Pantoum Style Poetry

The Pantoum style poem comes to America from Malaysia in the 15th century, and was often known to be a folk poem. It was first introduced by Victor Hugo who was a French novelist and poet who brought this form out west in the 19th century and has made it one of the more commonly used fixed-verse poems.

Western poets adapted their views to this poetic form, and it's able to be of any desired length. First, it's a minimum of 16 lines. Most go as far as 24 and others farther, but 24 lines is usually the maximum length for most poets.

Here's the form:

Line 1
Line 2
Line 3
Line 4
/
Line 2
Line 5
Like 4
Line 7
/
Line 5
Line 6
Line 7
Line 8
/
Line 6
Line 9
Line 8
Line 10
/
...

If 6,9,8 & 10 is your last stanza, it'll look like this:

Line 9
Line 3
Line 10
Line 1

The Pantoum, similar to the Villanelle style, is their last stanza. In the Villanelle, the 1st & 3rd lines combine with two new lines to create an ending. This is what we are doing here as well, but similar to the Villanelle, the Pantoum must follow a unique structure to suit the rhyme scheme. This is why the rhyming words, as well as the ideas of the poem, must be chosen carefully.

When writing the Pantoum, it's important to keep meaning in mind. For instance, repeated phrases may be put in new context by the slight change of a punctuation mark. This alters its meaning and tone, and it changes how the reader feels about the poem.

Something you may want to caution yourself on is this: If you use an incantation, then the lines will reverberate throughout the stanzas. This will eventually fill your poem with echos, and in turn, slow the meter of your poem. The reader can't advance at a natural reading speed, and they may eventually drift away.

Throughout my blog, I'll keep introducing new styles and producing examples I have written. I have written poetry for years, and someday I would like to educate others to as well.