A French form of rhyming poetry, a Kyrielle is written in quatrains. A quatrain is a stanza consisting of 4 lines. Each line consists of 8 syllables. Within each quatrain there is a repeating line as a refrain. Typically this appears as the last line of each stanza. There is no maximum number of stanzas in a kyrielle, but 3 is the standard minimum.
The rhyme pattern is determined by the poet. Popular examples include aabB, ccbB, ddbB or abaB, cbcB, dbdB, with B being the repeated line. While these are popular choices, they are not the only options. Try mixing it up like axaZ, bxbZ, cxcZ, dxdZ with Z as the repeated line, or determine your own rhyme scheme.
The following links include examples of Kyrielle poetry:
My Cage by Carrie Page
A Sadistic Season by Carrie Page
Enchantress by Carrie Page
Do you have an example of a Kyrielle you’d like to share? Leave a link to it in the comments!
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Carrie Mayhem 