Cynghanedd
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Cynghanedd (pronounced [kəŋ̊'haneð]) (literally "harmony"), in Welsh language poetry, is the basic concept of sound-arrangement within one line, using stress, alliteration and rhyme. The various forms of cynghanedd show up in the definitions of all formal Welsh verse forms, such as the awdl. Though of ancient origin, cynghanedd and variations of it are still used today by many Welsh-language poets. A number of poets have experimented with using cynghanedd in English-language verse, for instance Gerard Manley Hopkins. Some of Dylan Thomas' work is also influenced by cynghanedd.
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[edit] Forms of cynghanedd
The examples below are from the poem Cywydd y Cedor, by the fifteenth-century female poet Gwerful Mechain. The caesuras are marked with slashes ("/") and rhyming parts are marked in bold. Note that Dd, Ll and Ch are counted as single consonants in the Welsh alphabet.
[edit] Cynghanedd groes ("cross-harmony")
All consonants before the caesura must be repeated after it in the same order. For example:
clawdd i ddal / cal ddwy ddwylaw CL Dd Dd L / C L Dd Dd L
[edit] Cynghanedd draws (also "cross-harmony")
Like the cynghanedd groes, except that the consonants in the centre of the line are isolated and not repeated.
[edit] Cynghanedd sain ("sound-harmony")
The cynghanedd sain is characterised by internal rhyme. If the line is divided into three sections by its two caesuras, the first and second pieces rhyme, and the third section repeats the consonantal patterns of the second. For example:
pant yw hwy / na llwy / na llaw / N Ll / N Ll
[edit] Cynghanedd lusg ("drag-harmony")
The first accented syllable in the line rhymes with the second-to-last syllable of the line. For example:
duw er ei radd / a'i addef,
[edit] Bibliography
- Hopwood, Mererid (2004), Singing in Chains: Listening to Welsh verse. Llandysul : Gomer. ISBN 1-84323-402-5.
- Turco, Lewis (1986), The New Book of Forms: A Handbook of Poetics. University Press of New England: London. ISBN 0-87451-380-4.
[edit] External links
- For an example of a poem in English using cynghanedd, see the poem by Katherine Bryant at the end of this page.
- A more thorough introduction to Welsh poetic forms
- Cynghanedd.com