A Dozen Steps Through Hel
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5.0 • 1 Rating
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Publisher Description
A collection of twelve terzanelle poems influenced by Norse mythology, specifically regarding the afterlife. The poems explore key locations and concepts of the Germanic underworld. Yeah, this is pretty obscure stuff even for fans of the mythology.
The terzanelle is French/Italian adaptation of the terza rima to the villanelle form. The poems are 19 lines long and ten syllables each. The poems are composed of five triplets and a concluding quatrain. I enjoy the puzzle-like nature of this form and the subtlety of the repeating lines, the variations in meaning.
Customer Reviews
A Dozen Steps Through Hel
Good job, John Beach. Provides an interesting take on the Viking underworld and life after death. The concepts are sound and so are the poems the author uses to good effect. Most of our Scandinavian myths and folklore come from the poetry that Snorri Sturluson and others helped preserve. I appreciate seeing a differing view presented using a completely diiferent poetic structure.