CINQUAIN

A cinquain is a type of poetry. In many ways it is similar to a Japanese haiku. What makes a cinquain unique?
While a Japanese haiku has a syllable count, consisting of 5 syllables, 7 syllables and 5 syllables, a modern cinquain goes by the number of words in each line. It was invented by US poet Adelaide Crapsey, born September 9, 1878 in Brooklyn, New York. She enjoyed the Haiku style and adapted it to her own techniques. She named her new construction cinquain, based on the French word for "five".

The cinquain is always made up of five lines. In Adelaide's original traditional form, those lines would have 2 syllables, 4 syllables, 6 syllables, 8 syllables and then 2 syllables again. Modern forms of the cinquain often use word counts instead. In either case, the content type of the line is the same. The layout for a cinquain is:

one word or two syllables - subject name
two words or four syllables - description
three words or six syllables - action
four words or eight syllables - description
one word or two syllables – summation

FRIENDSHIP           Traditional Cinquain

Friend/ship 

Pre/cious, awe/some

Bright/ens gloom/y mo/ments

Rain/bow's treas/ure trove dis/cov/ered

Al/ways

One word title                                                                           2 syllables

2 adjectives that describe the topic                                         4 syllables

3 words that express action                                                    6 syllables

4 words that express a feeling                                                            8 syllables

1 word that refers to the title                                                  2 syllables

                                                                                    TOTAL  22 syllables

Redwood     Modern cinquain

Tree                                                                             one noun

Tall, Green                                                                  two adjectives

Growing, reaching, standing                                       three ing participles

Witness to the past                                                      four word phrase

Future                                                                          one noun

My Classes

Students

male and female

ask a lot of questions

always a delightful surprise

Pupils

My Classes

Students

curious, bright

listening, asking, studying

hopes for no homework

Pupils

How to Write a Cinquain Poem:  Follow the Pattern

• Line 1 - one word title (noun)
• Line 2 - two adjectives that describe the title
• Line 3 - three action verbs that relate to line l and end in ing
• Line 4 - four words that express your feelings about the subject (typically a phrase)
• Line 5 - one word - synonym of line 1 or a similar word (noun)

Cats

Furry, friendly

Purring, playing, sleeping

Friends when you need them

Pets

Cinquain Writing Tips

1. Read a few examples of cinquains.
2. Study the syllable pattern.
3. Write following a syllable pattern.
4. Study word patterns.
5. Write following word patterns.
6. Study description patterns.
7. Write descriptively.
8. Remember to use your words wisely.
9. Combine what you know with other styles or create your own.

10.  Share your poetry with others.

There are two different types of cinquain commonly seen and used:

Traditional Cinquain Template

Title:_________________________

__________________

(noun -two syllables)

____________________________ (four syllables)

_____________________________ (six syllables)

_____________________________ (eight syllables)

_____________________

(1 noun/adjective -two syllables)

Modern Cinquain Template

 Title:_______________________

 (one word: noun)

___________________________ (two words: adjectives)

___________________________ (three words: “ing” participles)

___________________________ 

(four words: phrase captures  feeling or idea)

(one word: refer back to the first word)