Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Wednesday Thyme to Rhyme (or not)


Triolet
The triolet is a short poem of eight lines with only two rhymes used
throughout. The requirements of this fixed form are straightforward: the first
line is repeated in the fourth and seventh lines; the second line is repeated in
the final line; and only the first two end-words are used to complete the tight
rhyme scheme. Thus, the poet writes only five original lines, giving the triolet
a deceptively simple appearance: ABaAabAB, where capital letters indicate
repeated lines.
Here's a Triolet by Thomas Hardy
In "How Great My Grief," Hardy
displays both his mastery of the triolet and the potency of the form:
How great my grief, my joys how few,
Since first it was my fate to know thee!
- Have the slow years not brought to view
How great my grief, my joys how few,
Nor memory shaped old times anew,
Nor loving-kindness helped to show thee
How great my grief, my joys how few,
Since first it was my fate to know thee?
Try one, post it in comments, enjoy each other's poetry. For more go to www.poetry.org

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