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Modern cinquain

Form
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

A five-line poem with a specific syllable count (2-4-6-8-2) developed in the 20th century

Detailed Definition
A modern cinquain is a five-line stanza form developed by Adelaide Crapsey, typically following a syllabic count of 2-4-6-8-2 and emphasizing imagistic precision and rhythmic cadence; inspired by Japanese haiku but distinct in structure, it captures a single moment or emotion with lapidary concision, often using enjambment and caesura for dynamic tension.
Example
Example in poetry:
Adelaide Crapsey’s “Amaze”: “I know / Not these my hands / And yet I think there was / A woman like me once…” (2-4-6-8-2); “Snow” by Crapsey: “The snow! / It flies and falls / Like feathers from the sky— / Softly, silently, covering / All.”; modern example: “Dusk / settles slow / over empty streets— / streetlights blink awake in / pools.”; “Grief / weighs heavy / in my chest tonight— / memories echo in the / dark.”
Additional Notes
Modern cinquain is a five-line form developed by Adelaide Crapsey, typically unrhymed with a 2-4-6-8-2 syllable count; captures a single vivid image or emotion with haiku-like brevity.
Also Known As
Crapsey cinquain American cinquain syllabic quintet modern quintain
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