Lesson 22 - Quatrain (kwah-train)

HEY!! Does anybody have a quarter? What's a quarter have to do with this type of poetry? Well, a quarter is 1/4 of a dollar. The word quatrain comes from Latin and French words meaning "four." See the connection? The quatrain is a poem or stanza of four lines. It is a very popular form of poetry. Famous poets like William Blake and T. S. Eliot used quatrains. Read these examples:

The Tyger

by William Blake

Tyger! Tyger! burning bright

In the forests of the night,

What immortal hand or eye

Could frame thy fearful symmetry?

 

The Mountain

by Donna Brock

The mountain frames the sky (a)

As a shadow of an eagle flies by. (a)

With clouds hanging at its edge (b)

A climber proves his courage on its rocky ledge. (b)

Did you notice that a quatrain is formed by two rhyming couplets? Easy! This pattern is called a a b b. The first line rhymes with the second (sky and by) and the third line rhymes with the fourth line (edge and ledge). Other quatrain patterns are a b a b,

a b b a, and a b c b.

Lyrical Lesson: Quatrain

1. Choose a theme that you recently heard in a song.

2. Brainstorm ideas for purpose and mood.

3. Add descriptive words and phrases (This would be a GREAT time to use

figurative language!).

4. Write two joining couplets that "paint" a complete word picture. Proofread.

Revise.

5. Design an album cover that would best illustrate the theme of your quatrain.

SOURCE and resources:

Lyrical Lessons

A Home Schooling Notebook