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The Tanaga

Short Lyric and Epigrammatic Forms

A traditional Tagalog verse form of the Philippines, a short rhymed quatrain of equal-syllable lines carrying a single condensed observation, proverb or emotional statement, comparable in scale and function to the Japanese haiku or the Malay pantun quatrain.

Facts
Place of Origin
The Philippines, pre-colonial Tagalog oral tradition. 1
Structure
Four lines of seven syllables each, traditionally rhymed AABB, though later practice loosened the rhyme scheme. 1
Notable Example
Tanaga recorded in early Spanish colonial-era Tagalog vocabularies and still composed by contemporary Filipino poets reviving the form. 1
Connections

Form Of Genre

Lyric Poetry, Genres
Source The Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics
In the Other Atlases
Sources
1. The Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics
Princeton University Press
Wikipedia: Tanaga
  • Lead paragraph
    Tanaga is a type of Philippine poetry, traditionally in the Tagalog language, consisting of four lines with seven syllables each.
  • Format section
    The Tanaga consists of four lines with seven syllables each with the same rhyme at the end of each line.
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