This is probably not to the point, but what might be the original
distinction (which I still tend to use myself) is between iambic penameter,
either in couplets or rhymed, the ballad stanza, terza rima, etc., as "open
forms", in that there's no termination built into the form itself. In
contrast to the sonnet, villanelle, ballade, haiku, etc., where when you
begin writing, you know where you will end.
This isn't quite the same as the distinction between (organic) open form and
closed form that this thread is mostly about, but maybe it's worth
mentioning.
Robin
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