Knittelvers

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Knittelvers (also 'Knittel or Knüttelvers) is a kind of Germanic verse meter which originated in Germany during the Middle Ages. In Knittelvers, consecutive lines rhyme pairwise (AABB) and each line has four streses.^[1] "Strict" Knittelvers has eight or nine syllables on each line, whereas "free" Knittelvers can use more or fewer. It may be considered a form of doggerel and is sometimes called "Knüttelvers" (lit. 'cudgel verse') because of its rhythm.^[2] In German, this form of poetry was popular during the 15th and 16th centuries but rejected in the 17th before being brought back into use by Johann Christoph Gottsched in the 18th century.^[2][3]

Examples of free Knittelvers in German include Fastnactspiele (Shrovetide plays) written in the 15th century by Hans Folz and Hans Rosenplüt [de], and post-revival work by Goethe and Friedrich Schiller. Writers of strict Knittelvers include Hans Sachs. Modern Knittelvers is typically satirical, parodic or light poetry, i.e. humorous. It can be used in children's verse.^[2]

In Swedish, Knittelvers is used in the Eufemiavisorna and in Erikskrönikan, as in the following example:

Here, the introductory line lies outside the couplet rhyme scheme, which becomes ABBCC instead of AABBCC.

• Chisholm, David (1975). Goethe's Knittelvers: a prosodic analysis. Bouvier. ISBN 9783416010849.

 Swedish Wikisource has original text related to this article: Erikskrönikan