A cinquain is a five-line poem or stanza with various rhyming patterns and meters. Adelaide Crapsey’s form has syllable counts of 2-4-6-8-2 and is inspired by Japanese haiku. Cinquains can be used in larger poems and for experimentation with meter and rhyme.
In its simplest form, a cinquain is a poem or stanza within a poem that contains five lines. Numerous variations of the cinquain have been developed, including highly stylized and rigid forms. There are many different variations on the rhyming pattern and meter that can be used with a cinquain, and this poetic form is sometimes used in English classes to introduce students to the tremendous variation that can be found within poetic forms.
One of the more stylized forms of the cinquain in the form developed by Adelaide Crapsey, a late 19th-century poet who was inspired by Japanese haiku. Crapsey’s cinquain consists of a five-line poem in which the first line has two syllables, the second line four, the third line six, the fourth line eight, and the fifth line two. An optional sixth line may be used as a title to begin the poem. These poems often have a minimalistic, slightly ethereal feel, just like the Japanese form that inspired them.
Crapsey usually used iambs for meter in his cinquains. A giam is a two-syllable unit where the stress falls on the second unit. Playing with the syllabic accents within a cinquain can reveal very different patterns, for those who find iambs too restrictive. A common variation on the Crapsey form is a reverse cinquain, in which the 2-4-6-8-2 form is reversed to create a 2-8-6-4-2 pattern. In a cinquain mirror, both forms are used back to back. The feeling of the poem can be very different, depending on the type of meter used by the poet.
Cinquains can also be used within a poem, either as a single stanza in a poem or in the form of a poem made up of many cinquains. For example, a poet might develop a poem of six stanzas in which the first five stanzas are fifty and the sixth stanza takes a line from each fifty. Using five lines also creates the possibility for a number of rhyme schemes, including ABABA, AABAA, AABAC, and so on. Within a larger poem composed of cinquains, a poet may use a rhyming pattern referencing previous stanzas to tie the poem together, as in a three-stanza poem with the pattern ABABA BCBCB CDCDC.
The best way to explore poetic forms is to start writing poems and play with their meter, rhyme scheme, and rhythm. Cinquains lend themselves well to experimentation because they are flexible but also short.
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