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poetree2012-03-01 03:21 pm
ysabetwordsmith) wrote in poetree2012-03-01 03:21 pm
Format: Terza Rima
The terza rima is an Italian form of poetry. Dante Alighieri invented it late in the 13th century. It is written in tercets. It uses an interlocking rhyme pattern in which the outer lines of each verse rhyme with each other, while the middle line rhymes with the outer lines of the following verse: aba, bcb, cdc ... The end can either loop back to the first middle rhyme (aba, bcb, cac) or close with a couplet (aba, bcb, cc). Other variations exist but those are the most common.
For those of you who like to set poems to music, the terza rima makes an intriguing divergence from ballads, and it also sounds good when read aloud. Interlocking rhymes add to the structural integrity of a poem, making this form well suited to formal or classic topics, but also to imaginary things such as fairy tales. Of course, ethnic/national forms are always a good choice for poems about the same place or people. My historic fantasy series Fiorenza the Wisewoman takes place in Italy, so I've used various Italian forms including the terza rima (in "Fair Maiden Meets Fierce Villain") and sonnet ("Plumbing the Depths"). Not only do the cultural aspects match, but the subtle linguistic expectations of the poem also suit the names of places and people in the same base language. It's a little easier to fit the meter with an Italian form than an English form, because the name are Italian even though the text of my poems are largely English (with a few borrowings from Italian).
Pay attention to word choice in writing a terza rima: you'll want to choose end-words with a good selection of rhymes so that you don't paint yourself into a corner. Consider things like "sky," "play," "sea," "bait," "meet," "blown," etc. However, the tercet offers an ideal opportunity for contrast: consider alternating vowel rhymes and consonant rhymes, or stressed and unstressed rhymes. Either can break up the metronome effect of tight rhyming if you want to ameliorate it without removing it.
Discussion
What are some of your favorite terza rima poems?
What things do you like or dislike about this form?
Have you written a terza rima, and if so, how well did it work for you?
Further Reading
"Terza Rima" in Forms of Verse
"Terza Rima" on Thinking Poetry
"Terza Rima" on Upenn
"Terza Rima" on Wikipedia
"Terza Rima and Capitolo"
"2012 Poetry Form Challenge #18: Terza Rima"
"Explore Classic Tercet Examples"
"Terza Rima Example"
For those of you who like to set poems to music, the terza rima makes an intriguing divergence from ballads, and it also sounds good when read aloud. Interlocking rhymes add to the structural integrity of a poem, making this form well suited to formal or classic topics, but also to imaginary things such as fairy tales. Of course, ethnic/national forms are always a good choice for poems about the same place or people. My historic fantasy series Fiorenza the Wisewoman takes place in Italy, so I've used various Italian forms including the terza rima (in "Fair Maiden Meets Fierce Villain") and sonnet ("Plumbing the Depths"). Not only do the cultural aspects match, but the subtle linguistic expectations of the poem also suit the names of places and people in the same base language. It's a little easier to fit the meter with an Italian form than an English form, because the name are Italian even though the text of my poems are largely English (with a few borrowings from Italian).
Pay attention to word choice in writing a terza rima: you'll want to choose end-words with a good selection of rhymes so that you don't paint yourself into a corner. Consider things like "sky," "play," "sea," "bait," "meet," "blown," etc. However, the tercet offers an ideal opportunity for contrast: consider alternating vowel rhymes and consonant rhymes, or stressed and unstressed rhymes. Either can break up the metronome effect of tight rhyming if you want to ameliorate it without removing it.
Discussion
What are some of your favorite terza rima poems?
What things do you like or dislike about this form?
Have you written a terza rima, and if so, how well did it work for you?
Further Reading
"Terza Rima" in Forms of Verse
"Terza Rima" on Thinking Poetry
"Terza Rima" on Upenn
"Terza Rima" on Wikipedia
"Terza Rima and Capitolo"
"2012 Poetry Form Challenge #18: Terza Rima"
"Explore Classic Tercet Examples"
"Terza Rima Example"
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I hadn't thought of categorizing rhymes as vowel versus consonant, stressed versus unstressed, but the divisions sound fairly intuitive. Would the examples given by, say, the Wikipedia entry for 'An Introduction to Rhyme' match what you're talking about?
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Thoughts
Go for it! I'd enjoy seeing the results of that.
>> I find the similarities with the villanelle format intriguing -- it's like villanelles are a much more rigid version of the same thing.<<
They are similar. Because the villanelle adds repeating lines, however, you also need to have two good refrains. So that part is more demanding, like all repeating poems, contrasted against the ones that just have an interlocking rhyme scheme.
>>I hadn't thought of categorizing rhymes as vowel versus consonant, stressed versus unstressed, but the divisions sound fairly intuitive. <<
Similar, yes.
Words that end with a vowel, especially a long vowel, have an open sound that stretches out and flows through poem. Words that end with a consonant, especially a stop, have a more abrupt effect like a downbeat in music. Sorry I couldn't find a good article about this one.
Rhymes that end on a stressed syllable sound more assertive and final, whereas rhymes that end on an unstressed syllable are more subtle and flowing. Here's a comparison of masculine (stressed) vs. feminine (unstressed) rhyme:
http://blogs.setonhill.edu/DennisJerz/EL267/014367.php
Re: Thoughts