1:  locked wards cower in the distant gloom,
H1:  omens of a future laid in brick;
A2:  heavy haze distorts my heavy mood.

c:   i dread the sound that will end another night,
d:   a sound that seals my fate within this hell—
C1:  my eyes are weary of watching faded lights—
C2:  the call of a rooster just beyond my sight.

In this poem the end-line parallelisms used for the c and d schemes, which is the villanelle weave, is a pattern of partial rhyme, reverse rhyme, and frame rhyme. The end-line parallelisms used for the remaining end-line schemes, which is the terzanelle weave, alternate between assonance and alliteration.

These two hybridanelle examples use phonological parallelism for their end-line schemes. For an example of a hybridanelle that uses associative parallelism for its end-line scheme, see the poem "
Legacy", which was written after this article was compiled. With associative parallelism, words relate to one another in some way. In "Legacy", the parallelisms are synonymic (alike in meaning) and metonymic (related through attributes).

What makes this form fascinating is the way elaborate end-line schemes can be used to create sound and word patterns, moods, that are completely unprecedented in English poetry.

Because the villanelle and terzanelle refrains weave through alternating stanzas in the hybridanelle, there is more distance between the refrains in the hybridanelle than in the villanelle or terzanelle. This makes it much easier to setup new contexts for the refrained lines, which can give those lines a fresh feel every time they are repeated—I have had some people read my hybridanelles without even realizing there were refraining lines—yet the power of the refrains is not at all lost. If anything their power is increased because they do not overwhelm the reader or audience.

Although the hybridanelle is inspired by the established villanelle and terzanelle forms, the hybridanelle makes significant variations from those forms. This is a new form with an entire spectrum of new possibilities.

Included in the list

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Comments

1 - 43 of 43

  • Piscean soul
    June 29, 2006
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    Wow..Zahhar thank u for sharing

  • Zahhar gold member
    May 26, 2006
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    you'll find some of the recent hybridanelles kind of interesting i think. bear in mind i also write free verse, which is a ... hrrm ... non-form, and there non-scientific.

  • Roisin
    May 26, 2006
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    Wow, you sure have this all down to a science. I like that but I also like a poem that speaks to my heart or rocks my emotions in some way or is deeply profound or mystical without sounding over processed like an intellectual blender. LOL I'll be back to read more I'm sure.

  • Zahhar gold member
    February 23, 2006
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    Yun: remember to take your time with it. the quality that comes out of a hybridanelle is directly proportionate to the time that goes into it.

  • Yunaleska gold member
    February 22, 2006
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    Oh wow! I've become obssessed with the Villanelle and other such forms of poetry, trying out a terzanelle once (which was absolute torture) Now I'm tempted to try this Great style.

  • Raazi gold member
    February 18, 2006
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    I've seen this earlir too, and on shadowpoetry. It was there under your name. I like it then too. So here's an applause. I have recently developed an interest in poetic forms. I have even come up with my own-
    allpoetry.com/Column/1818700

  • grannyeri gold member
    February 6, 2006
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    Appreciate learning more about this form - very unique and takes some effort to get this right. Thanks for the information. Love learning more about poetic forms on this site.

  • Zahhar gold member
    September 8, 2005
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    *yawwwwwwwnnnnn*

    yes yes right sure okay that's great.

  • L. David Stuart
    September 8, 2005
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    what is this science--these forms are outdated, Rimbaud and others prooved that--try minimalism--it's much closer to the truth...

  • tic
    August 28, 2005
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    Wow, oddly enough it doesn't seem all *that* difficult. Past the understanding of words and forms this can be accomplished in the utmost mathematical form... except for the words, it's hard to imagine what mathematics would apply to that.

    When you said short hand notation it got me thinking of writing some program that could create any form of poem, completely randomly based on this notation... and as such, the notation of other forms. Because of the meaning and representation of words this isn't something I can do now. Though maybe by a bit of studying of the thesaurus, and a wee bit more about the forms that words take, it can be done.

    Well informed. Delicious. Made me think of the possibilities and further about something I've been meaning to accomplish but have on the far reached backburner of my mind.

  • B Chandler
    August 24, 2005
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    no offense but i feel like as if im in difficult math class and i got the look of a total airhead oh well some things werent meant to be understood

  • Duana gold member
    August 24, 2005
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    hm google end line parallelism and the only links it brought up this one a few times. So, I guess if you could, could you explain to me what you mean by end line parallelism?

