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Isamy Camreon, a poetical fugue in six voices
Contents
Deviations
The Author
For a poetical fugue, each voice will repeat absolutely once after its initial appearance, and thereafter be 'freed' of the exactness, and be repeated only in rhythm and meter, and not in rhyme and word. This means that a line will be repeated once, and only once. After the repeat, the
voice repeats thereafter, not the word-for-word line. Also, punctuation must be addressed. Since lines are going to be repeated in the poem per schedule, and to a strict rule, the author of a fugue must decide HOW strict that rule will be. Word-for-word repeats of the line are a foundation
of the fugue, and must appear exact for their repeat. And, syllables aren’t to be changed once the line is set into the fuge’s cycle (for exceptions to this, see Deviations at the book’s appendix), however, does this mean that even the punctuation shouldn’t be moved? I chose to augment the
punctuation. Therefore, the first version of a line might be:
The listing hare compares his mind to what entails his life’s compose.
But, it’s repeat in the next stanza, while word-for-word, may show as thus:
The listing hare compares his mind. To what entails his life’s compose?
So, as part of the author’s expression in writing a fugue, punctuation is free to be moved to the author’s whim, so long as the words are not changed, nor the rhythm and its meter. Capitalisations, hyphenations, italicizing, periods, commas, semi-colons, dialogue encapsulating, an elipse…
even colloquial spellings can be reverted to (so long as the words, their placement, and their syllable count and stresses are not changed).
Defining Terms for Fugue Theory
Rhythm
A mode of accenting syllables to provide a system of rhythmic pattern. The forms of rhythm are covered below. A rhythm is comprised of a metrical ‘foot’, of either two or three syllables long.
Iamb (Iambic): O/
Trochee (Trochaic): /O
Anapest (Anapestic): OO/
Dactyl (Dactylic): /OO
Spondee (Spondaic): O//
Syntax (Syntaxic): //O
Systole (Systolic): O/O
Diastole (Diastolic): /O/
Meter
The way in which rhythm is measured. A single foot, or, the rhythm done once, is monometer, twice is dimeter, three times is trimeter, etc… The number of rhythmic feet in a line is the meter used. Meter is:
Monometer 1 foot of rhythm
Dimeter 2 feet
Trimeter 3 feet
Tetrameter 4 feet
Pentameter 5 feet
Hexameter 6 feet
Heptameter 7 feet
Octometer 8 feet
Stanza
A single unit of poetry equal to a poetical paragraph. The blocks of text with which a poem usually consists of, and of which a metrical poem always consists of.
Voice
The primary element of a poetical fugue. A fugue is made up of voices, and they are what define the form as a fugue, and not a usual poem. The voices chosen in a fugue are only rhythms and the meters prescribed them. For example, a fugue with three voices is, really, a poem that will
use three of the metrical rhythms (listed in next section), and three of the meters (listed above); however, which three rhythms are up the the fugue’s author and can be any of the rhythms known (Iambic, Anapestic, Dactylic, etc...). Voice is the building block of the fugue form,
and it’s made of rhythms and their meters, nothing more. The number of voices used in a fugue is up to the author choosing them, however it should be noted that the larger the number of voices, the EXPONENTIALLY larger the fugue (I found six voices to be more than a handful for a first try).
You may also use a rhythm more than once. The meter of the rhythm you choose is dependant on the rhythm. Meter in a fugue is decided by the equation at the end of this notation (see FORMULA). If you wanted, you could use nothing but Iambs or Trochees. Choosing your voices is the key to opening
up your fugue, so this choice should be thought out at length. Symmetry, textual devices, repetition, rhyme, even the general flavor of the fugue is augmented directly by your choice of voices, both in number and in their components.
The Fugue Formula
The Number of Voices chosen is always equal to the number of introductory stanzas, number of repeats, and number of rhythms necessary to complete the fugue. Voice will be represented by the variable ‘V’. As an example, we'll use 3 as our number of Voices.
V = 3.
Multiply V by 2 to get the syllable count for each line (S).
For our example, this would be 6.
S = 6.
Decide the rhythms you would like to use (We picked V as 3, so there will be 3 rhythms), and divide the syllable amount of each rhythm's base foot- ‘F’ (this is either 2 (disyllabic) or 3 (trisyllabic)) into S to get the meter (M).
S/F = M
Voice divided by Foot equals Meter
Let's say we are going to use the Anapestic, Iambic, and Trochaic rhythms for our voices. The anapest, being trisyllabic divides into S (6) 2 times. Our meter for the anapest will be one of 2 feet then, or Dimeter. It would appear as: OO/OO/. If we divide the Iambic foot into S,
we get 3. This would then be Trimeter, and would appear as: O/O/O/. The trochaic would be the same, and appear as: /O/O/O. And there we have it, 6 syllables per line, regardless of the rhythm or meter accounting it. So, by chosing V, we've been given M.
