The Chant Royal is a

poetic Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings in a ...

form that is a variation of the

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or ''ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...

form and consists of five eleven-line stanzas with a

rhyme scheme A rhyme scheme is the pattern of rhymes at the end of each line of a poem or song. It is usually referred to by using letters to indicate which lines rhyme; lines designated with the same letter all rhyme with each other. An example of the ABAB r ...

and a five-line

envoi Envoi or envoy in poetry is used to describe: * A short stanza at the end of a poem such as a ballad, used either to address an imagined or actual person or to comment on the preceding body of the poem. * A dedicatory poem about sending the book ...

rhyming or a seven-line

(capital letters indicate lines repeated verbatim). To add to the complexity, no rhyming word is used twiceJones, William Caswell. ''Elements and Science of English Versification''. Peter Paul book company (1897) p.118 It was introduced into

French poetry French poetry () is a category of French literature. It may include Francophone poetry composed outside France and poetry written in other languages of France. French prosody and poetics The modern French language does not have a significant str ...

in the 15th century by Christine de Pizan and Charles d'Orléans and was introduced into England towards the end of the 19th century as part of a general revival of interest in French poetic forms. The complexity of the form caused William Caswell Jones to describe it as "impractical" for common use The Chant Royal was the most complicated form of poetry in Northern

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

during the 15th century, though not as complex as the

sestina A sestina (, from ''sesto'', sixth; Old Occitan: ''cledisat'' ; also known as ''sestine'', ''sextine'', ''sextain'') is a fixed verse form consisting of six stanzas of six lines each, normally followed by a three-line envoi. The words that end ...

, which was more popular in Southern France.Esenwein, Joseph Berg et. Joseph Berg Esenwein, Mary Eleanor Roberts Roberts. ''The Art of Versification''Home Correspondence School (1920) p.205 The form was often used for stately, or heroic subjects.

An example

The Dance of Death ''After Holbein '' "Contra vim Mortis Non est medicamen in hortis." He is the despots' Despot. All must bide, Later or soon, the message of his might; Princes and potentates their heads must hide, Touched by the awful sigil of his right; Beside the Kaiser he at eve doth wait And pours a potion in his cup of state; The stately Queen his bidding must obey; No keen-eyed Cardinal shall him affray; And to the Dame that wantoneth he saith-- "Let be, Sweet-heart, to junket and to play." There is no King more terrible than Death. The lusty Lord, rejoicing in his pride, He draweth down; before the armed Knight With jingling bridle-rein he still doth ride; He crosseth the strong Captain in the fight; The Burgher grave he beckons from debate; He hales the Abbot by his shaven pate, Nor for the Abbess' wailing will delay; No bawling Mendicant shall say him nay; E'en to the pyx the Priest he followeth, Nor can the Leech* his chilling finger stay . . . octor There is no King more terrible than Death. All things must bow to him. And woe betide The Wine-bibber,--the Roisterer by night; Him the feast-master, many bouts defied, Him 'twixt the pledging and the cup shall smite; Woe to the Lender at usurious rate, The hard Rich Man, the hireling Advocate; Woe to the Judge that selleth Law for pay; Woe to the Thief that like a beast of prey With creeping tread the traveller harryeth:-- These, in their sin, the sudden sword shall slay . . . There is no King more terrible than Death. He hath no pity, -- nor will be denied. When the low hearth is garnished and bright, Grimly he flingeth the dim portal wide, And steals the Infant in the Mother's sight; He hath no pity for the scorned of fate:-- He spares not Lazarus lying at the gate, Nay, nor the Blind that stumbleth as he may; Nay, the tired Ploughman,--at the sinking ray,-- In the last furrow,--feels an icy breath, And knows a hand hath turned the team astray . . . There is no King more terrible than Death. He hath no pity. For the new-made Bride, Blithe with the promise of her life's delight, That wanders gladly by her Husband's side, He with the clatter of his drum doth fright. He scares the Virgin at the convent grate; The Maid half-won, the Lover passionate; He hath no grace for weakness and decay: The tender Wife, the Widow bent and gray, The feeble Sire whose footstep faltereth,-- All these he leadeth by the lonely way . . . There is no King more terrible than Death.

Envoi Envoi or envoy in poetry is used to describe: * A short stanza at the end of a poem such as a ballad, used either to address an imagined or actual person or to comment on the preceding body of the poem. * A dedicatory poem about sending the book ...

Youth, for whose ear and monishing of late, I sang of Prodigals and lost estate, Have thou thy joy of living and be gay; But know not less that there must come a day,-- Aye, and perchance e'en now it hasteneth,-- When thine own heart shall speak to thee and say,-- There is no King more terrible than Death. — Austin Dobson

References

External links

* {{Cite EB1911, wstitle= Chant Royal , volume= 5 , last= Gosse , first= Edmund William , author-link= Edmund William Gosse, pages = 848–849 , short = 1 Poetic forms French poetry