A QUATERN is a sixteen line French form composed of four quatrains. Each line should be composed of eight syllables each. The quatern is similar to the Kyrielle and the Retourne. It has a descending refrain (repetitive line) that is in a different place in each quatrain.

The first line of stanza one is the second line of stanza two, third line of stanza three, and fourth line of stanza
four. A quatern has eight syllables per line. It does not have to be iambic or follow a set rhyme
scheme.


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Example by Unknown Author:

That Crooked Smile

That crooked smile twists your sweet lips,
and I know I’m in for a day.
You’re a playful, naughty handful,
so I know I’ll not have my way.

Your eyes are impishly alight;
that crooked smile twists your sweet lips,
then they part for your repartee
as between them your arrow slips.

My eyes are stunned by your beauty.
Were I a painter I’d capture
that crooked smile twists your sweet lips.
It would send critics in rapture.

From this day until I’m dying,
my memory may suffer eclipse,
but the one vision I’ll hold to:
that crooked smile twists your sweet lips.