M = 6
The use of rhyme is at your discretion, though it is important to stick with your rhyme scheme once it's been established. for our example, we might use AAB, or ABA, or even AAAAAA... that option is yours. The rhyme in a fugue is free.
A Simplified Equation
If you choose Anapestic, Dactylic, Spondaic, Syntaxic, Systolic, or Diastolic, F (foot) will always have a value of 3. If you choose Iambic or Trochaic, F will be 2. V, the number of voices you decided to use for your fugue, will also end up the same as the number of lines in your introductory
and exit stanzas.
V = length (in lines) of first, and also the last stanza
V2 = S
S/F = M
V2 = largest stanza
V2 - 1 = number of stanzas that will constitue the fugue
V3 = total number of lines that will constitute fugue.
A Walkthrough Example of a Fugue
Let's run through the simplified equation and construct a basic fugue. Let’s say we decide to write a fugue, and we decide on using 3 voices. For the voices, let’s say we choose Anapestic (3 syllables), Iambic (2), and Trochaic (2).
Three voices: V = 3
Applying the above-mentioned rules gives you all the information you need:
You'll be writing a fugue with 3 voices.
It will be 5 stanzas long. (Equation IV)
Your fugue will total 27 lines. (Equation V)
The first and last stanzas will be 3 lines each. (Equation I)
The largest stanza will be 9 lines. (Equation III)
The meter of the fugue will be:
1. Anapestic Dimeter
2. Iambic Trimeter
3. Trochaic Trimeter
There you have it. All the information you need to write your fugue. You simply have to choose your number of voices and pick your rhythms. It’s a good idea to know why this equation works as it does, however, a simple use of it should be satisfactory for basic fugal composition. The
structure itself is plottable.
Here is the actual tablature of the fugue we just designed.
Lesson stanza one
OO/OO/
OO/OO/
OO/OO/
Lesson stanza two
O/O/O/
OO/OO/
O/O/O/
OO/OO/
O/O/O/
OO/OO/
Lesson stanza three
/O/O/O
OO/OO/
O/O/O/
/O/O/O
OO/OO/
O/O/O/
/O/O/O
OO/OO/
O/O/O/
Lesson stanza four
/O/O/O
O/O/O/
/O/O/O
O/O/O/
/O/O/O
O/O/O/
Lesson stanza five
/O/O/O
/O/O/O
/O/O/O
And there you have it. Your scansion of the three voice fugue (had you written it) would look like what we’ve just been shown. This is, of course, without any deviation. Deviation will be covered a little later, and is an important topic for the author who would like to design fugues.
But count the lines, the number of lines per total and also in each section… was the equation accurate in providing these details before the scansion was even completed? Yes, the equation predicted all of it. Here we touch down on what the fugue really is. It’s a mathematical bundle of numbers,
all interrelated by common multiples and divisors, meshed into each other symmetrically to create a poem that actually composes itself based on your initial input. Obviously, the words written are yours, the rhymes, every part the average reader would see is you, however the underlying reasoning
behind the rhythms and their mathematical conduct is all plottable and laden with interreacting rules. The fugue, really, is the hybrid of a plottable mathematical system and poetry. Where the two meet is in the scansion. Hence all the O’s and /’s in the tablature.
Isamy Camreon Specifics
There are six voices in Isamy Camreon, each going through the single exact repeat in the stanza following its outset. Because there are six voices, and each will repeat once, the sixth stanza will mark the last voice's introduction, and the seventh stanza will be it's exact repeat. After
the seventh stanza, in a symmetrical opposite of the first six introductory stanzas, there will be five exiting stanzas, for a total of eleven stanzas to the entire fugue, and 216 lines completed. The rule marking this work as fugal follows: The voice repeats exactly, and will follow the
introduction of the next, successive voice, in a sense, placed between this following voice's lines. Because of this repeat and, later, freed repeat, each stanza increases in line number from it's preceding stanza by the same number of lines as there are total voices. The stanzas in Isamy
Camreon increase and decrease by six lines, as it has six voices total.
Now, let's run Isamy Camreon through the fugue form equation.
I chose 6 voices, being Iambic, Anapestic, Syntaxic, Syntaxic, Dactylic, and Trochaic.
Following the formula, we can discern before ever writing it that Isamy Camreon:
1. Will be 216 lines long
2. Will Consist of eleven stanzas, the shortest of which will be 6 lines long, and the longest of which will be 36 lines long.
3. The Trochaic and Iambic rhythms I chose to use will be in Hexameter (six feet), and the other four will be in Tetrameter (four feet).
Check the poem and you'll see that this is the case, and the equation is accurate for determining the fugal elements necessary to write a fugue.
A comprehensive scansion of Isamy Camreon will follow the poem itself at the end.
A Last Note
As a last note, I should say that attempting to work with the fugue form, or studying it without a knowledge of rhythm and meter is like trying to design
or study an atom bomb without a knowledge of atoms or molecules. It will be a headache, and I'm sure, highly unpleasant. An adept understanding of the rhythms in verse isn't necessary, as you'll learn them while building your fugue (and as a tutorial device, the fugue can be excellent for
demonstrating the uses and abilities of rhythma and meter), but I must stress that knowing them beforehand will make the task vastly easier.
