Everything about Welsh Poetry totally explained
Welsh poetry may refer to
poetry in the
Welsh language,
Anglo-Welsh poetry, or other poetry written in
Wales or by
Welsh poets.
History
Main Article: Medieval Welsh literature
Wales has one of the earliest literary traditions in Northern Europe, stretching back to the days of
Aneirin (fl. 550) and
Taliesin (second half of the 6th century), and the haunting
Neuadd Cynddylan, which is the oldest recorded literary work by a woman in northern Europe.
In Welsh literature the period before 1100 is known as the period of
Y Cynfeirdd ("The earliest poets") or
Yr Hengerdd ("The old poetry"). It roughly dates from the birth of the Welsh language from
Brythonic to the arrival of the
Normans in Wales towards the end of the eleventh century.
From ca.
1100 until ca.
1600 Welsh poetry can be divided roughly into two distinct periods: the period of the Poets of the Princes (
Beirdd y Tywysogion, also called
Y Gogynfeirdd) who worked before the loss of Welsh independence in
1282 and the Poets of the Nobility (
Beirdd yr Uchelwyr) who worked from 1282 until the period of the English incorporation of Wales in the
16th century.
The earliest poem in
English by a Welsh poet dates from about
1470. More recently
Anglo-Welsh poetry has become an important aspect of Welsh literary culture, as well as being influential on
English literature.
Welsh poets often write under
bardic names to conceal their identity in
Eisteddfod competitions.
In Wales today unlike many other places, poetry is enjoyed by a mass audience. Poetry competitions are a popular form of entertainment and the leading poets of the nation are both intellectual powerhouses and popular entertainers (imagine an amalgam of
Seamus Heaney and
Les Dawson).
Forms
Since the later
Middle Ages, the
traditional Welsh poetic metres in strict verse consist of twenty four different metrical forms written in
cynghanedd.
An
awdl is a form of long poem, similar to the
ode. The most popular metrical forms are the
Cywydd, of 14th century origin, and the several versions of the
Englyn, a concise and allusive verse form similar to the Greek
epigram and the Japanese
haiku and as old as Welsh literature itself.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Welsh Poetry'.
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