the.com/rondeau
A poem that repeats itself because it has something to prove.
means A fixed-form poem (typically 13 or 15 lines) built on just two rhymes, whose opening words return as a refrain partway through and again at the very end.
from From French 'rondeau,' itself from 'rond' (round), tied to 'rondel' and the whole family of 'round' words — all circling back to the idea of a closed loop. The form grew out of medieval French song and dance, where a group's refrain alternated with a soloist's verses, so the repetition wasn't decoration — it was literally the chorus everyone circled back to join.
- structure
- 15 lines, two rhymes, one refrain, zero mercy
- refrain trick
- opening words return as a punchline twice
- origin
- medieval French, born from a dance song
- famous example
- In Flanders Fields uses it for war grief