So now, on with Isamy Camreon.
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Isamy Camreon
1
For those concerned in railing years, the young, whose arts
remain in draft, emotive urgings by some part
what plays on love, is love's perfection, yet laid prone
to lose her works, I've written else. In else, the lone
and mirrored youth reach theirs, which is not here, nor fit
come near; for those secure in love, do I commit.
2
Was it urge that required this woman, a play
for those concerned in railing years? The Young, whose arts
will become the foundation of ours to portray,
remain in draft, emotive urgings. By some part
of which we empower, enriched, we are whole;
what plays on love is love's perfection, yet laid prone
by the sea of its parentage, vigor there tolls
to lose her works. I've written else, in else, the lone
and the spurious thoughts, but this age reach heirs,
and mirrored youth reach theirs, which is not here, nor fit
is the question of love which, inlaid, is but theirs.
Come near… for those secure in love, I do commit.
3
Of first sight was our love and full length requires ask
the question, great and bordered question built of her:
Was it urge that required this woman, a play
of her husband, man authored here, posed to his task,
to marry him, and live with him? The present stirs,
will become the foundation of ours. To portray
the full merit bound back in this marriage, I move
the present shares a mind with past, in future's room,
of which we empower, enriched. We are whole
by the mall of our thoughts, have old hands by these. Grooves
are cut into our hands, what match and weave the womb
by the sea of its parentage. Vigor there tolls
and son makes, or makes daughter. Our cutting-forms sage
the son or daughter. Mired, we've a metronome
and the spurious thoughts, but this age reach heirs
in some proper time. Hands of ours need a stout stage
by two, and only two for each. This couple's home
is the question of love which, inlaid, is but theirs.
4
If each hour was brought here for some detail, would show
the joy of seconds bribing forth some moment long
of the truth that records what a husband becomes.
Of first sight was our love and full length requires ask
the last muse (who tasks me disclose mine in all glow,
and more, to gate it, list it, lead the joy in song
to the floors of this writing), is man but a sum
of her husband, man authored here, posed to his task,
a set sum of her thoughts and his? Muse, prepare well
an answer come with age, that I may last discern
the intent what is wrought, by a bit of each year,
the full merit bound back in this marriage. I move
by mule's bray and pig's root and, I say, beast's spell,
for one can only be as beast when, by muse, yearns
at the images made but in likenesses near.
By the mall of our thoughts, we have old hands. By these grooves,
the black earth has green shoots and spares creatures much life.
The older twilight where we plan an age of that,
is a dream, while the dawning be made of us now,
and son makes, or makes daughter, our cutting forms. Sage
in good prosper, love nudges one's madness on its knife.
A purling woman, can be love, who's teakettle hat
is the whistle of steam what calls page to the plough.
In some proper time, hands of ours need a stout stage.
5
I had become a derangement of properties.
The angst of pavement struck its blow against the fence
what impaired this momentum's remedial drive.
The black cautions I formed were old, sick, and lacked thought.
If each hour was brought here for some detail, would show
loss at the edges where I was the poverty
of age. And shortly, I was walking out and sensed
that a shadow had shown, and its form had contrived
a girl's form, what spoke blessings. She called and sought
the last muse (who tasks me disclose mine). In all glow,
she was atoned for and gifted the wish of a
compatting man, a derelict who wished on muse
for a kingdom in love, and a love what composed
a home made by two lovers. She gave consent, built
a set sum of her thoughts and his. 'You've prepared well,
given a home for contain of us, fishing in us,
for our retire, a wedding day by which to fuse
in the Vow and compose our eternity's close.'
And she answered, made Vow, and her kisses lacked guilt.
By mule's bray and pig's root and, I say, beast's spell,
lived the indentured, corroding impeach of a
beguiled youth. When found, was I, by Maisy, found
there, was I, by an element glowing within,
at my center come out to show me, a lost man,
the black earth has green shoots and spares creatures much life.
Always in love, the immensity reaches in,
commanding Vow. The germ had spilled its joy and bound
its enspoused by a tender and intimate skin
of new bliss, what there deepened, found urge, and swift ran.
In good prosper, love nudges one's madness on its knife.
6
Motivations saved this drive from obsoleteness,
repaired what hunt had left my youth, revised, released,
and reminded the hunt that its meanings would fly
in due time. The charms she devised swept the port clear
for my virtures, old things what called slow, yet stayed close.
I had become a derangement of properties
wound within a vagrant man for his completness
to fill, fulfill, and spill with ire's blackened lease
and fatigueable hording. So worsened was my
prepare, I had gone sick on swift dream, and swam near
to find shores what could not present. My corrupt dose,
loss at the edges where I was the poverty,
part of man, yet held beneath his own devising,
may well have ended me entire. That dose of loot
and collapsable lowlness shirked from its hold,
recessed back, and died else. The joy she had filled me
with played threads of love, grown of we, two, for our own.
