You're doing fine, Aine. Just keep going and you'll find the "beat." You were onto something when you made your comment about hearing the Pirates of Penzance in your head as you worked with this form. Find the rhythm and stay with it. Sometimes when I'm composing with forms I tap my foot or sing out loud or wave my hands in the air like a lunatic. Anything to capture the flow.

And Breddelwyn, I understand your problem with trying to fit what your muse gives you into a form. The best way to find a happy medium between your inspirations and the bardic forms is to just keep practicing and practicing until the two flow together naturally. In the old days, poets underwent extremely intensive training that often involved sleep deprivation, trance, and physical regimens that we can't (and wouldn't want to!) duplicate here at Bardic College. Basically, they were programmed. A twenty-first century bard might carry a notebook, or better yet practice the forms in their head, anytime, anywhere. Total immersion is impossible but practice and repetition, repetition and practice, and more practice and repetition will definitely program the poet-brain to better fit words to the patterns of forms.

The most important thing, however, is to PLAY! Let yourself make silly rhymes or goofy doggerel. If it doesn't fit the form exactly, that's fine. Stay open, keep going, and eventually you'll get there. Don't worry too much. We're all here to learn and have fun.

There is a general checklist for bardic poetry. This style of poetry is a little different from any other because it encompasses elements universally used in this art form but puts them all together in a particular FORM. If you look at any example of bardic poetry, you will find the following: alliteration and consonance, especially in chains; rhythm, often feeling off-balance as Aine pointed out (odd numbers of syllables that give a distinctly Celtic lilt - 7 or 9 instead of the usual comfortably square 8); rhyme, notably internal rhymes in the lines in addition to the end rhymes; and a big important checkmark for bardic poetry is ending with the same syllable, word or line as the beginning. This is called du'nadh and it is found in all Gaelic forms.

Another thing to remember is that we are working with forms that were originally not in the English language. We do the best we can not to lose anything in the translation, so to speak. To do your best, concentrate mainly on rhyme and syllables and if the rest falls into place, bravo! If not, don't worry about it.