What is a Rondeau?

A Rondeau is a short poem consisting of fifteen lines that have two rhymes throughout. The first few words or phrase from the first line are repeated twice in the poem as a refrain.

Example – A Rondeau poem - The capital A is the refrain and sentence it is taken from

In Summertime we do not go	a
To school for weeks and weeks, no no!	a
We take a day trip to the beach	b
And buy ourselves an ice cream each	b
We run into the surf that's low	a
Get seaweed wrapped around our toes	a
While others sunbathe on a throw	a
We build sandcastles tides can't reach	b
In Summertime.	A
As the light warm breeze begins to blow	a
And our hunger begins to grow	a
From the picnic I grab a peach	b
'Let's stay longer' I do beseech	b
As the sun sets the sky does glow	a
In Summertime.	A

Why don't you try writing a Rondeau poem and enter it into one of our poetry competitions.

For information on poetry types other than a Rondeau poem visit our poetry glossary – poetry types.

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