Rondeau



The Rondeau is a form of verse/poem and is, like many of the verse forms used in the English language, of French origin. It is a feature of traditional French poetry, that it frequently makes use of refrains, repeated according to a certain stylized pattern. It was customarily regarded as a challenge to arrange for these refrains to contribute to the meaning of the poem in as succinct and poignant a manner as possible. The Rondeau consists of thirteen lines of eight or sometimes ten syllables, plus two  refrains (which are half lines, each of four syllables), employing, altogether, only three rhymes. It has three stanzas (or verses) and its rhyme scheme is as follows:or (1) A  A  B  B  A   (2)  A  A  B  with refrain: C   (3)  A  A  B  B  A  with concluding refrain: C. The refrain must also be used as the first half of line 1.

Example
Here is an example of a Rondeau. Note how, in this case, the refrain is used to emphasize the immediate contact message of the poem: Gold is the Gleam Gold is the gleam that lures men on, To desperate deeds, right and wrong. Gold is the chance men deem to take, To gamble on a make or break, Before the tempting hour is gone. Fortunes can be both lost and won, The vast gold-searching throng among And what is said - if e'er they spake? "Gold is the gleam!" Bright gold most men might seek, or one, Gild twice ten thousand palms or none. Before you go your claim to stake, There's a precaution you should take, For you may find where there's a con - Gold is the gleam.

Famous Rondeaux
The most famous rondeau in English is undoubtedly "In Flanders Fields", written by Canadian poet John McCrae.