The Triolet


In the triolet, you don’t get to say much, not many words that is, so you have to say it well. This form requires you to be stringent. The basic triolet is an eight line stanza. You can write as many stanzas as you like, but each will be eight lines. It works with repetition and rhyme, but does not require any specific meter.

Here is a definition adapted from poets.org: The triolet is a short poem of eight lines with only two rhymes used throughout. 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. The poet writes only five original lines, giving the triolet a deceptively simple appearance.

You start by writing the first two lines. They do not rhyme with each other, but they set the rhyme scheme. The first of these two lines will also become the fourth and seventh lines. The second of the first two lines will become the eighth and final line of the stanza.

Here are the first two lines of my triolet “One More”:
                        Before Barbara there were none
                        then they adopted Josephine, too, before

These lines will be repeated as mentioned above and the rhyme scheme is now set. Line 3 and line 5 will rhyme with the word  “none” and line 6 will line with the word “before”. Here are the next few lines:
                        they had their own born-to-them son.
                        Before Barbara there were none.
                        Did they really want one more?
                        Two girls, one son, and then one more,

The final two lines are a repetition of the first two lines. Here is the whole stanza:
                        Before Barbara there were none
                        then they adopted Josephine, too, before
                        they had their own born-to-them son.
                        Before Barbara there were none.
                        Did they really want one more?
                        Two girls, one son, and then one more,
                        before Barbara there were none,
                        then they adopted Josephine, too, before.

Here’s another definition, a bit more technical: Triolet: an eight-line poem with two rhymes and two refrain lines, ABaAabAB (the capital As and Bs represent the repeated lines).  .  . The triolet has a strict formality. The first two lines establish the subject. The repetition of the fourth line creates a lyric intensity. The fifth and sixth lines take on a sudden air of freedom and tend to expand the subject matter. the final lines tightly knit the conclusion. A key feature of the triolet is how the poet plays with the repeated lines to change the meaning as the poem proceeds. – from A Poet’s Glossary by Edward Hirsch

Here is the line scheme and repetition mapped out.
            1. A
            2. B
            3. a  Rhymes with 1st line.
            4. A  identical or nearly so to 1st line.
            5. a  Rhymes with 1st line.
            6. b  Rhymes with 2nd line.
            7. A  Identical or nearly so to 1st line.
            8. B  Identical or nearly so to 2nd line.

Here is an example of a triolet that has nearly identical repetition of the line.
 
                        Last Chance at Reconciliation by Joshua Mehigan 

                        He’s certain where he’s headed it’s too late.
                        West Broadway glitters in a mist of rain
                        that amber cones of light elucidate.
                        He’s certain. Where he’s headed, it’s too late
                        to stop for flowers, dry off, or get things straight:
                        a story, his misshapen hat, his brain.
                        He’s certain where he’s headed. It’s too late.
                        West Broadway glitters in a mist of rain.

Here’s another example where the words are the same, but the punctuation changes.

            Triolet on a Line Apocryphally Attributed to Martin Luther by A.E. Stallings

            Why should the Devil get all the good tunes,
            The booze and the neon and Saturday night,
            The swaying in darkness, the lovers like spoons?
            Why should the devil get all the good tunes?
            Does he hum them to while away sad afternoons
            And the long, lonesome Sundays? Or sing them for spite?
            Why should the Devil get all the good tunes,
            The booze and the neon and Saturday night?

In my own poem, there is a play on the title. My parents had four children. I was the last, the final “one more” and the poem itself has one more stanza. The final line of the second stanza repeats the names listed in the second line, but using our more familiar names or even nicknames. This is from my book Breathe Here (North Country Press, 2020).
Here is the whole poem:

One More                              

Before Barbara there were none
then they adopted Josephine, too, before
they had their own born-to-them son.
Before Barbara there were none.
Did they really want one more?
Two girls, one son, and then one more,
before Barbara there were none,
then they adopted Josephine, too, before.

Two daughters, one son, one more.
Barbara, Josephine, Daniel, and me.
They didn’t live to see us mature,
two daughters, one son, one more.
Even with one, two, three, then four,
it was lonely in our family tree.
Two daughters, one son, one more.
Barbara, Jo, Danny, and Honey.


Recommended Reading

Handbook of Poetic Forms by Ron Padgett
The Making of a Poem: A Norton Anthology of Poetic Forms by Mark Strand and Eavan Boland, eds

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Up Home Again - the book itself, at last.

Free Open Courses

As a Swan