The traditional Welsh poetic meters consist of 24 types of poetic meter, called in Welsh. They are all written in cynghanedd of varying degrees of complexity.
Although called "traditional", they were compiled – and later redefined at least once – in the Late Middle Ages and omit some of the older forms such as the . Only a few of them were widely used by the professional poets (), and the use of some of the more complicated ones is confined to occasional poems of technical virtuosity dating to the end of the Middle Ages. In fact, John Morris-Jones showed that only 12 of the meters were used by the and that the rest were added by "clever and somewhat arrogant manipulation of recognized meters".
The twenty four traditional Welsh poetic meters are:
- : see
Meters
Awdl-gywydd
is a type of that was originally popular amongst minstrel poets, before being adopted by professional poets in the fifteenth century. Among these was Dafydd ab Edmwnd, who decided that regular must be used in it. especially when incorporated into other forms.
The rules for are that:
- It must be a quatrain (four lines long).
- It must have seven syllables per line.
- The final syllable of the first line must rhyme with the 3rd, 4th, or 5th syllable of the second line.
- The final syllable of the third line must rhyme with the 3rd, 4th, or 5th syllable of the fourth line.
- The second and fourth lines must rhyme.
A possible rhyme scheme would be:
xxxxxxA<br/>
xxAxxxB<br/>
xxxxxxC<br/>
xxxxCxB
Byr-a-thoddaid
The meter is a quatrain made up of two couplets. One of the couplets, called , must consist of two lines that rhyme and are 8 syllables long. The other couplet, called , consists of:
- One line 10 syllables long.
- One line 6 syllables long.
- The main rhyme of the must be found before the last syllable of the 10 sylablle line.
- The syllables following the main rhyme of 10 syllable line must link to an early syllable of the 6 syllable line by using either alliteration, assonance, or a secondary rhyme.
A possible rhyme scheme would be:
xxxxxxxAxb<br/>
xbxxxA<br/>
xxxxxxxC<br/>
xxxxxxxC
where the lower case "b" denotes alliteration, assonance, or a secondary rhyme.
Cadwynfyr
The meter () was created by the poet Dafydd ab Edmwnd.
Clogyrnach
The rules for the meter are that:
- Lines one and two must have 8 syllables with an A rhyme
- Lines three and four must have 5 syllables with a B rhyme
- Line five must have 3 syllables with a B rhyme
- Line six must have 3 syllables with an A rhyme
There is also an alternate form where lines five and six are combined into one 6 syllable line.<br/>
A possible rhyme scheme would be:
xxxxxxxA<br/>
xxxxxxxA<br/>
xxxxB<br/>
xxxxB<br/>
xxBxxA
A possible rhyme scheme would be:
xxxxxxA<br/>
xxxxxxA<br/>
xxxxxxA<br/>
xxxxxxA<br/>
xxxxxxA<br/>
xxxxxxA<br/>
xxxxxxB<br/>
xxBxxxA
Cywydd deuair fyrion
is a type of that is rarely used. The rules for are that:
- It is a couplet.
- Each line is 4 syllables long.
- It must be written in cynghanedd with the accent alternating between the last and penultimate syllables.
- is not permitted in the second line of the couplet.
Cywydd deuair hirion
is a type of , and in fact, it is common for this meter to just be referred to by . The rules for are that:
- It is a couplet.
- Each line is 7 syllables long.
- It must be written in with the accent alternating between the last and penultimate syllables.
- is not permitted in the second line of the couplet.
Cywydd llosgyrnog
is a type of that is rarely used. The rules for are that:
- It is six lines long.
- The first,second,fourth, and fifth lines have 8 syllables.
- The third and sixth lines have 7 syllables.
- Lines one and two rhyme and cross rhyme with the 4th syllable of line three.
- Lines four and five rhyme and cross rhyme with the 4th syllable of line six.
- Lines three and six rhyme with each other.
