A Triolet Tutorial

Triolet [tree-uh-ley or trahy-uh-lit]

of French origin, meaning little trio.

Usually written in iambic tetrameter, the triolet is an eight lined poem with a fixed rhyme scheme of ABaAabAB, where A and B are repeated lines.

Originally the poetic form was split into three, AB, aA, abAB, hence the name ‘little trio’, but it is now often presented as a single stanza of eight lines.

At first glance, it may seem like a very restrictive form of poetry, but the repeated lines and rhyme sounds can create, and enhance, some very powerful imagery.

Below is an example of a one stanza triolet, written by myself.

WildFire

Through charcoal trees the wind does cry,

as acrid clouds eclipse the sun.

From tongue of licking flame, ghosts fly

through charcoal trees. The wind does cry.

"A heedless light, of passers-by,

brings hell to burn God's earth undone,"

through charcoal trees, the wind does cry,

as acrid clouds eclipse the sun.

© Sharon Tideswell 2009

The Meter of the Triolet

Iambic Tetrameter refers to the meter (beat) of the poem. Iambic means that the poem is made up of metrical feet called iambs – 2 syllables where the stress or emphasis is on the second syllable – da DUM

Let’s look at the word ‘tonight’ –

if we put the stress on the first syllable – TOnight – it would sound unnatural. The stress falls naturally on the second syllable – toNIGHT (da DUM).‘Tonight’ is an iamb.

An iamb doesn’t have to be contained within a single 2 syllable word. The sentence ‘The boy came home for lunch’, can be split into 3 iambs:

the BOY/ came HOME/ for LUNCH.

The stresses fall naturally on every second syllable. Try saying the sentence out loud; it flows naturally and sounds unforced. Now try saying it with the emphasis on the other syllables –

THE boy/ CAME home/ FOR lunch

hear how stilted and unnatural it sounds.

The sentence ‘The boy came home for lunch’ is iambic.

An iamb can also be made up of part words, for example – the last syllable of one word and the first syllable of the next, and vice versa.

The well known tongue twister, ‘Around the rugged rocks the ragged rascal ran,’ is iambic, but let’s see where the iambs fall –

aROUND/ the RU/ gged ROCKS/ the RA/ gged RA/ scal RAN.

Again you can try reading it out loud, switching the emphasis and comparing the sound.

In the phrase ‘Iambic Tetrameter’ we now know what iambic means. The word ‘Tetrameter’ tells us how many of those metrical feet (iambs) form the meter. Tetra comes from the Greek word for four.

So, four iambs form the meter of the poem. Each line is composed of four iambs (8 syllables with the stress on every second syllable)

da DUM da DUM da DUM da DUM

From Line 1 of the example poem:-

Through CHAR/ coal TREES/ the WIND/ does CRY

In summary - Iambic Tetra meter

(da DUM) x 4 = meter

We now have the syllable count and the meter for each line, but the triolet also has the strict requirements of a set rhyme scheme, and repetition.

The Rhyme Scheme

Rhyme schemes are denoted by letters of the alphabet. For example if a poem is said to have an ‘abab’ rhyme scheme, it simply means that line 1 (a) rhymes with line 3 (a) and that line 2 (b) rhymes with line 4 (b).

Capital letters in a rhyme scheme can be used to denote a repeated line.

The rhyme scheme for the triolet looks complex ABaAabAB, so let’s break it down (using the meter we have already learned and the end words from the sample poem).

We have a rhyme scheme notation for each of the 8 lines of the triolet.

Line 1(A). da DUM da DUM da DUM da (CRY)

Line 2(B). da DUM da DUM da DUM da (SUN)

Line 3(a). da DUM da DUM da DUM da (FLY) - rhymes with line 1

Line 4(A). da DUM da DUM da DUM da (CRY) - a repeat of line 1

Line 5(a). da DUM da DUM da DUM da (BY) - rhymes with line 1

Line 6(b). da DUM da DUM da DUM da (DONE) - rhymes with line 2

Line 7(A). da DUM da DUM da DUM da (CRY) - a repeat of line 1

Line 8(B). da DUM da DUM da DUM da (SUN) - a repeat of line 2

There are only two rhyme sounds throughout the poem A/a and B/b, so choose your end words carefully, as you’ll need to find more than one rhyming word.

Lines denoted by ‘a’ and ‘A’ have the same rhyme sound, but remember the capital A denotes a repeated line.

Lines denoted by ‘b’ and ‘B’ have the same rhyme sound, and ‘B’ denotes a repeated line.

You will see from the above, that lines 1, 4 and 7 will automatically rhyme, because they are the same line repeated. You need to find an additional two rhyming words, one for line 3 and one for line 5. Lines 1,3,4,5 and 7 rhyme.

Lines 2 and 8 will automatically rhyme because they are also the same line repeated. You will need to find an additional rhyming word for line 6.

Note also, due to the repetition, the poem starts and ends with the same couplet, so make sure it’s equally effective as an opening and ending to the poem.

Good luck and have fun.