The harmony of Welsh poetry is accomplished through the controlled echoing of sounds through alliteration, assonance or consonance. These sounds are meant to offset any over-emphasis of the main rhyme, to create balance of sound.
Most know that in English, alliteration, assonance and consonance are normally contained within a line. In Welsh poetry they can criss-cross within a stanza and are not always contained within a line. To alliterate is to match the initial stressed consonant sounds, assonance is matched vowel sounds, and consonance, simplified, is matching end consonant sounds.
05 Englyn cyrch
Englyn cyrch, én-glin circh (two rhyme englyn), the 5th codified Official Welsh Meter, an Englyn is verse that employs cyrch which means internal rhyme.
The defining features of the Englyn cyrch are:
stanzaic, written in any number of quatrains made up of 2 Cywydd couplets, the Cywydd deuair hirion and Awdl gywydd.
syllablic, 7 syllable lines.
rhymed, AaBA with the end syllable of L3 rhymed somewhere in the first half of L4.
x x x x x x A (stressed last syllable)
x x x x x X a (unstressed last syllable)
x x x x x x B
x x B x x x A ( B ) can be in the 2nd 3rd or 4th syllables
09 Awdl gywydd
Awdl gywydd owdl gów-wid (rhymed cywcdd)the 9th codified Official Welsh Meter, a Cywydd, was rarely used by the chief poets or house bards who preferred Cywydd deuair hirion, but it continued to be employed by the lesser order of poets of the 14th century and has been revived by modern Welsh poets.
The defining features of the Awdl gywydd are:
stanzaic, written in any number of couplets, it is often written in pairs as a quatrain.
syllabic, 7 syllable lines.
rhymed, the end syllable of L1 is repeated as rhyme at the pause in the early part (2nd, 3rd, or 4th syllable) of L2. The end syllable of L2 is a linking rhyme from couplet to couplet.
x x x x x x A
x x A x x x B (A could shift position slightly)
x x x x x x C
x x C x x x B (C could shift position slightly)
12 Cywydd llosgyrnog
Cywydd llosgyrnog, ców-idd llos-gr-notheg, 12th codified ancient Welsh Meter, a Cywydd, is composed in sixains. It is speculated that the Welsh poets learned this meter from a common medieval Latin hymn form.
The Cywydd llosgyrnog is:
stanzaic, written in any number of sixains.
syllabic, the sixain is made up of 8-8-7-8-8-7 syllable lines.
rhymed, L1 and L2 end-rhyme is echoed somewhere in the middle of L3 (3rd, 4th, or 5th syllables). L4 and L5 end-rhyme is echoed somewhere in the middle of L6. L3 and L6 end rhyme.
x x x x x x x A
x x x x x x x A
x x A x x x B (A could shift position slightly)
x x x x x x x C
x x x x x x x C
x x C x x x B (C could shift position slightly)
13 Rhupunt
Rhupunt, rhée-pint is as old as Welsh poetry and is found in the earliest writings in the Black Book of Carmarthen (late 12th century). It is the 13th codified Welsh meter, an Awdl,
The Rhupunt is:
written in a single line with optional length. It may be written in 3, 4, or 5, four syllable phrases. The phrases are mono-rhymed, all except the last phrase.
most often paired with another rhupunt to form a rhyming couplet.
stanzaic, the stanza length is optional since the line can be separated by phrase into a triplet, quatrain or cinquain, depending on the number of phrases written.
rhymed. The internal mono-rhyme changes from line to line or if separated, from stanza to stanza but the end syllable of the line is a linking rhyme from line to line or if separated, stanza to stanza.
xxx A xxx A (xxx A) (xxx A) xxx B
xxx C xxx C (xxx C) (xxx C) xxx B
16 Clogyrnach
Clogyrnach clog-ír-nach, the 16th codified Welsh meter, an Awdl, is associated with what I can only assume is the name of an ancient poet, Cynddelw and is framed with a cyhydedd fer couplet combined with a longer form. It is rarely used by today's poets.
The defining features of the Clogymach are:
stanzaic, written in any number of quintets, combining a cyhydedd fer (a rhymed couplet of 8 syllable lines) and a tercet of two 5 syllable lines followed by one 6 syllable line of 2 equal parts, 3 syllables each.
rhymed, rhyme scheme AABBA. The 1st phrase of L5 rhymes with the previous line and the 2nd phrase rhymes with cyhydedd fer couplet.
flexible, L5 of the cinquain can be added to the end of L4 creating a quatrain or can be broken into 2 separate lines creating a sixain.
x x x x x x x A
x x x x x x x A
x x x x B
x x x x B
x x B x x A
x x x x x x x A
x x x x x x x A
x x x x B
x x x x B
x x B
x x A x x x x x x x A
x x x x x x x A
x x x x B
x x x x B x x B x x A
19 Toddaid
Toddaid, todd-eyed is the 19th codified Welsh meter, an Awdl, and an uneven couplet often written in combination with other meters especially the 9 syllable couplet, cyhydedd hir.
The Toddaid is:
stanzac, written in any number of couplets.
syllabic, L1 is a 10 syllable line and L2 is a 9 syllable line.
rhymed, the main rhyme aa - cc - dd etc.
composed with gair cyrch following the main rhyme and caesura of L1. The gair cyrch end rhyme is echoed in the first half of L2 in secondary rhyme, assonance or consonance.
sometimes written in a shortened version of 16 syllables, L1 is 10 syllables and L2 is only 6 syllables which is called a toddaid byr.
toddaid couplets
x x x x x x x A - x b
x x x x b x x x A
x x x x x x x C - x d
x x x d x x x x c
a toddaid byr
x x x x x x x A x b
x x x b x A
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