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She was atoned for, and gifted the wish. Of a
blanket's warmth came hands and arms in rising
embraces. I unwound the charge of my pursuit
and contrived to ensue with the rings of our mold,
what show bright by fire's edge and know right, are new seas
in bold straits. This wed, blissful, finds life a vast loan,
given a home for contain of us, fishing us
forth in brilliant nets. And love, with time, creating
some greater love, prepares its cast and waits in pause
for some night of arrival, an age of our end
in this place. Could I fear this last age, would I make
the fast tremble, fear evermore. I propose I've
lived the indentured, corroding impeach of a
lasting end, have faced it well at birth and baiting
of infant's breath. Is not the root and then, the cause
of a breath to expire? Is not the amend
of first breath a stark, terminal one? Our lives take
a strong effort, grow weeds, yet through love have old song.
Always, in love, the immensity reaches in.
7
Motivations saved this drive from obsoleteness
and decrepitude. These were bequeathed in reform.
The last home of my day assumes her. The first dream
of my night portrays her. With me, moments learn fair,
carry the rise and thus, set of her, meshing and
wound within a vagrant man for his completeness.
From the intima, she is a body, a dorm,
some soft hull what bends spirit's mold, bank what drives stream
beyond, carving deep, sharp, and purled wounds in cold air,
flesh for the spirit's consumption. My flesh is a
part of man, yet held beneath His own devising,
while the flesh of a woman is joined by the show
of His will, and holds sway within man, a damp slat
what sits still to keep him beside reason. My strengths
angle, sororitise, sleep to remind that
blanket's warmth came. Hands and arms in rising,
then, in dilating gestures, became our hello,
and kiss, fond goodbye. I am filled up, the seams flat
that no water seep out and leak through the bond's length.
Flesh will perform the desires of hearts, and come
forth in brilliant nets, and love, with time, creating
and remapping itself, can escape from such traps,
be Mind's love beyond flesh, become love behind breath,
and there, find itself bound in two souls, affixed, willed,
sired, and latched in the Ever (the givers with
lasting ends have faced it well). At birth, and baiting
of the end, the reprieve of a soul is to map
its dense points and be done with it, faced until death.
The points weave and some burn, and some die, too soon stilled.
These though, if authored by love, are forgivable.
8
She promotes and lines, describes the things relapsing
in my mind. The long sprint of life, born until death,
collides there, is short spinning rugs down around floors.
Shortness of life is prescribed by an end, is the
bile followed first through errant risk, collapsing
by each moment's turn, vivid, gone flasking hot breath
in one's wetlands. Life shortens not, lengthens not, pours
under this fragrant existence, unmendable.
Love and its participants are relics drawn from
the tank heart of life, will remain us through some time
repent, slows the dull, falters life… insets thought deep.
Coarsened are those of the lack, and conditional,
living wit by wetted wing, and built from dawn and
respite. Hand recalls hand, in fond thought... the mouth climbs
at some kiss to press, eager... head pines to its keep,
fantasized young by use of conditional
others. One must find oneself a devastation,
and deaf, may not learn love, but lean in, and let strange.
For our love, the blank roll is filled through by new year,
gaining lucidity, scribbling anew in the
names of each who touched the names of else. Negation
is made, bought in each spirit, brought forth, a sought change
of gear, fought at one's base; the tall redwood peers
downward, because there, his footing is dutiful.
9
Rifle shot for country can be love, structures
to their builder's dream show in love, faith in one's god
deify's love, and that germ what imagines the
woman of her age, remains the interruptor
of our lonely, dry days, is old, married love. Odd
streaks of denial encapsulate pageants of
men and women, those who harbor ships in breach by
the port, where, unknown, they corrode. Time permits much,
watches, yet those who deprive the comparing and
choring heart of vision's fittings, there, in reach of
the hand's call to love, drought in their hollows. No such
place can empower the milk of despair to a
faster, presidential chair than one's condemn of
a love lost, or left back. The heart pangs and must take
blood, but permission to love is the intimate
trial one recovers in oneself, impending
the wage one intones serving joy; the sweet fill and crust make
pastry, though they without tongues get but scent of it.
10
When alone, I kept a bridge across the
span what, increasing by years, was the pious and
feral wind about my walk. This span, in tossing
over its passengers, porous anxieties
overcome in grief, was bent by sadness,
leaving the heart to its viral connections. The
bridge contained an exponential madness,
married to misery, poison confection what,
after my consumption, fast increased its score. In
finding my counterpart, wife by the heart, there was
wreck of that design what made the sadness chore, and
finally, I could discover my part in it.
11
Married from the first, a sprint has relieved
my distemper, sweeping forth the joy achieved
early by the love I grasp in that emotive
woman. She enfragranced me to life, the votive
I approached and who, incredible muse, by omens
vast, has searched me out and found my fondest moments.
