Song thất lục bát

The Song Thất Lục Bát (literally "double seven, six eight") is a Vietnamese form, which consists of a quatrain of two seven-syllable lines, followed by a six-syllable line and an eight-syllable line (these last two lines form a Lục bát couplet). Each line requires certain syllables to exhibit a "flat" or "sharp" pitch. Lines and stanzas are linked in a complex rhyme scheme.

•	•	♯	•	♭	•	♯A
•	•	♭	•	♯A	•	♭B
•	♭	•	♯	•	♭B
•	♭	•	♯	•	♭B	•	♭C
•	•	♯	•	♭C	•	♯D
•	•	♭	•	♯D	•	♭E
•	♭	•	♯	•	♭E
•	♭	•	♯	•	♭E	•	♭F

• = any syllable; ♯ = trắc (sharp) syllable; ♭ = bằng (flat) syllable; ♭A = bằng (flat) syllable with "A" rhyme.

♯ and ♭ are used only as handy mnemonic symbols; no connection with music should be inferred.

Examples in Vietnamese include:

• Chinh Phụ Ngâm (The Complaint of the Warrior's Wife ) by Ðoàn Thị Ðiểm
• Cung Oán Ngâm Khúc (Sadness of the Palace ) by Nguyễn Gia Thiều

References

• Poesie Vietnamienne
• Guide to Verse Forms: Song That Luc Bat
• Oriental Poetry: Song That Luc Bat (found under "Luc Bat")