Rime Royal

by S. L. P. Van der Veer

Summer 2004

The rime royal (or rhyme royal) is a form of uncertain origins with suggestions of French or Italian roots. It is speculated that the form comes from a 7‑line stanza used by French poets, or from omitting the 5 th line from the Italian ottava rima. The spelling “rime” is historically accurate for the height of the form’s usage, with the spelling “rhyme” becoming common in English around the time of its decline.

The rime royal came into prominence in the 14 th century. The form is commonly attributed to Geoffrey Chaucer (1343-1400), whose “The Complaint Unto Pity” is possibly the earliest appearance of the rime royal in English. The form is also called the Troilus stanza, after Chaucer’s use of it in “Troilus and Criseyde.” In the 15 th century, the rime royal became the preferred form for heroic poetry. Its popularity lasted until the early 17 th century, when its decline was evidenced by some poets rewriting their rime royal poems into other forms.

It is a common misperception that the form is called “royal” because it was the preferred form of King James I of Scotland, who used it in his “Kingis Quair” (c. 1425). However, James never used the term. The earliest use of the term “royal” in association with the stanza is in John Quixley’s translations (c. 1400) of John Gower’s French ballades. The term “rithme royall” first appears in Gascoigne’s Certayne Notes in 1575 (in medieval Latin, the terms “rhyme” and “rhythm” are synonymous). Gascoigne uses the term “royal” in reference to the gravity of subject, as in Chaucer’s “Troilus and Criseyde.”

The rime royal is a seven-line stanza, with each line containing 10 syllables. As with most verse forms in English, the lines are written in iambic pentameter. Each stanza contains three rhymes, as follows: ababbcc. Stanzas may be strung together, but do not have to rhyme with one another. Some poets have chosen to create a refrain with the final line; this could also be done with the couplet. The subjects must be elevated—love, chivalry, classic tales, tragedies, saints’ lives. The form is well-suited to narrative poetry as well as descriptive.

Following is a stanza I composed as an example, which will, hopefully, become part of a longer work:

Love's Dreaming

by S. L. P. Van der Veer

 

Days pass, weeks pass, years pass, and mem’ries fade…

all save one: the dream of that love lingers,

and I am left with the edge of Hope’s blade

to bring me through Despair’s clutching fingers

to the ever-afters of tale-bringers.

Others may skirt shadows with their scheming;

I would risk those shadows for Love’s dreaming.

For Additional Information

Chaucer, Geoffrey. “The Complaint Unto Pity,” “The Complaint Unto His Purse,” “Troilus and Criseyde”, “The Parlement of Foules,” and four of “The Canterbury Tales.”

Shakespeare, William. “A Lover’s Complaint” and “The Rape of Lucrece.”

Spenser, Edmund. “Foure Hymnes.”

Wordsworth, William. “Resolution and Independence.”

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