roundelay
Song with repetition
A roundelay is a simple song with a recurring refrain, or a dance performed in a circle.
The word evokes pastoral scenes and old-fashioned merriment—shepherds singing, villagers dancing: The children joined hands in a roundelay.
In poetry, it can refer to verses with repeated lines or a circular structure.
Poem's line grouping
- refrainAbstain from acting
- rhymeMatching terminal sounds
- meterDevice that measures usage
- balladNarrative poem or song
couplet · quatrain · rondeau · rondel · ballade · villanelle · doggerel · lyric
Abstain from acting
- chorusSingers performing together
- melodyPleasing sequence of notes
- tuneMusical sequence of notes
- dittyShort, simple song
carol · ballad · serenade · lullaby · shanty · folk · air · chant
Repeating sequence of events
stanza
Poem's line grouping
ballad · couplet · quatrain · rondeau · rondel · ballade · villanelle · doggerel · lyric · repetition
refrain
Abstain from acting
ditty · carol · ballad · serenade · lullaby · shanty · folk · air · chant · croon
cycle
Repeating sequence of events
reprise · loop · reiterate · return · circular · recurring · repeat
troubadour
Medieval Provençal lyric poet
chivalry · madrigal · lute · jongleur · balladeer · fete · masque · revel · chanson
circle
Curved closed shape
cotillion · quadrille · reel · jig · ceilidh · tarantella · polka · mazurka · waltz · choreography
roundelayfree verse
Poetry without fixed structure
blank verse · recitative · aria · monody · prose poem
roundelaydirge
Mournful commemorative music
threnody · elegy · requiem · lament · funeral march
roundelayinstrumental
Serving as means
symphony · fugue · oratorio · epic · grand opera