The diagonal is a form based on overlapping internal rhymes:
- every rhyme consists of a fixed number of syllables, usually 4 (but you can experiment with the number)
- the number of rhymes per line grows with every line until the maximum number, and then it decreases again, creating a diagonal pattern
- you can add as many rhymes as you want, and the maximum number of rhymes per line is also up to you - 2 is simplest, and with increasing the number it's getting more difficult.
- Here is the rhyming scheme with maximum of 2 rhymes per line. You can continue as far as you want, just remember to end with one rhyme (principially it's just a different form of the aabb scheme):
a
a b
b c
c d
d e
e ...
...
- Wih 4 rhymes/line it would be:
a
a b
a b c
a b c d
b c d ...
c d ...
d ...
...