The Construction of Welsh Poetry (Part 1)
by Julia H. West
[Note: this is a slightly rewritten version of an article I wrote in 1984.]
A Brief Historical Overview
For centuries the Welsh poets have been figures of great respect in Wales, so much so that they are mentioned in the codified laws of the tenth century king Hywel Dda as members of a king's or prince's entourage, with rights second only to the house priest (who came directly after the heir to the throne). Many of the poets throughout history have been of noble birth, and as the poet's position was greatly coveted, those who held these high positions jealously guarded the "rules" of their craft.
Poetry was one of the three arts a churl could not teach his son--if a churl could learn the art of the poet he would become a free man. The successful pencerdd (chief bard) and bardd teulu (house poet) would take on students and teach these disciples the complex rules of Welsh poetry which had grown up throughout the years.
Even in the early extant poetry (6th century) of the Welsh bards there is a tendency to use alliteration and internal as well as final rhyme. As the poetry evolved this became known as cynghanedd, the codified rule for rhyme and alliteration in poetry. After the 14th century cynghanedd became obligatory in formal Welsh poetry; before that it was used extensively but was not compulsory.
The earliest book of Welsh bardic teaching that we have was produced in the fourteenth century, but the information therein was probably several centuries old. In the mid 1400s the rules of poetic form that had been evolving through the practice of poets from at least as far back as the sixth century A.D. were formally established as the 24 strict measures, which are still used today. In about 1450 an Eisteddfod was held in Carmarthen to regularize and modify the poetic rules.
Just as English poetry has its formalized poetic forms (for instance the sonnet with 14 iambic five-foot lines and a rhyme scheme of--for an Italian-style sonnet--1, 2, 2, 1, 1, 2, 2, 1 in the octave and either 3, 4, 3, 4, 3, 4 or 3, 4, 5, 3, 4, 5 for the sestet) so Welsh poetry grew up to have, finally, 24 codified and named patterns of syllables and rhyme.
Unlike English poetry, that of Wales is not counted in "feet" but in syllables. The number of lines in a stanza, the number of syllables in a line and the arrangement of rhyme are important factors of the different Welsh meters. The exact forms grew up through the ages from the simple rhymes of the sixth century to the 24 strict measures that were established in the 14th century. The three groups of poetry--englynion, cywyddau, and awdlau--of which these 24 measures are made up will be discussed in depth in these articles. They are the basis, with cynghanedd, of the construction of Welsh poetry.
Using the Welsh measures to write poetry in English
I found very little description of how to adapt the rules of the Welsh meters or cynghanedd for use in English, but have discovered several things as I have worked with it. English uses consonants differently than Welsh does, which increases the difficulty of using the purely alliterative cynghanedd forms. There can be several different spellings for one consonantal sound in English (as ti, ci, ch for the "sh" sound, and ph or gh for the "f" sound, etc.) The sounds of some letters, such as c, q, and x, are represented by other letters, as "k" or "s" for "c". Therefore, one should match consonantal sounds, not duplicate consonants exactly (as in the example below, where the "s" in "praise" alliterates with the "z" in "prize").
Since doubled letters do not have their own sounds in English (as ff, ll, and dd do in Welsh) they are counted as one consonantal sound only (as in the example below, where the second "l" in "shall" is ignored). W and y, and sometimes h, are often silent, and w and y can act as vowels. Since w and y are almost always vowels in Welsh, they do not have to be treated much differently in English. Ch, sh, th, and wh are single consonantal sounds, even though each sound is represented by two letters in English.
Welsh words are often accented on the penultimate (next to last) syllable, and Welsh poetry rules that use that tendency can also be more difficult to translate into English poetry.
Cynghanedd (and its use by English speakers)
The Welsh have always had a love of the sound as well as the sense of poetry. The early poetry used alliteration (correspondence between consonants) a great deal--either scattered profusely throughout a line, or with two words made to alliterate in the middle of a line, or with alliteration connecting two lines. Early poetry also used rhyme--not just at the ends of lines, but in the middle of lines and combined with alliteration. Various forms of half rhyme were also used, as will be explained in the section on half-rhymed englynion.
As the bards were formulating the 24 strict measures (also known as meters) they were also tightening up the rules for rhyme and alliteration. These are known as cynghanedd or "harmony," and though fourteenth century (and earlier) poets felt free to use as much or little cynghanedd as they wanted, by the middle of the fifteenth century its use was compulsory throughout an entire poem.
The Dictionary of the University of Wales defines cynghanedd as "A system of consonance or alliteration in a line of Welsh poetry in strict metre and internal rhyming (in cynghanedd sain and cynghanedd lusg)." It is a way of making a pattern in the line by echoing consonant or vowel sounds. (Cynghanedd is pronounced cung-han'-eth with "th" pronounced as in "breathe.")
Since most of us speak English, and very few speak Welsh, the treatment of cynghanedd here will be geared to use in poetry written in English, while at the same time showing how it is used in Welsh. Each example of cynghanedd given will have samples in both medieval Welsh poetry and in English.
There are three main divisions of cynghanedd:
Cynghanedd gytsain: Multiple alliteration
Cynghanedd sain: Alliteration and rhyme within the line
Cynghanedd lusg: Internal rhyme only
Each of these major divisions is subdivided according to how the sounds recur in the lines and to where accented and unaccented syllables fall at the internal pause and the end of a line.
