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Contributor: Kristen Gardiner. Lesson ID: 10648
Did you ever play the alphabet game? Apples, Bananas, Cantaloupe.... Did you know that you were creating a special type of poetry? Learn all about abecedarians through video, games, and brainstorming!
Oh no!
If you have, then you know Kevin was supposed to think of a word that begins with the letter c — not the letter k.
Look at the title of this lesson again: Apples, Bananas, Can You Think of More? Cantaloupe, Then Dragon Fruit Makes Four!
If you did, you are correct. It does also rhyme, which is a signal that this is a poetry lesson! But remember, not all poems need to rhyme.
You have probably guessed that this poem will have something to do with alphabetical order, and you're right. This lesson will explore a form of poetry called the abecedarian.
Abecedarian
The abecedarian is an ancient poetic form guided by alphabetical order. Generally, each line or stanza begins with the first letter of the alphabet and is followed by successive letters until the final letter is reached.
The form was frequently used in ancient cultures for sacred compositions, such as prayers, hymns, and psalms.
To break that down for you, an abecedarian is a form of ancient poetry in which the first line begins with the first letter of the alphabet, and each line that follows begins with a word that keeps going in alphabetical order.
This form of poetry used to be used for prayers and other religious types of chants and texts; however, today, we use it as a way of memorizing things and as a way of learning the alphabet!
This may seem a little wild initially, but the poem's lines don't have to be long. Nor are we going to use all 26 letters of the alphabet.
You can even come up with fun ways to tell your reader that you can't think of a word for a particular letter if you get stuck!
Once you get writing, you'll find that this is an easy and fun way to do the following.
Abecedarians are rarely seen in the 21st century. The last of the abecedarian poems were those written for education and entertainment by such authors as Dr. Seuss, Shel Silverstein, and Edward Lear.
Read the "Alphabet Poem" by Edward Lear.
| A | tumbled down, and hurt his Arm, against a bit of wood. | |
| B | said, "My Boy, O! do not cry' it cannot do you good!" | |
| C | said, "A Cup of Coffee hot can't do you any harm." | |
| D | said, "A Doctor should be fetched, and he would cure the arm." | |
| E | said, "An Egg beat up in milk would quickly make him well." | |
| F | said, "A Fish, if broiled, might cure, if only by the smell." | |
| G | said, "Green Gooseberry fool, the best of cures I hold." | |
| H | said, "His Hat should be kept on, keep him from the cold." | |
| I | said, "Some Ice upon his head will make him better soon." | |
| J | said, "Some Jam, if spread on bread, or given in a spoon." | |
| K | said, "A Kangaroo is here,—this picture let him see." | |
| L | said, "A Lamp pray keep alight, to make some barley tea." | |
| M | said, "A Mulberry or two might give him satisfaction." | |
| N | said, "Some Nuts, if rolled about, might be a slight attraction." | |
| O | said, "An Owl might make him laugh, if only it would wink." | |
| P | said, "Some Poetry might be read aloud, to make him think." | |
| Q | said, "A Quince I recommend,—A Quince, or else a Quail." | |
| R | said, "Some Rats might make him move, if fastened by their tail." | |
| S | said, "A Song should now be sung, in hopes to make him laugh!" | |
| T | said, "A Turnip might avail, if sliced or cut in half." | |
| U | said, "An Urn, with water hot, place underneath his chin!" | |
| V | said, "I'll stand upon a chair, and play a Violin!" | |
| W | said, "Some Whiskey-Whizzgigs fetch, some marbles and a ball!" | |
| X | said, "Some double XX ale would be the best of all!" | |
| Y | said, "Some Yeast mised up with salt would make a perfect plaster!" | |
| Z |
said, "Here is a box of Zinc! Get in my little master! |
Now, answer these questions.
The abecedarian form of poetry eventually gave way to the acrostic poem and various forms of nursery rhymes.
Watch the read-along video below for a much simpler version of an abecedarian poem called "A Apple Pie" by Kate Greenaway.
The purpose of this lesson is to introduce you to another form of poetry that was at one time very popular but today has been replaced by an easier and clearer form (the acrostic).
You will not need to write a line for each alphabet letter, although you may if you'd like. Nor do you need to rhyme.
So head over to the Got It? section to begin writing a good, old-fashioned abecedaria!
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