Related Words

Octosyllabic: Having eight syllables.

Miracle Play: Not to be confused with medieval morality plays, a miracle play is a medieval drama depicting either biblical stories, the miracle(s) performed by a saint, or the martyrdom of a saint in Chr . . . View Full Definition

Lai: (plural lais, also spelled lay) A short narrative or lyrical poem, usually in octosyllabic couplets, intended to be sung. Helen Cooper called the genre the 'mini-Romance' since the typical t . . . View Full Definition

Fabliau: A bawdy medieval verse narrative, originally french but adapted by geoffrey chaucer's in 'the miller's tale,' 'the reeve's tale,' 'the merchant's tale,' and others of the canterbury tales.

Alliterative Verse: A traditional form of Anglo-Saxon and Old Norse poetry in which each line has at least four stressed syllables, and those stresses fall on syllables in which three or four words alliterate ( . . . View Full Definition

Rondeau: A mainly octosyllabic poem consisting of between ten and fifteen lines, having only two rhymes and with the opening words used twice as an unrhyming refrain at the end of the second and thir . . . View Full Definition