The kyrielle 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 originated in

troubadour A troubadour (, ; oc, trobador ) was a composer and performer of Old Occitan lyric poetry during the High Middle Ages (1100–1350). Since the word ''troubadour'' is etymologically masculine, a female troubadour is usually called a ''trobairit ...

poetry.

Name and form

The name kyrielle derives from the '' Kýrie'', which is part of many

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

liturgies Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. ''Liturgy'' can also be used to refer specifically to public worship by Christians. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a communal response to and partic ...

. A kyrielle is written in

rhyming couplet A couplet is a pair of successive lines of metre in poetry. A couplet usually consists of two successive lines that rhyme and have the same metre. A couplet may be formal (closed) or run-on (open). In a formal (or closed) couplet, each of the t ...

s or

quatrain A quatrain is a type of stanza, or a complete poem, consisting of four lines. Existing in a variety of forms, the quatrain appears in poems from the poetic traditions of various ancient civilizations including Persia, Ancient India, Ancient Greec ...

s. It may use the phrase "Lord, have mercy", or a variant on it, as a

refrain A refrain (from Vulgar Latin ''refringere'', "to repeat", and later from Old French ''refraindre'') is the line or lines that are repeated in music or in poetry — the "chorus" of a song. Poetic fixed forms that feature refrains include the vi ...

as the second line of the couplet or last line of the quatrain. In less strict usage, other phrases, and sometimes single words, are used as the refrain. Each line within the poem consists of only eight syllables. There is no limit to the number of stanzas a Kyrielle may have, but three is considered the accepted minimum. If the kyrielle is written in couplets, the

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 rh ...

will be: "aA aA". There are a number of possible rhyme schemes for kyrielle constructed in quatrains, including "aabB ccbB" and "abaB cbcB" (uppercase letters signify the refrain). In the original

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

kyrielle, lines were generally octosyllabic. In English, the lines are generally

iambic tetrameter Iambic tetrameter is a poetic meter in ancient Greek and Latin poetry; as the name of ''a rhythm'', iambic tetrameter consists of four metra, each metron being of the form , x – u – , , consisting of a spondee and an iamb, or two iambs. There ...

An example

This kyrielle is by

Thomas Campion Thomas Campion (sometimes spelled Campian; 12 February 1567 – 1 March 1620) was an English composer, poet, and physician. He was born in London, educated at Cambridge, studied law in Gray's inn. He wrote over a hundred lute songs, masques for ...

. ''A Lenten Hymn '' :With broken heart and contrite sigh, :A trembling sinner, Lord, I cry: :Thy pard’ning grace is rich and free: :O God, be merciful to me. :I smite upon my troubled breast, :With deep and conscious guilt oppress, :Christ and His cross my only plea: :O God, be merciful to me. :Far off I stand with tearful eyes, :Nor dare uplift them to the skies; :But Thou dost all my anguish see: :O God, be merciful to me. :Nor alms, nor deeds that I have done, :Can for a single sin atone; :To Calvary alone I flee: :O God, be merciful to me. :And when, redeemed from sin and hell, :With all the ransomed throng I dwell, :My raptured song shall ever be, :God has been merciful to me.

References

External links

More notes and examples

"How to Write a Kyrielle"
by Dusty Grein at the online journal of the Society of Classical Poets {{Western medieval lyric forms Western medieval lyric forms