AE FREISLIGHE

 

WHAT IS AE FREISLIGHE?

Ae Freshlighe is a form of Irish poetry. Since Irish poetry was passed on by word of mouth, most forms of Irish poetry are constructed so that they are easy to remember. Irish poetry usually has an emphasis on rhyming devices, which make the poem easier to remember. Ae Freislighe (pronounced almost like aye-freshly) literally means lay down poetry and is a very common form of Irish poetry.

HOW TO WRITE AN AE FREISLIGHE?

Ae Freislighe is a very compactly structured form of poetry. 

~The Ae Freislighe poems contain quatrains (4 line stanzas).

~There are 7 syllables per line.

~Rhyme scheme followed is ABAB. But the first and third lines rhyme with 3 syllables (meaning the end rhyme is of three syllables) and lines 2 and 4 have an end rhyme syllable count of 2. 

~The first syllable of the stanza and the last syllable of the stanza should be the same. The name given for such devices is Dunadh. If the poem is longer than one stanza, the first word of the poem should be the same as the last word of the poem. 

EXAMPLE OF AE FREISLIGHE:

LOOKING UPON YESTERDAY

~Avaanthikha Narayan

Looking upon yesterday

And next day during christmas

Finally a holiday

And forgetting my missus.

I had seen an ambulance

That took her to a clinic

I, now almost passionless

Hoping for her with cynic.

She had been at disposal

Her, and her lousy cooking

I thought of my proposal

To which she had been looking.

As mentioned, each stanza contains 4 lines and the rhyme scheme is followed very well. The poem starts with the word looking and ends with the same. This poem describes the thoughts of a husband whose wife has met with an accident and is fighting for her life. The rhyming syllables of the first and third lines of each stanza are three and of the second and fourth lines are two. There are 7 syllables in each line.

TIPS TO WRITE AN AE FREISLIGHE:

1. Ensure that each line has only 7 syllables and the rhyming count of the mentioned lines is to be maintained.

2. Construct your poem in a way such that the first and last words or syllables are the same. 

3. Remember the rhyme scheme (ABAB).

4. The poem when expressed as syllables looks like:
   xxxx xxa
   xxxxx xb
   xxxx xa

xxxxx xb

Ae Freislighe is not a modern form of poetry but is quite easy to remember due to the poetic devices and the set rhyme scheme. Just like most Irish poetry forms, Ae Freislighe is relaxing to listen surrounded by flowers and bushes. Read the other blogs to learn about the other forms of poetry and pen them all! Become a poet who has tried all forms of poetry!

~Avaanthikha Narayan

(Member of team PoeTree FoRest)