Welsh Poetic Forms and Metre in the English Language
Conference Paper: WGSUS Conference. 17.05.2018. Swansea University.
Welsh poetic forms and metre in the English language are an established part of Welsh history and this use has continued into the twentieth century. Welsh poetic traditions have, and continue to be, used by bilingual and monolingual poets originating from a diversity of ethnicities. The cynghanedd’s place in Welsh history is undisputable but its role in the future of Wales is unsettled when considered outside of the Welsh language. Their role in Welsh speaking Wales remains an integral part of Welsh culture but their use in the English language in Wales is inconsistent. In this paper I will discuss how this could be changed to benefit twentieth century Wales. Cultural identity remains an area of concern and race related crime has increased since the EU Referendum, as reported in official statistics and newspapers. This has effectively isolated religious and ethnic groups in Wales and disengaged them from their sense of belonging to a Welsh cultural identity. The craft of the cynghanedd has the potential to provide a solution to this disengagement.
Welsh poetic forms and metre, known as the cerdd dafod and cynghanedd, are a set of strict Welsh poetic traditions. I would like to play a short clip from a BBC Wales programme, Mastering Cynghanedd, broadcast in 2017, which briefly explains the strict rules of this Welsh poetic tradition [https://twitter.com/BBCWales/status/976414023079157760].
It is not known exactly when the cynghanedd was conceived but there are examples of their use in the Welsh language dating as far back as the fifth century by the poet Aneurin. They continue to be a fundamental part of Welsh culture and the first Eisteddfod in 1176 was founded to uphold the high standards of the bardic tradition in Wales which was formed around the craft of the cynghanedd. The craft of Welsh poetic traditions is critical to this paper. In the 12th and 13th century, a pencerdd, roughly translated to master of song, would learn his craft over a period of nine years and only once he had proven that he had mastered the craft of the cynghanedd among the additional expectation of being able to recite popular historic Welsh verse as well as compose his own upon command, would he earn his position within one of the royal courts of Wales and take his seat in the bardic chair next to his patron.
The acknowledgement and learning of the craft of the cynghanedd has continued into twentieth century Wales. It is found primarily in local groups, clubs and cynghanedd schools run by enthusiasts’ and hobbyists’ through the medium of the Welsh language. The use of Welsh poetic forms and metre in the English language in Wales has been divergent and there is no such school for poets looking to learn the craft of the cynghanedd outside of the Welsh language. Contrary to this, a diversity of poets living and writing in Wales throughout its history have used characteristics of Welsh poetic traditions to engage with their Welsh cultural identity in a manner that does not diminish the complexity of their diverse cultural 1