  • Duana gold member
    August 24, 2005
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    Okay I think I grasped all of this, except for one thing. What is end line parallelism? Once I know that I think I can get started.

  • poetryality silver member
    August 18, 2005
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    You are indeed the educator. This column leaves no room for questions. That does not mean that I could even attempt this form at this time. LOL I have very little trouble writing a villanelle, but a terzanelle seems to stunt my growth all together. LOL I will bookmark this column and be sure to study it. I do so wish to write in this form. I love to learn new forms, and am not afaraid of a good challenge. Thank you for the time spent to educate us on how to write a hybridanelle.

    I am presently working on a Cento, and that in and of itself takes time. I do however, promise to come back to this very soon, for it has sparked my interest. Your examples of the A and B Types are simply beautiful.

    Renee
  • veronica
    August 17, 2005
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    Erin, I really loved the way you express yourself!Keep on 'keeping on'
    Best wishes
    Veronica

  • Dienush Greeters member
    June 30, 2005
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    Sounds challenging, I might try it.

  • raspberry Greeters member
    June 14, 2005
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    Thanks a ton for this highly informative column. The examples are exactly waht we wanted.. and the descriptions are vivid and easy ! Thankyou again.

  • Utok Bulinaw
    June 3, 2005
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    I want to thank you for this educational column. I understand the repetitions but parallelism or end-rhyme schemes is the problem and the meter too. I need to study this further. Very impressive! Cheers! Eris

  • ethereal-dust
    May 26, 2005
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    Wow. I really love this form, I love the diversity of potential effects created by the repetition of different lines, and I love the way you use them here to emphasise the preceding line in a completely different way than you do when the same line is used elsewhere (<-- sorry, that sounds clumsy, its early ) Thankyou for all the useful information. And congratulations again for being such a god damn brilliant writer!

  • AzureBlue
    May 22, 2005
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    Now I'm really impressed... I typed 'hybridanelle' in the google search box so I could read about the style and guess what the first link on the list was...so here I am! What a coinkydink...thanks for the info!


    Lorena

  • mendee86
    May 21, 2005
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    Woah. *sits stunned*
    I'll have to bookmark this and try to read it again. It sounded so technical, hard, and mumbo jumbo to my mind!!
    If I had any suggestions, I'd say if there was any way to explain it simplier, or if you had any ideas of how you might be able to explain it to me in a nutshell - I'd absolutly love that. It's just hard for me to sit down and read so much that I don't understand - but I want to!!
    I'll be baaack...


  • Poetprncess
    May 17, 2005
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    Ok, I am at work, just printed this out to work on my entry for the contest! I am nervous...

    Hugs, Liz
  • Queen Maab
    March 23, 2005
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    I finally tried out the form for myself. I'd love to see what you think of it. Be nice though, I'm still learning. But I do expect a constructive critical comment, because I know how much you like to make them.

    allpoetry.com/Poem/1138671

    Maab

  • Zahhar gold member
    March 16, 2005
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    and there are more associative parallelisms available than you can shake a stick at. it's just a matter of learning them and wrapping your brain around them. i'm just getting started in this as a conscious process, so i'm pretty fumbly about it all right now.

    when am i going to get your thoughts on the content of "Legacy"?

  • Zahhar gold member
    March 16, 2005
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    Nadir: sure! it's certainly on my todo list!

  • DelWarrenLivingston silver member
    March 16, 2005
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    As always I am deeply interested in this facinating form and this new idea, or rather expanding idea, to use associative parallelisms is indeed, intriguing and one I will be conciously aware of as I write my next half dozen or so of these Hybridanelles. I wonder if it would be wise to attempt to weave phonological parallelisms and associative parellelisms into the same poem? Your thoughts on this?

    Del

  • Zahhar gold member
    March 16, 2005
    Edit | Reply
    i just updated a segment of the article to point to "Legacy", my recent hybridanelle that uses associative end-line parallelism instead of phonemic parallelism. you might find it interesting and/or pertinent.
  • AsYetFaithless
    March 16, 2005
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    I tried one last night ("By Bat Wings") but now after looking back through your article I realized that I missed a few things so I shall have to fix it. I really enjoyed writing it though, it's the first time I've ever really played with a form like that and I am mostly happy with how it came out, I just need to change a few things around

  • Simbelmyne
    March 15, 2005
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    Wow. I'm definitely bookmarking this. Very detailed and about a form I've never heard of. I'll have to try writing one someday. Form poetry has always been an interesting challenge to wrestle with. Thanks for the information--I don't know where else I'd have ever gotten it. Clicked by chance, and boy am I glad I did! God bless & Take care, Sim.

