Wordsmith.org: the magic of words


A.Word.A.Day

About | Media | Search | Contact  


Home

Today's Word

Yesterday's Word

Archives

FAQ


A.Word.A.Day--triolet

Pronunciation RealAudio

triolet (TREE-uh-lit, -lay) noun

A poem or stanza of eight lines, having a rhyme scheme ABaAabAB, in which the first, fourth, and seventh lines are the same, and the second is the same as the eighth line.

[From French, literally small trio.]

"The teaching of English has so degenerated these days that it's hard to believe that Ira's school curriculum included a rigorous training in classical verse forms such as the ballad, the triolet, the rondeau, the villanelle and the sonnet, but it did. "In the first decades of the century the daily newspapers in New York were full of poetry, too: there were columns devoted to light verse, and often a theatre review or sports notice would be written in couplets or quatrains." John Tranter; He's Got Rhythm; The Australian (Sydney); Mar 30, 1996.

Here are some computing triolets.

This week's theme: words to describe poetic forms.

X-Bonus

To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public. -Theodore Roosevelt, 26th US President (1858-1919)

We need your help

Help us continue to spread the magic of words to readers everywhere

Donate

Subscriber Services
Awards | Stats | Links | Privacy Policy
Contribute | Advertise

© 1994-2024 Wordsmith