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The Tablature of Isamy Camreon
Here is an illustration of the rhythm structure of Isamy Camreon. The slash is the accent, and the circle is the unnaccented syllable. There are eleven stanzas in Isamy Camreon, but we will be concerned with illustrating only the first seven. The reason for this is that stanzas
one through six build the fugue up to its largest point, and most complex, as well as demonstrating all of the rules of fugue composition. The seventh stanza marks the recedence of Isamy Camreon, and is only illustrated to how, from seventh through eleventh stanzas, the design is steadily (and
symmetrically) dimished to it's basic point again. Seventh through eleventh stanzas are identical masks of the fifth stanza going back to the first stanza.
We'll describe the tablature by stanza, and describe first the voice, then rhyme. As we go on with the stanzas and their scansion, I'll introduce some of the terms defined above. By the end of the scansion of the first seven stanzas, you should have a sturdy understanding of the details involved
in Isamy Camreon, and how it was constructed. From this, you may begin to understand how to create your own fugues. For your ease, a formula has been inserted near the end of this tutoring section, and a simplified equation follows it for a very basic breakdown of the rules and necessaries in
constructing your own fugues.
Stanza One
Six lines in Iambic Hexameter (Alexandrine), with the rhyme scheme being A,A,B,B,C,C. For ease of description, from this point on, rhyme will be shown as a letter followed by a number. A,A,B,B,C,C, would actually appear A1,A2,B1,B2,C1,C2. Iambic rhythm is classified as an unaccent
followed by an accented syllable, and appears thus: O/
O/O/O/O/O/O/ (A1)
O/O/O/O/O/O/ (A2)
O/O/O/O/O/O/ (A3)
O/O/O/O/O/O/ (A4)
O/O/O/O/O/O/ (A5)
O/O/O/O/O/O/ (A6)
Now, the first voice (6 lines of Iambic Hexameter, with full rhyme) is put down, and has been introduced.
Stanza Two
The second stanza will be 6 lines of Anapestic Tetrameter, with it's own, new rhyme, also following A,A,B,B,C,C,. However, because of the Fugal Rule, the rule what makes a fugue a fugue, the 6 lines of the second stanza will now be interspersed with the 6 lines from stanza one,
making the second stanza 12 lines long. The first six lines from above will come every other line in the second stanza. As they repeat in the second stanza, the exact wording will be used. These lines will not change their form, with the exception of punctuality, which is negotiable after the
introductioN. In the following illustration, A1 only rhyms with other A's (In Isamy Camreon, A1 is the word arts, and A2 is the word part. B1 and B2, from the second stanza rhymes play and portray.) The anapestic rhythm is made of two unaccents followed by an accented syllable, and looks thus:
O//. The second stanza of Isamy Camreon is seen as follows.
OO/OO/OO/OO/ (B1)
O/O/O/O/O/O/ (A1)
OO/OO/OO/OO/ (B2)
O/O/O/O/O/O/ (A2)
OO/OO/OO/OO/ (B3)
O/O/O/O/O/O/ (A3)
OO/OO/OO/OO/ (B4)
O/O/O/O/O/O/ (A4)
OO/OO/OO/OO/ (B5)
O/O/O/O/O/O/ (A5)
OO/OO/OO/OO/ (B6)
O/O/O/O/O/O/ (A6)
The first two voices are introduced now, and the first voice has been repeated. From now on, that first voice will no longer repeat exactly, meaning that the rhythm and meter will repeat (Iambic Hexameter) but the words are dropped and will be filled with what the author chooses.
After the initial repeat, the verse is freed from the constraint of exact wording, though still very much liable to the rules of it's rhythm and meter, and also that it will still rhyme, though on whatever new words are used.
Stanza Three
Six lines of Syntaxic Tetrameter, interspersed with the rhythmic lines of the first voice, and the exact lines of the second voice. One foot of Syntaxic tetrameter looks as follows: O//. The third stanza will be eighteen lines, owing to the repeat of the previous two voices.
O//O//O//O// (C1)
O/O/O/O/O/O/ (A1)
OO/OO/OO/OO/ (B1)
O//O//O//O// (C2)
O/O/O/O/O/O/ (A2)
OO/OO/OO/OO/ (B2)
O//O//O//O// (C3)
O/O/O/O/O/O/ (A3)
OO/OO/OO/OO/ (B3)
O//O//O//O// (C4)
O/O/O/O/O/O/ (A4)
OO/OO/OO/OO/ (B4)
O//O//O//O// (C5)
O/O/O/O/O/O/ (A5)
OO/OO/OO/OO/ (B5)
O//O//O//O// (C6)
O/O/O/O/O/O/ (A6)
OO/OO/OO/OO/ (B6)
The first three voices are introduced. The first has been free in this stanza, and the second voice has its exact repeat, while the third voice is introduced. Now, in the fourth stanza, following the pattern, the first voice (A) will still be free (as it will be until fugue's end),
the second voice will now be free, having finished it's one repeat, and the third voice will do it's exact repeat. I should explain that, because I wanted the fugue to be as symmetric as possible (within reason), I chose to repeat the rhythm introduced in the third stanza, also in the fourth.
