Sit your chastushka down and raise the vodka in salute. Does that sound a little naughty? Well, it might. The chastushka is a short funny, ironic, or naughty Russian verse form, often on the same intellectual level as the limerick. If you’re quick on the draw and love working with silly rhymes, or satirical themes, the chastushka is for you. It can be a lot of fun. It’s a folk style that’s engendered many a rowdy competition—or friendly one.
The rules
The form is simple.
- Four lines. 8 syllables.
- Trochaic tetrameter. (4 feet of a hard-soft beat.
- Last foot may be abbreviated by cutting off the soft beat.)
- Rhyme pattern can vary: ABAB, AABB, xAxA, or AAAA.
- Satiric, sarcastic, bawdy, silly, political. (‘Tis the season.)
Examples
Here’s a children’s version I did for a presentation on short forms:
NIGHT STALKER
Creaking floorboards echo loudly!
Banging, crashing, things are falling.
I confront you, mewing proudly.
Kitty, kitty, you’re appalling.
Here is the same poem broken down into its components:
NIGHT STALKER
/ u / u / u / u
Creaking floorboards echo loudly! (A)
/ u / u / u / u
Banging, crashing, things are falling. (B)
/ u / u / u / u
I confront you, mewing proudly. (A)
/ u / u / u / u
Kitty, kitty, you’re appalling. (B)
Below is an anonymous one found online. Note: due to their often risqué or politically risky nature, many chastushki (plural form) end up being anonymous and simply absorbed into the local folk literature.
Russians write a kind of ditty,
Often rude and always witty.
Trenchant wit that shows no pity
Makes us laugh at nitty-gritty.
Added fun
Add to the silliness, or naughtiness, by using the chastushka at a party, or as a writing ice-breaker. Playing singly or in teams, pull a subject out of a hat, or find one randomly in a dictionary. Allot time for writing and see what comes out of it. Vote on the winning chastushka. Losers have to buy the winners the next round—or arrange some other suitable prize for the winners.
Extra credit
Wikipedia reports that sometimes “several chastushki are delivered in sequence to form a song. After each chastushka, there is a full musical refrain without lyrics to give the listeners a chance to laugh without missing the next one.” Give extra credit if someone at the party can arrange all the verses and sing them. Cheers!
Niki Kantzios
Thanks for introducing us to this fun form! You’ve enlarged my poetic repertory immensely over the years!