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The Poetic Form Rondeau in Poets Biography & Poetry Resource Directory

The rondeau began as a lyric form in thirteenthcentury France, popular among medieval court poets and musicians. Named after the French word for round, the rondeau is characterized by the repeating lines of the rentrement, or refrain, and the two rhyme sounds throughout. The form was originally a musical vehicle devoted to emotional subjects such as spiritual worship, courtship, romance, and the changing of seasons. To sing of melancholy was another way of using the rondeau, but thoughts on pain and loss often turned to a cheerful c’est la vie in the final stanza.

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