As there are only six rhythms utilized in Isamy Camreon, I decided to make the third and fourth stanzas identical in rhythm, as they are the exact center of the voices, and the introduction of the voices.
Stanza Four
Six lines of Syntaxic Tetrameter, interspersed with the first, second and third voices, the third voice being repeated exactly. There are 24 lines in the third stanza. Again, Syntaxic rhythm appears as: O//
O//O//O//O// (D1)
O/O/O/O/O/O/ (A1)
OO/OO/OO/OO/ (B1)
O//O//O//O// (C1)
O//O//O//O// (D2)
O/O/O/O/O/O/ (A2)
OO/OO/OO/OO/ (B2)
O//O//O//O// (C2)
O//O//O//O// (D3)
O/O/O/O/O/O/ (A3)
OO/OO/OO/OO/ (B3)
O//O//O//O// (C3)
O//O//O//O// (D4)
O/O/O/O/O/O/ (A4)
OO/OO/OO/OO/ (B4)
O//O//O//O// (C4)
O//O//O//O// (D5)
O/O/O/O/O/O/ (A5)
OO/OO/OO/OO/ (B5)
O//O//O//O// (C5)
O//O//O//O// (D6)
O/O/O/O/O/O/ (A6)
OO/OO/OO/OO/ (B6)
O//O//O//O// (C6)
The fourth voice (D) has now been introduced, and the third voice (C) will be free from now on, just as voices A and B were freed after their one-time exact repeat. In the fifth stanza, D will repeat itself, as following the pattern its brothers have laid down.
Stanza Five
The fifth stanza will be 30 lines in length, and will introduce the fifth voice, in Dactylic Tetrameter. Dactylic rhythm is an accent followed by two unnaccented syllables: /OO
/OO/OO/OO/OO (E1)
O/O/O/O/O/O/ (A1)
OO/OO/OO/OO/ (B1)
O//O//O//O// (C1)
O//O//O//O// (D1)
/OO/OO/OO/OO (E2)
O/O/O/O/O/O/ (A2)
OO/OO/OO/OO/ (B1)
O//O//O//O// (C2)
O//O//O//O// (D2)
/OO/OO/OO/OO (E3)
O/O/O/O/O/O/ (A3)
OO/OO/OO/OO/ (B3)
O//O//O//O// (C3)
O//O//O//O// (D3)
/OO/OO/OO/OO (E4)
O/O/O/O/O/O/ (A4)
OO/OO/OO/OO/ (B4)
O//O//O//O// (C4)
O//O//O//O// (D4)
/OO/OO/OO/OO (E5)
O/O/O/O/O/O/ (A5)
OO/OO/OO/OO/ (B5)
O//O//O//O// (C5)
O//O//O//O// (D5)
/OO/OO/OO/OO (E6)
O/O/O/O/O/O/ (A6)
OO/OO/OO/OO/ (B6)
O//O//O//O// (C6)
O//O//O//O// (D6)
Now, voices 1-4 are free from exact repeat, and the fifth voice has been introduced. In stanza six, the fifth voice (E) will have its repeat, and the sixth and last voice (F) will be introduced.
Stanza Six
The sixth stanza will be 36 lines in length and the sixth voice will be in Trochaic Hexameter, the rhythm of which appears as: /O. You may have noticed at this point that the very first voice, Iambic Hexameter (O/) was disyllabic, meaning that it had only two syllables per foot
of rhythm. You may have also noticed that voices 2-5 were larger rhythms, and had three syllables per foot. The last voice will by disyllabic, just as the first one was, which makes the piece rhythmically symmetric. Also, the rhythms used in 2-5 are also symmetric to each other, in that the
second and fifth voices are opposite eachother in appearance (OO/ versus /OO). This is why voices 3 and 4 are identical in rhythm, and why voices 1 and 6 must be opposites also (O/ versus /O). Here is the way it appears illustrated:
O/ OO/ //O //O /OO /O
If I had wanted to make Isamy Camreon even more symmetric, I could have used Spondaic Tetrameter as the fourth voice, which would have appeared: O//. In this fashion, read left to right or right to left, the structure is symmetric, meaning that it is identical either way. However,
I opted to repeat the Syntaxic rhythm in the fourth voice for making the sound of the fugue, the way it seems to the reader's ear, more symmetric (and a bit more comfortable), rather than the system of rhythm itself. Now, the reason behind the meters of these rhythms has its point as well. I
wrote the first stanza in Iambic Hexameter, which means six feet of the Iambic rhythm (O/). This equates to a twelve-syllable line. I chose trisyllabic rhythms for voices 2-5, however. In order to make these voices equal in size, though they hold three syllables compared to the two syllables
held by Iambic and Trochaic, I put them in tetrameter. Tetrameter means using the chosen rhythm four times. So, though the rhythm is longer, the shortened meter compensates for the size difference mathematically, making these voices appear ALSO in twelve-syllable lines. Though the meters and
rhythms do not match eachother, the size of the line, how it is measured and it's termination point are identical. Compare the two following lines:
The walls were clean and tidy, while the floor was not.
