The Terza Rima is a poetic form made up of interconnected three-line stanzas. There is no set meter but iambic pentameter (ten syllables) is usually used. There can be as many stanzas as desired. The last stanza can be either a couplet or single line whose last word rhymes with that of the second line of the last previous stanza. The rhyme of each stanza is linked to the previous stanza with a rhyme scheme of a/b/a b/c/b c/d/c d/d or d.The Terza Rima was created by Italian poet, Dante Alighieri, with his "Divine Commedy". It is believed that he may have been influenced by the troubadours, Middle Age poets, with their lyrical form, the sirventes. It is also believed that the three-line pattern may represent the Holy Trinity. Other Italian poets, including Petrarch and Boccaccio, used the Terza Rima. Geoffrey Chaucer was the first English poet to do so with his work, "Complaint to His Lady". It was also used by Milton, Byron, and Shelley. Some Twentieth century poets that used it include William Carlos Williams and T. S. Eliot. The Terza Rima is still very popular today.An example follows each line in parentheses.
Instructions
Instructions
1. Begin Stanza 1.
2. Write line one with ten syllables. (what lurks within the shadows of one's mind?)
3. Write line two with ten syllables. (do we want to know every detail?)
4. Write line three with ten syllables and a last word that rhymes with the last word of line one. (will what we find always be nice and kind?)
5. Begin Stanza 2.
6. Write line four with ten syllables and a last word that rhymes with the last word of line two. (maybe it's better left behind a veil)
7. Write line five with ten syllables. (safely hidden away from thought and sight)
8. Write line six with ten syllables and a last word that rhymes with the last word of line two. (we like to think that good always prevails)
9. Begin Stanza 3.
10. Write line seven with ten syllables and a last word that rhymes with the last word of line five. (sometimes the truth is not always so bright)
11. Write line eight with ten syllables and a last word that rhymes with the last word of line five. (what we do not know cannot hurt us, right?)
