udaiyaathathu

The udaiyaathathu is a classic Southeast Asian poetic form with influences from South Asia. It is also known as "the unbroken form". It is a formal variant of a Tamil hymnal device known as antāti, which means "end-beginning".  andaiplosis is achieved where the last word of each verse is the first word of the next  

Contents

  • 1Structure
  • 2Variants
  • 3Examples

Structure

Structurally, the first word of every line in the udaiyaathathu is also the last word of the next line. This chain continues unbroken until the very last line of the udaiyaathathu, where the first word of the last line is the last word of the first line of the piece.

This is similar to the antāti, in which anadiplosis occurs where the last word of each verse is the first word of the next verse, and epanalepsis occurs where the last word of the last verse is the first word of the first - however, in the udaiyaathathu, the epanalepsis is reversed to occur across each couplet and the anadaiplosis occurs with the beginning and end.

Variants

More complex variants of the udaiyaathathu include extensive variations of internal rhyme, where one, two or even three words per line rhyme with each other line. Distinct from western forms, end-stopped rhyme is frowned upon as disruptive and ostentatious in the udaiyaathathu.

Examples[edit]

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