Pantoum

A pantoum is a poem of four-line stanzas in which the second and fourth lines of each stanza are repeated as the first and third lines of the next.

A pantoum has no short public domain example in English worth quoting, so here is the shape. Number the lines of the first stanza 1, 2, 3, 4. The second stanza runs 2, 5, 4, 6. The third runs 5, 7, 6, 8, and so on. In the last stanza the opening lines of the poem return, so the poem ends where it began.

What it is

Every line appears twice, which makes the poem circle back on itself. The repeated lines change meaning each time, because they arrive in a new setting. It is a close relative of the villanelle and the sestina, which also run on repetition.

How to write one

Start with eight lines you like and see which ones can bear repeating. Lines that mean one thing in a stanza and something slightly different in the next work best.

Write a first stanza of four lines. Then lift lines two and four into the next stanza as its first and third. Keep going until you reach the end, and loop the first and third lines of the poem back to close it. If a repeated line goes dead on the second use, rewrite it so the surrounding words change its meaning.

Why it matters to a writer or editor

The pantoum suits memory, obsession and grief, where the mind keeps returning. Repeating a line well means choosing lines that can mean two things.

Frequently asked questions

Where does the pantoum come from?

It comes from a Malay form called the pantun. French poets adopted it in the nineteenth century, and English poets followed.