Rondell (poem)
The rondel is a form of poetry made up of eight lines of verse . The rondel is not to be confused with the rondel, which is a French form of poetry made up of thirteen or fourteen verses.
Structure and variants
A rondel consists of eight lines of verse arranged in a single stanza . These are not subject to any strict rhyme scheme or meter . The essential feature of this form of poetry is the repetition of individual lines of verse. There are two different variants.
In the most common variant, the first line is repeated in the fourth and seventh and the second line is used again as the last verse. The other lines are arbitrary, although sometimes verses two and eight are the same.
Winter roundabout 1
1 Es ist kalt und winterlich, 2 weshalb Menschen Schnupfen haben. 3 Nässe, Schnee und Eis decken alles zu. 4 Es ist kalt und winterlich. 5 Leer sind Straßen, Felder, Orte. 6 In den Häusern wohnt noch Leben. 7 Es ist kalt und winterlich. 8 weshalb Menschen Schnupfen haben.
Verses one, four and seven contain exactly the same wording. In this case, verses two and eight are also identical.
Another variant provides that the rondel only repeats one line of verse. The second verse is repeated on the fourth and seventh lines. All other lines of verse are arbitrary.
Winter roundabout 2
1 Es ist kalt und winterlich. 2 Viele Menschen sind todkrank. 3 Nässe, Schnee und Eis decken alles zu. 4 Viele Menschen sind todkrank. 5 Graue Winde ziehen durch die Welt. 6 Leer sind Straßen, Felder, Orte. 7 Viele Menschen sind todkrank. 8 In den Häusern wohnt noch Leben.
Here the stanza "Many people are terminally ill" is repeated in the second, fourth and seventh lines.
The title of a rondel plays an important role. It is a kind of umbrella term that determines the content of the poem. Usually the lines of verse that are repeated take up part of the title or relate directly to it. The other verses tend to complement the repetitions.