1. Cynghanedd Gytsain (Consonantal harmony)
There are three subdivisions of this division, which uses only alliteration for harmony. This form is very difficult to produce in English and make any sense in the line.
a. Cynghanedd Groes (cross consonance)
A line of poetry is split into two parts and every consonant in the first half is matched exactly and in the same order in the second half of the line. Exempt consonants were n, and in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries m and r. Also the end consonants of each part of the line, if any, do not have to correspond. This subdivision is further divided into three forms according to the accents on the last syllable in each of the two halves of the line.
1) Each half line ends in an unaccented syllable.
2) Each half line ends in an accented syllable.
3) The first half-line ends with an accented syllable, the second ends with an unaccented syllable.
(Each of these has its own name and even more complicated rules for consonant correspondence, but these get too involved to be given here.)
Examples of cynghanedd groes:
English: Her dainty face, how radiant fair.
1 2 3 45 6 1 2 3 45 6
As shown by the numbers, the h in her and how correspond, as does the r in her with the r in radiant, the d, n, and t in dainty with those in radiant, and the f in face with that in fair. The c (or s sound) in face does not correspond with the r in fair because the end consonants need not correspond.
(From a poem on Saint Beuno by the 15th century poet Rhys Goch)
Welsh: Mawl goel, a mel ac olew.
1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4
The m and l in Mawl and mel correspond, as do the g in goel with the c in ac, and the l in goel with that in olew.
b. Cynghanedd Draws (Connected cross consonance)
This form is similar to cynghanedd groes in that the line is divided into two parts and the consonants in the two halves correspond, but in this form there is a space left in the middle in which the consonants need not correspond. Again, end consonants do not need to match, and n, m, and r may be disregarded if so desired. The same three rules of accenting apply.
Examples of cynghanedd draws:
English: Raise shield--[Death's] arrows shall dive.
1 2 3 45 1 2 3 4 5
Again, the numbers show correspondence between the r and s in raise and arrows, the sh and l in shield and shall and the d in shield and dive. The consonants in Death's do not correspond and the v in dive, being at the end of the line, does not either.
(From a poem by the 15th century poet Dafydd Nanmor.)
Welsh: Prenno[l i gadw] per annerch.
12 3 1 2 3
The p and r in Prennol and per correspond, as does the nn in Prennol with that in annerch, while the letters and words within the brackets--the middle of the line--(the l in Prennol, and i gadw) do not correspond. The end of annerch, being the end of the line, does not need to correspond.
c. Cynghanedd Groes a Gyswllt
Again the consonants appear in the same order in the two halves of the line, but the matching begins before the end of the first half of the line. The three variations of accent on the final syllables apply to this form as well.
Examples of cynghanedd groes o gyswllt:
English: Her silken hair / so like night.
1 2 3 45 6 1 2 3 4 5 6
The slash marks the end of the first half of the line. The correspondence is between h and r in her and hair, s in silken and so, l and k in silken and like, and n in silken and night.
(From a poem by the late 15th century poet Tudur Aled.)
Welsh: Serch a rois / ar chwaer Esyllt.
1 23 4 1 2 3 4
The correspondences are between s in serch and rois, r in serch and ar, ch in serch and chwaer, and r in rois and chwaer. As shown by the slash, the end of the first part of the line is between rois and ar. The consonants in Esyllt do not correspond as they are at the end of the line.
2. Cynghanedd Sain (Sonorous or chiming consonance)
In this form internal rhyme and alliteration are both present. It is easier to use in English. Each line is divided into three sections. The first two rhyme with each other, while the second and third are connected with alliteration by using cynghanedd groes or draws. There are four forms of accenting the second and third sections of the line:
a. Both ending in an accented syllable.
b. Both ending in an unaccented syllable.
c. The second accented and the third unaccented.
d. The second unaccented and the third accented.
Examples of cynghanedd sain:
English: We raise / with praise / the prize.
The three sections are separated by the slashes. Raise at the end of the first section rhymes with praise in the second, while praise alliterates with prize.
Welsh: Gwell bedd / a gorwedd / gwirion.
Again slashes separate the three sections. Bedd rhymes with gorwedd, while the g and r in gorwedd correspond with those in gwirion.
3. Cynghanedd Lusg (Trailing consonance)
In this third form of cynghanedd only internal rhyme is used. It is much the easiest scheme to use in English, with its rhyme-oriented poetry. The line is again split into two, and ends in a word of more than one syllable. The accented penultimate syllable in this word rhymes with the last syllable in the first half of the line. The first rhyming syllable can be anywhere in the line (even the syllable before the one it rhymes with) and can be either accented or unaccented.
Examples of cynghanedd lusg:
English: Hit his game without aiming
Game rhymes with aim in aiming. In a poem, the lines before or after would rhyme with -ing, the unaccented final syllable of the line.
(From the poem by Rhys Goch quoted above.)
Welsh: Gweles henwiad Baradwys.
The unaccented ad in henwiad rhymes with the accented penultimate syllable ad in Baradwys. In this poem, the last syllable in Baradwys rhymes with giwys in the next line.
The use of any particular form of cynghanedd is somewhat restricted by the meter in which it is being used, as some of the meters have their own rules as to rhyme and accented or unaccented syllables. But after the middle of the fifteenth century every poem in the twenty-four Welsh strict meters had cynghanedd throughout each stanza, adding to the highly-polished phrases its own special sound to delight the bard and his appreciative audiences.
New material copyright (c) 1984, 2009 by Julia H. West
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