With the advent of antibiotics came cures.
The first is Iambic Hexameter, the second is Anapestic Tetrameter, though both have the exact same number of syllables: Twelve, as it is the nearest number whose multiples include both four and six, the two meters used in the fugue.
The structure of the sixth stanza (where we introduce the sixth and final voice) appears as follows:
/O/O/O/O/O/O (F1)
O/O/O/O/O/O/ (A1)
OO/OO/OO/OO/ (B1)
O//O//O//O// (C1)
O//O//O//O// (D1)
/OO/OO/OO/OO (E1)
/O/O/O/O/O/O (F2)
O/O/O/O/O/O/ (A2)
OO/OO/OO/OO/ (B2)
O//O//O//O// (C2)
O//O//O//O// (D2)
/OO/OO/OO/OO (E2)
/O/O/O/O/O/O (F3)
O/O/O/O/O/O/ (A3)
OO/OO/OO/OO/ (B3)
O//O//O//O// (C3)
O//O//O//O// (D3)
/OO/OO/OO/OO (E3)
/O/O/O/O/O/O (F4)
O/O/O/O/O/O/ (A4)
OO/OO/OO/OO/ (B4)
O//O//O//O// (C4)
O//O//O//O// (D4)
/OO/OO/OO/OO (E4)
/O/O/O/O/O/O (F5)
O/O/O/O/O/O/ (A5)
OO/OO/OO/OO/ (B5)
O//O//O//O// (C5)
O//O//O//O// (D5)
/OO/OO/OO/OO (E5)
/O/O/O/O/O/O (F6)
O/O/O/O/O/O/ (A6)
OO/OO/OO/OO/ (B6)
O//O//O//O// (C6)
O//O//O//O// (D6)
/OO/OO/OO/OO (E6)
Now, all voices have been introduced. The first five have been repeated, and the only thing remaining is for the last voice (F) to repeat itself exactly in another stanza, the seventh one. Since no new voice is being introduced in the stanzas to come, they can no longer gain in
size. The seventh stanza, with nothing new being introduced in it voice-wise, will be no larger than the sixth stanza. Also, as we want the fugue to be symmetric in size, we're going to begin the descent of our fugue, what's goal is to come out with a last, six lined stanza. We're going to drop
a voice per stanza until we end up with just the trochaic voice, which will be the end of the fugue. Stanza six was the largest one we'll have.
Stanza Seven
In the seventh stanza, the fifth voice is freed from it's exact repeat, and now all that remains to get the voices squared away and free, is to repeat that last voice (F). Also, we're now dropping the first voice, which has had its six appearances, as per the fugue rule we are
bound to by choosing 6 voices. Had we chose 3 voices, each voice would only appear three times. In the fugal rule, you'll see that each voice will repeat itself once, and then be liable only to its actual rhythm and metric constrictions for five more stanzas, totalling six stanzas of use (including
the voice's introduction to the fugue). Noticing a pattern around that mischievous number six? Six voices that last six stanzas each, of two and three syllable rhythms who's common multiple is six, and who's meters amount to twelve syllable lines, a multiple of six, along with the three (again,
a denominator of six) rhymes per voice. Yes, the number six is all over this fugue. This is how we determine our fugal rule: THE NUMBER OF VOICES CHOSEN TO APPEAR IN THE FUGUE, DICTATES THE NUMBER OF STANZAS, REPEATS, RHYTHMS, METERS, AND RHYMES WITHIN THE FUGUE. An equation to this affect,
for your ease in determining these factors appeared earlier in the notation and can be referenced at any time.
Now, the tablature of the seventh stanza appears as follows. All we are doing from here on out is repeating the sixth voice its one time, and then dropping each voice stanza by stanza. The F repeats exactly in this stanza. The A is now removed. The B will be removed in the eigths
stanza, the C in the ninth, D in the tenth, and finally, the E in the eleventh, leaving the eleventh stanza with nothing but the F, or, trochaic hexameter (which is symetrically opposite the iambic hexameter we began with). Stanza seven looks as follows:
/O/O/O/O/O/O (F1)
OO/OO/OO/OO/ (B1)
O//O//O//O// (C1)
O//O//O//O// (D1)
/OO/OO/OO/OO (E1)
/O/O/O/O/O/O (F2)
OO/OO/OO/OO/ (B2)
O//O//O//O// (C2)
O//O//O//O// (D2)
/OO/OO/OO/OO (E2)
/O/O/O/O/O/O (F3)
OO/OO/OO/OO/ (B3)
O//O//O//O// (C3)
O//O//O//O// (D3)
/OO/OO/OO/OO (E3)
/O/O/O/O/O/O (F4)
OO/OO/OO/OO/ (B4)
O//O//O//O// (C4)
O//O//O//O// (D4)
/OO/OO/OO/OO (E4)
/O/O/O/O/O/O (F5)
OO/OO/OO/OO/ (B5)
O//O//O//O// (C5)
O//O//O//O// (D5)
/OO/OO/OO/OO (E5)
/O/O/O/O/O/O (F6)
OO/OO/OO/OO/ (B6)
O//O//O//O// (C6)
O//O//O//O// (D6)
/OO/OO/OO/OO (E6)
This concludes the extent of the stanza dissection we'll require for Isamy Camreon, and a list of deviations I allowed will follow.
