Poetic Form
Lanterne
A five-line syllabic poem shaped like a Japanese lantern.
Lines5Always five
Syllables1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 1Eleven in total
RhymeOptionalRhyme is up to you
SubjectSerious thoughtOften reflective
About the Lanterne
The lanterne is a short five-line poem whose syllable counts (one, two, three, four, one) give the poem the visual shape of a Japanese lantern. The form packs a serious thought into just eleven syllables.
Structure
Five lines of one, two, three, four, and one syllable, in that order. Rhyme is optional.
Five lines of one, two, three, four and one syllable, which together look like a lantern.
11 syllable
22 syllables
33 syllables
44 syllables
51 syllable
A Short History
- 1910sAdelaide Crapsey develops the cinquain, a five-line counted form.
- 1915Her cinquains are published in Verse, after her death.
- Since thenPoets invent many new short counted-syllable forms.
- TodayShort-form journals and contests still feature the lanterne.
Famous Lanternes
- 01"November Night" (cinquain, the lanterne's close relative)Adelaide Crapsey
Questions About the Lanterne
The things people ask most, answered in a sentence or two.
Eleven, spread over five lines as one, two, three, four and one syllable.
When centered on the page, the short and longer lines make the shape of a Japanese lantern.
Both have five lines. A lanterne counts 1, 2, 3, 4, 1 syllables, while Adelaide Crapsey's cinquain counts 2, 4, 6, 8, 2 syllables (with 1, 2, 3, 4, 1 stresses).