Therefore, the rhyme scheme would be:
xxxxxxxA<br/>
xxxxxxxA<br/>
xxxAxxC<br/>
xxxxxxxB<br/>
xxxxxxxB<br/>
xxxBxxC
Englyn cyrch
is a quatrain of the form, consisting of two lines of 7 syllables, followed by an .
A possible rhyme scheme would be:
xxxxxxA<br/>
xxxxxxA<br/>
xxxxxxB<br/>
xxBxxxA
Englyn proest cyfnewidiog
is a quatrain of the form.
The rules of are that:
- Each line is 7 syllables long.
- All four lines (consonate) with each other.
Englyn proest cadwynog
is a quatrain of the form. The rules for are that:
- Each line is 7 syllables long.
- Lines one and three rhyme.
- Lines two and four () with lines one and three, and each other.
The rhyme scheme would be:
xxxxxxA<br/>
xxxxxoA<br/>
xxxxxxA<br/>
xxxxxoA
where the lowercase "o" denotes consonance.
Englyn unodl crwca
is a type of . It is a quatrain consisting of a monorhyming combination of and (see ) couplets, in that order. This means that a possible rhyme scheme for would be:
xxxxxxA<br/>
xxxxxxA<br/>
xxxxxxxAxb<br/>
bxxxxxA
where the lower case "b" denotes alliteration, assonance, or a secondary rhyme.
Englyn unodl union
is "by far the most popular" type of englyn. It is a quatrain consisting of a monorhyming combination of (see ) and couplets, in that order, making it the same as , except with the order of the couplets swapped. This means that a possible rhyme scheme for would be:
xxxxxxxAxb<br/>
bxxxxxA<br/>
xxxxxxA<br/>
xxxxxxA
where the lower case "b" denotes alliteration, assonance, or a secondary rhyme.
Gorchest beirdd
The meter ("Bards' masterpiece") was created by the poet Dafydd ab Edmwnd.
Possible rhyme schemes would be:
xxxxxxxxA<br/>
xxxxxxxxA<br/>
xxxBxxxxB<br/>
xxxxxxxxA
or
xxxxxxxxA<br/>
xxxxxxxxA<br/>
xxxxxxxBx<br/>
xxBxxxxxA
Gwawdodyn hir
is a sestet of the form. It is similar to a apart from there is an additional nonasyllabic couplet added to the start.
The rules for are that:
- Lines one, two, three, four, and six have 9 syllables.
- Line five has 10 syllables.
- Lines one, two, three, four, and six rhyme
- Line five has either an internal rhyme or a syllable before the last rhymes with a syllable in the fourth.
Possible rhyme schemes would be:
xxxxxxxxA<br/>
xxxxxxxxA<br/>
xxxxxxxxA<br/>
xxxxxxxxA<br/>
xxxBxxxxB<br/>
xxxxxxxxA
or
xxxxxxxxA<br/>
xxxxxxxxA<br/>
xxxxxxxxA<br/>
xxxxxxxxA<br/>
xxxxxxxBx<br/>
xxBxxxxxA
Hir-a-thoddaid
is a sestet. The rules for are that:
- Lines one, two, three, four, and five have 10 syllables.
- Line six has 9 syllables.
- Lines one, two, three, four, and six rhyme
- A syllable near the end of line five rhymes with a syllable in the middle of line six
A possible rhyme scheme would be:
xxxxxxxxxA<br/>
xxxxxxxxxA<br/>
xxxxxxxxxA<br/>
xxxxxxxxxA<br/>
xxxxxxxBxx<br/>
xxxBxxxxA
Rhupunt byr
A is a line divided into three sections each of 4 syllables, the first two sections rhyme together, while the third section rhymes with other lines. is used to refer to two lines of .
The rhyme scheme would be:
xxxA/xxxA/xxBC<br/>
xxxD/xxxD/xxBC
Rhupunt hir
is used to refer to with an additional 4 syllable section. However, it can also be used to refer to two lines of this form.