Villanelle: A villanelle is a type of poem that consists of five tercets followed by one four-line quatrain.In the sestina, no lines are actually repeated in full, but specific words are repeated throughout the poem according to a prescribed pattern, making this form a variation on more conventional refrains. Sestina: A sestina is a poem consisting of six six-line sestets and a final three-line tercet.The last line of each stanza is a refrain. Ballades follow a strict rhyme scheme and typically have three eight-line stanzas followed by a shorter four-line stanza called an envoi. Ballade: A ballade is a form of lyric poetry that originated in medieval France.They often use a refrain, but not always. English language ballads are typically composed of four-line stanzas that follow an ABCB rhyme scheme. Ballad: A ballad is a type of poem that tells a story and was traditionally set to music.For more in-depth information about each of these forms, and for examples of how refrains are used in each, visit the individual entries for each type of poem. Below is a list of types of poems that, by virtue of their form, require the use of a refrain in specific places throughout the poem. Poetic Forms That Include RefrainsĪlthough refrains can be used in any type of poetry, some fixed forms of poetry require the writer to include a refrain.
Thus, the term refrain has expanded over time to encompass any series of words that are repeated throughout a poem.
Since that time, refrains have been used in all types of poetry (including in free verse) and the conventions that originally determined the ways in which refrains could be used-that repetition had to be identical in each instance and had to occur at regular intervals, for example-were met with new variations and innovations. In the 15th and 16th centuries, refrains branched out from lyric poetry and music they began to be commonly found in non-lyric formal verse (poetry with a strict meter and rhyme scheme) and, to a lesser extent, in blank verse (poetry with a strict meter but no rhyme). A chorus, in other words, is just a specialized kind of refrain.
The tradition of repeating refrains in lyric poetry has continued into the present day through popular music-most genres of songs with lyrics contain choruses with lyrics that repeat, making those choruses a form of refrain. The repetition of words or phrases between verses was a useful tool for helping writers and performers memorize the words of poems, and refrains also helped the listener to get a sense for the rhythm of the poem, since refrains are generally repeated at regular intervals. Refrains first became popular in poetry because of their importance to the lyric poetry forms of the middle ages, which were often recited or sung with musical accompaniment.
Here's how to pronounce refrain: re- frayn Refrains in Depth Some poems, however, may repeat the refrain more sporadically.