BOUTS-RIMES

Bouts-rimés is a style of 17th Century French poetry that uses rhymed endings suggested by one person and given to another to create a poem. The trick is to use the rhymes in the order given and make them fit as creatively and smoothly as possible.

This was once a very popular parlour game and national pasttime that also caught on in Victorian England. The challenges often resulted in very perplexing rhyme patterns. Many bouts-rimés are in fact sonnets and have 14 lines.

Below are some line endings for you to try your very own abbreviated bouts-rimé and to share with pupils. The first line, inspired by this workshop, is completed for you.

 

There’s a poem in my ............................................  ear

…………………………………………………………….... shout

……………………………………………………………….... fear

…………………………………………………………………. out

……………………………………………………………….. lend

…………………………………………………….……….. friend

 

Read on
For background on bouts-rimés, see this.