''Terza rima'' (, also , ; ) is a rhyming verse form, in which the poem, or each poem-section, consists of tercets (three line stanzas) with an interlocking three-line

rhyme scheme A rhyme scheme is the pattern of rhymes at the end of each line of a poem or song. It is usually referred to by using letters to indicate which lines rhyme; lines designated with the same letter all rhyme with each other. An example of the ABAB r ...

: The last word of the second line in one

tercet A tercet is composed of three lines of poetry, forming a stanza or a complete poem. Examples of tercet forms English-language haiku is an example of an unrhymed tercet poem. A poetic triplet is a tercet in which all three lines follow the same ...

provides the rhyme for the first and third lines in the tercet that follows (''aba bcb cdc''). The poem or poem-section may have any number of lines, but it ends with either a single line or a

couplet A couplet is a pair of successive lines of metre in poetry. A couplet usually consists of two successive lines that rhyme and have the same metre. A couplet may be formal (closed) or run-on (open). In a formal (or closed) couplet, each of the ...

, which repeats the rhyme of the middle line of the previous tercet (''yzy z'' or ''yzy zz''). ''Terza rima'' was invented early in the fourteenth century by the Italian poet

Dante Alighieri Dante Alighieri (; – 14 September 1321), probably baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri and often referred to as Dante (, ), was an Italian poet, writer and philosopher. His '' Divine Comedy'', originally called (modern Italian: ...

for his narrative poem the ''

Divine Comedy The ''Divine Comedy'' ( it, Divina Commedia ) is an Italian narrative poem by Dante Alighieri, begun 1308 and completed in around 1321, shortly before the author's death. It is widely considered the pre-eminent work in Italian literature a ...

'', which he set in

hendecasyllabic In poetry, a hendecasyllable (sometimes hendecasyllabic) is a line of eleven syllables. The term may refer to several different poetic meters, the older of which are quantitative and used chiefly in classical ( Ancient Greek and Latin) poetry, an ...

lines. In English, poets often use

iambic pentameter Iambic pentameter () is a type of metric line used in traditional English poetry and verse drama. The term describes the rhythm, or meter, established by the words in that line; rhythm is measured in small groups of syllables called " feet". "Iam ...

. ''Terza rima'' is a challenging form for a poet, and it did not become common in the century following its invention. The form is especially challenging in languages that are inherently less rich in rhymes than Italian. ''Terza rima'' can give to the verse the effect of rhymes surging the narrative forward. It can also give a sense of continuity to the verse — the rhymes are woven together and a reading of a canto cannot be stopped without the sense of something (the rhyme scheme) broken or unfinished. The rhymes of ''terza rima'' add the effect of echo and expectation — as a line is read there is the sense it will soon be followed by a rhyme that will complete the rhyme scheme. ''Terza rima'' can lend a sense of strength and solidity to the story or the poem — each tercet though brief, has enough length to contain a complete thought or expression, that can be considered independently. Tercets are like the building blocks of the poem or canto, and the interwoven rhyme serves as the cement that binds them together.

History

The first use of ''terza rima'' is in Dante's ''

'', completed in 1320. In creating the form, Dante may have been influenced by the

sirventes The ''sirventes'' or ''serventes'' (), sometimes translated as "service song", was a genre of Old Occitan lyric poetry practiced by the troubadours. The name comes from ''sirvent'' ('serviceman'), from whose perspective the song is allegedly wr ...

, a

lyric poetry Modern lyric poetry is a formal type of poetry which expresses personal emotions or feelings, typically spoken in the first person. It is not equivalent to song lyrics, though song lyrics are often in the lyric mode, and it is also ''not'' equi ...

form used by the Provençal

troubadour A troubadour (, ; oc, trobador ) was a composer and performer of Old Occitan lyric poetry during the High Middle Ages (1100–1350). Since the word ''troubadour'' is etymologically masculine, a female troubadour is usually called a '' trobair ...

s. Inspired by Dante, other Italian poets, including

Petrarch Francesco Petrarca (; 20 July 1304 – 18/19 July 1374), commonly anglicized as Petrarch (), was a scholar and poet of early Renaissance Italy, and one of the earliest humanists. Petrarch's rediscovery of Cicero's letters is often credited ...

and

Boccaccio Giovanni Boccaccio (, , ; 16 June 1313 – 21 December 1375) was an Italian writer, poet, correspondent of Petrarch, and an important Renaissance humanist. Born in the town of Certaldo, he became so well known as a writer that he was some ...

, began using the form.