Deviations
The following deviations from metrical absolution are to be found in Isamy Camreon:
In the first stanza, last line, 'do I' is used, though in the second stanza, I did not repeat this line exactly. I changed the two words around, showing 'I do'. The reason for this is no technical one. I liked it more, and feel the heavy repetition of the second stanza is lifted a bit because
of it. The change also ushers the reader into the third stanza more softly. Verse is commonly strayed from and, moreover, it is often encouraged. An extra foot or slight deviation in a poem is acceptable, as most poems in EXACT verse are taxing to read, and the very freedom of the poem is too
harshly constrained and thus, detracting from the idea that it will be written and read for pleasure.
In the fourth stanza, the following line strays from the syntaxic rhythm by an extra foot: 'in good prosper, love nudges one's madness on its knife.'
This syntaxic line, broken down reads:
O// O// O// O/O/
The extra foot is underlined, is a soft accent just before the word 'knife'. For comparison's sake, a proper syntaxic line would have read:
O// O// O// O//
Because this line is from the introduction of the second syntaxic voice, it did repeat in the fifth stanza, where I have made no change, thus making it a slight deviation in that stanza as well. I allowed the line to stray because I felt it had a strong enough purpose to warrant
a deviation from the exacting syntaxic rhythm.
In the fourth stanza, 16th line, the word we was added for continuity, and because I was cornered in a line.
Dear Raymond,
congratulations on the invention and pioneering of this new writing form. It must have taken you a great amount of time and energy to create it. The hard work is done and you can rest now, knowing that no one in their right head would want to have anything to do with this out-in-right-field,
technically deranged, pointless, confounded, unharmonic, tedious, headache-building mountain of tangled oddity. We wish you well, and good luck with your rent. Hey, maybe another enterprising young person like you will invent a time machine and you could use it and go back to some archaic
time when people still fear the Sun and humankind hasn't yet chased off the use of verse.
Well, gotta go; our multimillion dollar investment in funny-shaped hot-dogs is going through the roof and needs our constant attention. Enjoy your fifteen minutes of... well, you know.
Shrugs and Shaking Heads,
Most of your important peers.
P.S. Write us back if you'd like, but try not to make it rhyme, thanks.
I'm Ray Succre. I'm twenty-six. I'm the sole employee at a German Restaurant (beside the owner), and so cook German food and wash German dishes. I have yet to attend college. I am quite happily married to Maisy Succre, the object of the fugue this biography
is for (Isamy Camreon). Isamy Camreon was a side-project I worked with a few years ago. I became interested in the fugue form when a musician friend of mine (bass-player in a rock band, not a composer) mentioned a book he read about Bach. I did some research, had some headeaches, figured
out how and where my theory could overlap the musical portions of the fugue with a poetical one, and then wrote it. I had to design the theory before I could write the fugue.
I'm a writer, live in Coos Bay, Oregon. I've just finished writing my 45th book (Next Left One Block) and have started my 46th (Moths and Marigolds: Poems to Read While Waiting for Poems). People generally stopped believing me when I told them I'd reached my tenth written book.
Isamy Camreon is not a part of any book of mine, but an experiment in classical poetic theory, with my own innovations into voices, and, I feel, it is a success-by-numbers. The theory is sound, I believe, and the very idea of using these rhythms as voices to oppose each other lends to symmetry
and a kind of roving balance in the form. I'm more interested in injecting the poetical fugue, as a form, into the world of poetic devices, than I am with people actually reading Isamy Camreon. It's not a bad poem in its own right, but is an example of the form I'm actually trying to promote.
Enjoy.
'Isamy Camreon'
© 2003 BY ROBIN J. MORRISON
PUBLISHED ON KUNSTDERFUGE.COM
ALL RIGHTS, INCLUDING SERIAL, FIRST PRINT, AND OWNERSHIP OF THIS COMPILATION AND OF ALL INDIVIDUAL WRITINGS CONTAINED IN IT, ARE RESERVED BY ROBIN J. MORRISON, AUTHOR DESIGNATED BY HIS PSEUDONYM: 'RAYMOND J. SUCCRE' SIMILARITIES BETWEEN PLACES AND PEOPLE, LIVING OR DEAD, IN THIS BOOK, IS
UNINTENTIONAL, COINCIDENCE, AND PURELY FICTIONAL.
The above texts or parts of them may not be published without prior permission of the Author (Robin J. Morrison/Raymond J. Succre).
To contact the Author send an email to
.
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