Jan's Poetry Class--TRIOLET
Posted: Mon Nov 16, 2009 5:04 am
The triolet is written in two quatrains. If you’ve forgotten what a quatrain is, go ahead and review that lesson. We’ll wait for you.
Here are the main characteristics of a triolet:
1. There are only two rhymes in the 8 lines—an “A” rhyme and a “B” rhyme
2. Lines 1 is repeated in its entirety in line 4 and line 7
3. Line 2 is repeated in its entirety in line 8
4. Lines 3 and 5 rhyme with line 1 (the “A” rhyme)
5. Line 6 rhymes with line 2 (the “B” rhyme
Here’s another way of showing the set-up of the triolet, line by line:
1. your first line (a)
2. your second line (b)
3. your third line (a) which rhymes with line 1
4. repeat of line 1
5. your fifth line (a) which rhymes with line 1
6. your sixth line (b) which rhymes with line 2
7. repeat of line 1 (a)
8. repeat of line 2 (b)
There’s no particular meter that must be used in a triolet, but it should be a metered poem. So when you pick a pattern of STRESSED/unstressed syllables, stick to it for the whole poem.
You may pick your mood—unlike limericks and clerihews (which are humorous), and haiku (which are usually contemplative), a triolet may be either light or serious.
How about a few examples? Here’s one by Adelaide Crapsey:
Song
I make my shroud, but no one knows --
So shimmering fine it is and fair,
With stitches set in even rows,
I make my shroud, but no one knows.
In door-way where the lilac blows,
Humming a little wandering air,
I make my shroud and no one knows,
So shimmering fine it is and fair.
She’s chosen 8-syllable lines, with an unstressed/STRESSED meter. I hope you also notice her beautiful imagery and symbolism. These are literary devices that the good poet should have in her repertoire; poetry uses language differently from prose. It’s not enough to just master rhyme and meter—a theme I returned to over and over in my poetry presentation at last year’s conference.
Here’s another one, by Frances Cornford:
To a Fat Lady Seen From the Train
O why do you walk through the fields in gloves,
Missing so much and so much?
O fat white woman whom nobody loves,
Why do you walk through the fields in gloves,
When the grass is soft as the breast of doves
And shivering sweet to the touch?
O why do you walk through the fields in gloves,
Missing so much and so much?
Her meter’s a little bit trickier; she’s got those ‘stops’ in there (I forgot what you call ‘em…Steve? Steve?), but her lines have approximately 11 and 7 syllables (or ‘beats’) and a pattern of STRESSED/unstressed/unstressed syllables. Again, notice her strong imagery and somewhat blunt language.
Well, I couldn’t ask you to write a triolet without attempting one myself. Here’s what I came up with—and believe me, it was hard. Poetry just doesn’t come naturally to me, and despite the fact that some of the lines are repeated, cutting the poet’s work in half, it was still difficult. I wanted to avoid any forced rhymes and to incorporate some nice metaphors.
Vigil
She sits at the window, unfurling her soul
And waits for him, knowing he’ll come
All her love she has written on this fragile scroll
She sits at the window, unfurling her soul
But the hours pile up while the minutes unroll
So she gathers her manuscript some
She sits at the window, unfurling her soul
And waits for him, hoping he’ll come.
Notice that I took one small liberty with the form—I substituted “hoping” for “knowing” in the last line. I’m still wavering about that one—not sure if she’s a sadder character if she trades knowledge for hope, or if she’s sadder if she clings to knowledge despite circumstances. (What do you think?)
If you wanted to use a triolet for the Writing Challenge, you’d probably have to extend it to six quatrains to get enough words. You’d have to decide, then, if you wanted to use the same two rhymes throughout, or if you wanted to change to (c and d) rhymes in the second triolet, and (e and f) in the third.
Well, you know it’s coming—
Homework: Write a triolet.
Please let us know your process for writing it, and anything else you’d like to say about this poetry form.
Here are the main characteristics of a triolet:
1. There are only two rhymes in the 8 lines—an “A” rhyme and a “B” rhyme
2. Lines 1 is repeated in its entirety in line 4 and line 7
3. Line 2 is repeated in its entirety in line 8
4. Lines 3 and 5 rhyme with line 1 (the “A” rhyme)
5. Line 6 rhymes with line 2 (the “B” rhyme
Here’s another way of showing the set-up of the triolet, line by line:
1. your first line (a)
2. your second line (b)
3. your third line (a) which rhymes with line 1
4. repeat of line 1
5. your fifth line (a) which rhymes with line 1
6. your sixth line (b) which rhymes with line 2
7. repeat of line 1 (a)
8. repeat of line 2 (b)
There’s no particular meter that must be used in a triolet, but it should be a metered poem. So when you pick a pattern of STRESSED/unstressed syllables, stick to it for the whole poem.
You may pick your mood—unlike limericks and clerihews (which are humorous), and haiku (which are usually contemplative), a triolet may be either light or serious.
How about a few examples? Here’s one by Adelaide Crapsey:
Song
I make my shroud, but no one knows --
So shimmering fine it is and fair,
With stitches set in even rows,
I make my shroud, but no one knows.
In door-way where the lilac blows,
Humming a little wandering air,
I make my shroud and no one knows,
So shimmering fine it is and fair.
She’s chosen 8-syllable lines, with an unstressed/STRESSED meter. I hope you also notice her beautiful imagery and symbolism. These are literary devices that the good poet should have in her repertoire; poetry uses language differently from prose. It’s not enough to just master rhyme and meter—a theme I returned to over and over in my poetry presentation at last year’s conference.
Here’s another one, by Frances Cornford:
To a Fat Lady Seen From the Train
O why do you walk through the fields in gloves,
Missing so much and so much?
O fat white woman whom nobody loves,
Why do you walk through the fields in gloves,
When the grass is soft as the breast of doves
And shivering sweet to the touch?
O why do you walk through the fields in gloves,
Missing so much and so much?
Her meter’s a little bit trickier; she’s got those ‘stops’ in there (I forgot what you call ‘em…Steve? Steve?), but her lines have approximately 11 and 7 syllables (or ‘beats’) and a pattern of STRESSED/unstressed/unstressed syllables. Again, notice her strong imagery and somewhat blunt language.
Well, I couldn’t ask you to write a triolet without attempting one myself. Here’s what I came up with—and believe me, it was hard. Poetry just doesn’t come naturally to me, and despite the fact that some of the lines are repeated, cutting the poet’s work in half, it was still difficult. I wanted to avoid any forced rhymes and to incorporate some nice metaphors.
Vigil
She sits at the window, unfurling her soul
And waits for him, knowing he’ll come
All her love she has written on this fragile scroll
She sits at the window, unfurling her soul
But the hours pile up while the minutes unroll
So she gathers her manuscript some
She sits at the window, unfurling her soul
And waits for him, hoping he’ll come.
Notice that I took one small liberty with the form—I substituted “hoping” for “knowing” in the last line. I’m still wavering about that one—not sure if she’s a sadder character if she trades knowledge for hope, or if she’s sadder if she clings to knowledge despite circumstances. (What do you think?)
If you wanted to use a triolet for the Writing Challenge, you’d probably have to extend it to six quatrains to get enough words. You’d have to decide, then, if you wanted to use the same two rhymes throughout, or if you wanted to change to (c and d) rhymes in the second triolet, and (e and f) in the third.
Well, you know it’s coming—
Homework: Write a triolet.
Please let us know your process for writing it, and anything else you’d like to say about this poetry form.