abecedarian

abecedarian

   \ ey-bee-see-DAIR-ee-uhn \  , noun;  

 

1.

a person who is learning the letters of the alphabet.

2.

a beginner in any field of learning.

adjective:

1.

of or pertaining to the alphabet.

2.

arranged in alphabetical order.

3.

rudimentary; elementary; primary.

Instead, Hirsch breathes new life into the abecedarian by pointing out its relationship to prayer and howpoets as varied as Gertrude Stein and HarryetteMullen have stretched — and been stretched by —the form.

-- Elizabeth Lund, "'A Poet's Glossary,' by EdwardHirsch," The Washington Post , 2014

Henry Barnard, commenting on the work of theabecedarian , in the early nineteenth century, says:"If a child be bright, the time which passes during thislesson is the only part of the day when he does notthink. Not a single faculty of the mind is occupiedexcept that of imitating sounds; and even the numberof these imitations amounts to only twenty-six."

-- Edited by Paul Monroe, A Cyclopedia of Education ,1911

Origin:

Abecedarian  entered English in the early 1600s. It can be traced to the Latin abecedarium  meaning"alphabet" or "primer."

Poetic Forms: Abecedarian and Acrostic

Year 2004

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 the successive letter, until the final letter is reached. The earliest examples are Semitic and often found in religious Hebrew poetry. The form was frequently used in ancient cultures for sacred compositions, such as prayers, hymns, and psalms. There are numerous examples of abecedarians in the Hebrew Bible; one of the most highly regarded is Psalm 118 (or 119 by King James numbering). It consists of twenty-two eight-line stanzas, one for each letter of the Hebrew alphabet.Chaucer‘s "An ABC" is an excellent medieval example of the form. He crafted his translation of a French prayer into twenty-three eight-line stanzas that follow the alphabet (minus J, U, V, and W).

Abecedarian poems are now most commonly used as mnemonic devices and word games for children, such as those written by Dr. Seuss and Edward Gorey. However, there are fine contemporary examples by Carolyn Forché in Blue Hour, and Harryette Mullen in Sleeping with the Dictionary. In Forché’s forty-seven page poem, “On Earth," she adheres to a rigorous form in which alphabetical order guides not only the stanzas, but also the words themselves. For example, she writes:

“languid at the edge of the sea
lays itself open to immensity
leaf-cutter ants bearing yellow trumpet flowers along the road
left everything left all usual worlds behind
library, lilac, linens, litany."

A form derived from the abecedarian is the acrostic, which spells out names or words through the first letter of each line. The intent of the acrostic is to reveal while attempting to conceal within the poem. William Blake addresses the despairs of the plague in the poem "London," telling the reader how he listens to everyone’s pain while wandering along the Thames River. Blake uses an acrostic in the third stanza to emphasize the horrifying sounds:

“How the Chimney-sweeper’s cry
Every blackning Church appalls;
And the hapless Soldier’s sigh
Runs in blood down Palace walls.”

A recent example is Anna Rabinowitz’s Darkling. This book-length acrostic sequence investigates her family’s Holocaust experiences and uses "The Darkling Thrush" by Thomas Hardy for its structure.

---

Examples of the Abecedarian form:

A Primer of the Daily Round
by Howard Nemerov

alphabet [excerpt]
by Inger Christensen
translated by Susanna Nied

Alphabet Poem
by Edward Lear

An ABC (The Prayer of Our Lady)
by Geoffrey Chaucer

Nonsense Alphabet
by Edward Lear

Examples of the Acrostic form:

A Boat, Beneath a Sunny Sky
by Lewis Carroll

An Acrostic
by Edgar Allan Poe

London
by William Blake

Alphabet Poem

by Edward Lear

A was once an apple pie,
Pidy
Widy
Tidy
Pidy
Nice insidy
Apple Pie!

B was once a little bear,
Beary!
Wary!
Hairy!
Beary!
Taky cary!
Little Bear!

C was once a little cake,
Caky
Baky
Maky
Caky
Taky Caky,
Little Cake!

D was once a little doll,
Dolly
Molly
Polly
Nolly
Nursy Dolly
Little Doll!

E was once a little eel,
Eely,
Weely
Peely
Eely
Twirly, Tweedy
Little Eel!

F was once a little fish,
Fishy
Wishy
Squishy
Fishy
In a Dishy
Little Fish!

G was once a little goose,
Goosy
Moosy
Boosy
Goosey
Waddly-woosy
Little Goose!

H was once a little hen,
Henny
Chenny
Tenny
Henny
Eggsy-any
Little Hen?

I was once a bottle of ink,
Inky
Dinky
Thinky
Inky
Black Minky
Bottle of Ink!

J was once a jar of jam,
Jammy
Mammy
Clammy
Jammy
Sweety-Swammy
Jar of Jam!

K was once a little kite,
Kity
Whity
Flighty
Kity
Out of sighty-
Little Kite!

L was once a little lark,
Larky!
Marky!
Harky!
Larky!
In the Parky,
Little Lark!

M was once a little mouse,
Mousey
Bousey
Sousy
Mousy
In the Housy
Little Mouse!

N was once a little needle,
Needly
Tweedly
Threedly
Needly
Wisky-wheedly
Little Needle!

O was once a little owl,
Owly
Prowly
Howly
Owly
Browny fowly
Little Owl!

P was once a little pump,
Pumpy
Slumpy
Flumpy
Pumpy
Dumpy, Thumpy
Little Pump!

Q was once a little quail,
Quaily
Faily
Daily
Quaily
Stumpy-taily
Little Quail!

R was once a little rose,
Rosy
Posy
Nosy
Rosy
Bows-y - grows-y
Little Rose!

S was once a little shrimp,
Shrimpy
Nimpy
Flimpy
Shrimpy
Jumpy-jimpy
Little Shrimp!

T was once a little thrush,
Thrushy!
Hushy!
Bushy!
Thrushy!
Flitty-Flushy
Little Thrush!

U was once a little urn,
Urny
Burny
Turny
Urny
Bubbly-burny
Little Urn!

V was once a little vine,
Viny
Winy
Twiny
Viny
Twisty-twiny
Little Vine!

W was once a whale,
Whaly
Scaly
Shaly
Whaly
Tumbly-taily
Mighty Whale!

X was once a great king Xerxes,
Xerxy
Perxy
Turxy
Xerxy
Linxy Lurxy
Great King Xerxes!

Y was once a little yew,
Yewdy
Fewdy
Crudy
Yewdy
Growdy, grewdy,
Little Yew!

Z was once a piece of zinc,
Tinky
Winky
Blinky
Tinky
Tinkly Minky
Piece of Zinc!