The Story Behind the Pantoum
The pantoum is a traditional form of poetry, primarily noted for its intricate “prosody — internal rhyming at caesura, syllabic patterning, a bardic rhythm and intonation — that is tied directly to linguistic features in the Malay language” (Gotera 255). The chapter “The Pantoum’s Postcolonial Pedigree” by Vince Gotera from the book, An Exaltation of Forms edited by Annie Finch and Katherine Varnes, describes the different variations that the pantoum has taken on, as well as its deep-rooted Malay history.
The pantoum filtered from France in the 1800s into the Anglo-American verse while losing some of its traditional form and rules. According to Muhammed Haji Salleh’s critical study, Tradition and Change in Contemporary Malay-Indonesian Poetry, the traditional form of a pantun consists of “a quatrain with an abab rhyme. Each line contains between 8 and 12 syllables. The first two lines prepare us in image, sound and suggestion for the meaning proper in the last two” (Salleh 254).
The introductory couplet of a pantun, or the pembayang, commonly depicts imagery brought from traditional Malay life and culture while the closing couplet, called the maksud, clarifies the meaning. Unlike the ghazal, the couplets are not independent, instead “both halves mirror one another: image and statement, scene and comment” (Gotera 254). The components of the pantun; the pembayang and the maksud, are indispensable compliments linked together throughout the poem using various techniques.
The contemporary form of the pantun, also known as the pantoum, is a contemporary Anglo-American verse comprised of quatrains. The pantoum is much different from the traditional pantun, as the second and third lines of any stanza repeat as the first and third lines of the following stanza, until the closing quatrain. The final stanza “resurrects the first and third lines of the first stanza (the only lines not yet repeated) in reverse order,” drawing the poem to a close and achieving a full circle with identical opening and closing lines (Gotera 255). While no number of stanzas is typical of the pantoum, in order to interlock the stanzas, there must be at least two quatrains present. In order to achieve the circling effect of the pantoum, more than two stanzas must be present to allow the reader to understand the full effect.
A great example of an interlocking pantoum is the poem “Chain-Letter Pantoum” written by Vince Gotera. Throughout these stanzas, the story of a chain letter being passed around is shared, explaining the various consequences that happen to each non-sender. In this pantoum, the second and fourth line of every stanza do repeat in the following stanza, amplifying the importance of sending the chain letter. Even with interlocking the stanzas, the repetition of the first and third line in the introductory stanza within the ending stanza brings the poem full circle:
“Don’t throw this letter away! Horrible consequences!” …
“Mail a copy today to five of your closest friends.” (Gotera 260).
In the final stanza, these lines are reversed, ending the poem with the same words it had started with. While the repetition of the sentences regarding the senders are repeated within the poem to magnify the consequences and seriousness of the subject, using this full circle method really gives a sense of a chain reaction, especially with the subject of a chain letter.
In recent history, the pantoum has come to be used for a variety of meanings. Whether it be used to express love or lyricism, or anything in between, this form of poetry has become common with famous poets as well as the commonfolk. Within the last few decades, American poets have elevated the pantoum into a different form of art, referring to political or personal issues while complicating the lineal strategies of the traditional pantoum. While the Malay form of the pantoum may still be the favorite traditional style, the rules of the form have started to evolve to bring new meanings to the pantoum.
Gotera, Vince. “The Pantoum’s Postcolonial Pedigree.” An Exaltation of Forms: Contemporary Poets Celebrate the Diversity of Their Art. Eds. Anne Finch and Kathrine Varnes. Ann Arbor: U. of Michigan Press, 2002.