  • Crazi Beautyful
    March 10, 2005
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    u are so friggin talented !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! wow this is really really good i hope someday i can be as good as a writer as you

    love sarah( take care )
  • tishang
    March 6, 2005
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    Good Work!! An understandable explanation of a difficult subject and two excellent examples. I'm a collector of poetry forms (amongst other things!) and will surely bookmark this one. I may even try it out, tho usually my poems are short ones. Haven't written a villanelle or terzanelle in years; I did do a rough draft of a terza rima a year or so ago, but haven't revisited it to polish it off. Maybe you've given me incentive?
  • AsYetFaithless
    March 1, 2005
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    wow, very nice column, I've never eally played with forms much but this sounds fun, unfortuantly I'm too tired a tthe moment to really decipher all of that. i think I too shall have to bookmark it for future use

  • thelordreigns gold member
    March 1, 2005
    Edit | Reply
    interesting...thank your for your hard work. I will bookmark this column for future use.

  • Robbwindow
    March 1, 2005
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    Above board

    This is the enlightenment that allpoetry is all about what am talking it's like yeh yeh yeh my vocabulary is gettin it and the mathamatical equasions linking the words with the brains and the keys of is it greek names###.
  • Ethersong
    March 1, 2005
    Edit | Reply
    An interest, yet difficult type to produce.

    ~CT

  • Zahhar gold member
    March 1, 2005
    Edit | Reply
    sanity: if you decide to write one, send me a note when you've posted it so i can come have a look. i'm also maintaining a list of hybridanelles written by other AP members.

  • sanity silver member
    March 1, 2005
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    Dear Erin, thank you so much for this detailed and helpful column, it will take more reading than I have time for now, but I will as I have been waiting for this, I was intrugued by your poems involving this form, thank you very much for this........

    take care

    sanity

  • CarterTachikawa
    February 28, 2005
    Edit | Reply
    Wow, that is one complicated form right there! You explained it well and I think I might try it out although I'm pretty sure I'm going to screw it up immediately. I think I shall bookmark this column for the future. Nice stuff. Thanks for the explanation.

    ~CT

  • Methusala
    February 28, 2005
    Edit | Reply

    good

    wow. complicated sutff. anyone who can write this article knows their stuff.

  • Zahhar gold member
    February 26, 2005
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    Wallyrust: by "capture" do you mean print? of course! if you mean posting it on another web site, this is fine, too, so long as i'm cited and a link to this page is provided.

    i'm really looking forward to seeing what you do with this form. please send me a note once you've posted it so i can come have a look.
  • Wallyrust
    February 26, 2005
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    I find it difficult to conjur adequate words to describe the remarkable acheivement you have here. You have deftly, and with due consideration to the two forms, woven a masterful marriage of the forms in a deeply satisfying and wholely unique manner. I see I have some studying to do in order to memorize enough of this analysis to be able to competently produce a poem in this form...but given some time, I will make an attempt to do so soon. May I have your permission to capture this in its entirety for my reference? I surely would appreciate it.

    Well done and most enlightening.

    Wally

  • Zahhar gold member
    February 26, 2005
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    nadir: i look forward to seeing what you do with this form. when you say "might as well have been written by a preschooler", i get the feeling you've already encountered what i mean when i said this form is "not very forgiving of clumsy phraseologies or word flow."

    one thing i like about the hybridanelle is that it should cause those who work within its frames to improve their language use and verbal flow considerably.

  • DelWarrenLivingston silver member
    February 26, 2005
    Edit | Reply
    Well at long last, and through yet more of your hard work, we have a useable definition of the Hybridanelle form with clear examples. I have to tell you, I personally have waited with baited breath for this. I made a bold attempt, sans instructive material, mind you, to emulate the form and came away with a nonsensical mish-mosh that may as well have been written by a preschooler. Now, thankfully I have an actual guide for which, I hope you can tell, I am extremely grateful.

    Thank-you again, kind sir, for producing this glorious new form and for providing the essential background so that those of us who aspire to do so can write in this form effectively. I have some serious reading and absorbing to do, so if you will excuse me...

    Gratefully,

    Del
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