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Cinquains are free verse - five line poems of twenty-two syllables distributed as
follows: 2, 4, 6, 8, 2. "Didactic cinquains," e.g, word-count and thematic lines cinquains,
are really a different form which is used largely for the education of young children.
Each line may have initial capitalization. Each poem may be one or more
sentences; complete sentences are not prohibited. Cinquains were invented and written
by Adelaide Crapsey in 1909-1914; she was strongly influenced by haiku.
See
Crapsey's Cinquains for her own fine examples.
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Rhyme is not usual, but it is not prohibited. Cinquains often are iambic except that the
last line may be spondaic (two stressed syllables), but they are just as likely to be
trochaic. Cinquains are complete in one stanza, but they may be linked to form longer poems.
There are no set rules beyond the syllable-count and line-lengths. Initial capitalization,
complete sentences - these things vary among poets and they should. We consider as being
variations of the cinquain form, also, linked
cinquains, mirror cinquains (2, 4, 6, 8, 2, 2, 8, 6, 4, 2), centered forms, and other
experimental forms.
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