English language translations and poems

Translators and poets that write in English and use ''terza rima'' are often interested in exploring modifications and variations of the rhyme. The first occurrence of Dante’s ''terza rima'' rhyme scheme in English is found in parts II and III of Geoffrey Chaucer's short poem " Complaint to His Lady". ''Terza rima'' has been used by Thomas Wyatt,

John Milton John Milton (9 December 1608 – 8 November 1674) was an English poet and intellectual. His 1667 epic poem ''Paradise Lost'', written in blank verse and including over ten chapters, was written in a time of immense religious flux and politica ...

Lord Byron George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824), known simply as Lord Byron, was an English romantic poet and peer. He was one of the leading figures of the Romantic movement, and has been regarded as among the ...

(in '' The Prophecy of Dante'') and

Percy Bysshe Shelley Percy Bysshe Shelley ( ; 4 August 17928 July 1822) was one of the major English Romantic poets. A radical in his poetry as well as in his political and social views, Shelley did not achieve fame during his lifetime, but recognition of his achi ...

(in his "

Ode to the West Wind "Ode to the West Wind" is an ode, written by Percy Bysshe Shelley in 1819 in Cascine wood near Florence, Italy. It was originally published in 1820 by Charles Ollier in London as part of the collection '' Prometheus Unbound, A Lyrical Drama in ...

" and '' The Triumph of Life'').

Thomas Hardy Thomas Hardy (2 June 1840 – 11 January 1928) was an English novelist and poet. A Victorian realist in the tradition of George Eliot, he was influenced both in his novels and in his poetry by Romanticism, including the poetry of William Wor ...

also used the form in "Friends Beyond" to interlink the characters and continue the flow of the poem. 20th-century poets that have employed variations of the form include W. H. Auden ("The Sea and the Mirror"), Andrew Cannon, T. S. Eliot ("Little Gidding"),

Robert Frost Robert Lee Frost (March26, 1874January29, 1963) was an American poet. His work was initially published in England before it was published in the United States. Known for his realistic depictions of rural life and his command of American collo ...

("Acquainted with the Night"), Elizabeth Jennings,

Philip Larkin Philip Arthur Larkin (9 August 1922 – 2 December 1985) was an English poet, novelist, and librarian. His first book of poetry, ''The North Ship'', was published in 1945, followed by two novels, ''Jill'' (1946) and ''A Girl in Winter'' (1947 ...

, Archibald MacLeish ("The Conquistador", winner of the Pulitzer Prize 1932), James Merrill, Jacqueline Osherow,

Sylvia Plath Sylvia Plath (; October 27, 1932 – February 11, 1963) was an American poet, novelist, and short story writer. She is credited with advancing the genre of confessional poetry and is best known for two of her published collections, '' Th ...

("The Sow"), Adrienne Rich ("Terza Rima"),

Gjertrud Schnackenberg Gjertrud Schnackenberg (; born August 27, 1953, in Tacoma, Washington) is an American poet. Life Schnackenberg graduated from Mount Holyoke College in 1975. She lectured at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Washington University, and wa ...

Clark Ashton Smith Clark Ashton Smith (January 13, 1893 – August 14, 1961) was an American writer and artist. He achieved early local recognition, largely through the enthusiasm of George Sterling, for traditional verse in the vein of Swinburne. As a poet, Smi ...

Derek Walcott Sir Derek Alton Walcott (23 January 1930 – 17 March 2017) was a Saint Lucian poet and playwright. He received the 1992 Nobel Prize in Literature. His works include the Homeric epic poem '' Omeros'' (1990), which many critics view "as Walcot ...

, Richard Wilbur and

William Carlos Williams William Carlos Williams (September 17, 1883 – March 4, 1963) was an American poet, writer, and physician closely associated with modernism and imagism. In addition to his writing, Williams had a long career as a physician practicing both pedia ...

("The Yachts"). A 21st-century example that adhere's closely to Dante's ''terza rima'' is David Ives' ''The Phobia Clinic'', which the author describes as a "philosophical horror novelette in verse using Dante's ''Inferno'' as its model". Edward Lowbury's adaptation of the form to six-syllable lines has been named ''piccola terza rima''."Craftsmanship in Versification", in Wolfgang Görtschacher's ''Contemporary Views on the Little Magazine Scene'', Poetry Salzburg, 2000, p. 549. English versions of the ''

'' are often set in iambic pentameter. Examples of English translations in the ''terza rima'' form include Robert Pinsky's version of the first book, '' Inferno'', and

Laurence Binyon Robert Laurence Binyon, CH (10 August 1869 – 10 March 1943) was an English poet, dramatist and art scholar. Born in Lancaster, England, his parents were Frederick Binyon, a clergyman, and Mary Dockray. He studied at St Paul's School, London ...

's, Dorothy L. Sayers's and Peter Dale's versions of the entire work.

Examples

The opening lines of the ''

'':

References

External links

*
Shelley's "Ode to the West Wind"
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