Tags
Welcome to Meeting the Bar. This is Frank Hubeny and the challenge for the next two days is to write a triolet or a poem that closely resembles a triolet. Gay Reiser Cannon wrote a prompt featuring the triolet some years back.
So, what is a triolet? It has about the same number of words as a quadrille, but the word-count is not what matters. Looking at Wikipedia, a triolet’s characteristics are the following.
- The poem has 8 lines.
- The rhyme scheme is abaaabab.
- The meter is iambic tetrameter, that is, each line has four accented syllables with each accented syllable preceded by an unaccented syllable.
- The first, fourth and seventh lines repeat.
- The second and eighth lines repeat.
That means the same couplet starts and ends this short poem and the first line of the couplet is repeated a third time in the middle. There isn’t a lot of opportunity to say much with those constraints so the lines of that repeated couplet carry much of the message.
That doesn’t mean that everyone follows the rules and you may have learned different rules. Apparently there are triolets with 7 or 9 lines. Some triolets might not exactly repeat the lines since poets alter them to make the poem sound better. Some triolets aren’t in iambic tetrameter. I can even imagine triolets that have a different rhyme scheme or use slant rhyme.
Since poets writing in the past didn’t follow the rules exactly there is no need to do so today. However, if you want to follow these rules or others exactly that is fine as well.
To participate post a triolet or a poem that is almost a triolet on your blog, copy the link to your post and paste it in the Mister Linky below. Check out what others have posted. The Mister Linky will accept entries for the next 48 hours. You may even leave a comment if so inclined.
I almost forgot. Leave a link on your blog post so others can find the prompt in case they would like to participate as well. All are welcome.
dVerse 
Welcome to Meeting the Bar! The pub is open for your triolets or almost triolets.
Hello… Triolets were my favorite form a few years ago, it was a while since I last tried…
It has been a while since I first started writing them again a week ago. They can sound very nice and be very short.
Good evening all! Thank you, Frank, for hosting and reviving the triolet.
Thank you, Kim! You wrote a very nice sounding triolet linking returning swallows and past mistakes.
Hello All- Thanks for hosting Frank! It’s been a while since I’ve written a triolet. Going to work on something now.
They can seem difficult, but I’ve found there is so little to them that the hardest part is getting the initial and ending couplet to work.
Thanks for the tip Frank.
Hello Frank and All. There is comfort in forms for me, so the prompt is reassuring. It’s cold here today, with fresh snow on the ground. The bird feeders were mostly empty this morning with the birds huddled in the trees. A cup of hot tea would be appreciated if you care to pour me a cup 🙂
Here’s the hot tea. Stay warm. I also find the constraint of a form comforting. It helps me know what I’ll have to do when writing the poem or reading it.
Thank you, Frank.
Thanks for hosting, Frank! I’ll be honest….any time you add iambic pentameter, a rhyme scheme, a certain number of lines and certain lines repeating each other….my head starts to spin! I always call these poetic sudoku! But I did have fun with this one. Photo is from our amazing trip to the San Diego Zoo Safari Park yesterday. What a place. We have until March 11 to continue enjoying this San Diego sunshine! 🙂
Even with all the head spinning you wrote a very beautiful triolet about the fear inspired by that lion. Especially his angry eyes.
Hi Frank. Thanks for hosting. I haven’t written a triolet in a long time. I don’t know if I’ll have time today, but we’ll see.
No problem! If you get a chance here is an opportunity to try a triolet again.
I have to agree with Lillian. All the constraints and restrictions seem to stifle the poet in me! I’ll read others and await an epiphanitic brainstorm !
There might be too many constraints in this form. But you may modify them as you feel necessary.
I usually stay away from meters since I find way more hard in English. But I’m always up for a challenge. Will be back later if I succeed. 😀
The form can be difficult, but there are only five lines that are part of a repetition. However, that might make the form even more difficult. Everything has to be said with very few words.
Can’t really say if it all the repeating lines made it harder or not. Will have to write more before I know that. Now at least I got an attempt together. 🙂
You succeeded! Very nice triolet.
Thank you. It was fun!
Thank you, Frank! I rather enjoyed the discipline of writing to a form, though mine is only a try-olet – I let the metre do what it wanted, but I kept the rhyme scheme.
Try-olet’s are fine! I think that would have been a better title for this post than “almost a triolet”.
I love technical prompts. I’ve never tried this form, so I’ll give it a go, and hope I make it before the linky shuts down! In the meantime, I’m making that soup for dinner, so, I don’t know, I’m thinking a neat whisky is the ticket tonight.
I think you succeeded well describing the coats of the dead. The linky should stay active until Saturday afternoon.
I haven’t written one of these in a while but, I used to love this form.
What I like about the form is all the repetition. It can sound very melodic.
So …. I take it that some triolets aren’t triolets at all – in that every rule can be broken? Unlimited poetic license, in a manner of speaking?
“This constant storm. This angry sea
Our shoulders to the wind
Within the Tempest. You and me
This constant storm. This angry sea
Love will be what love will be
Love hurts and we have sinned
This constant storm. This angry sea
Our shoulders to the wind”
Very nice, triolet, Richmond! I like the rhyme with “sea” and “be” twice in the fifth line.
Very nice. I’m trying to compose one. New to me.
It all seems a bit ponderous to me, to be honest. I think, when it comes to poetry, there should be as few rules as possible.
For this prompt the rules may be broken. They are just there as guidelines and they give me something to write about. That is also why I titled it “almost” a triolet.
Yes. Quite so. Mine should perhaps have been ‘almost a poem’.
I hope you do. Even if it is not in time for this prompt which ends in an hour you can always use it later at dVerse such as Open Link Night which should be next Thursday.
I realized too late that this challenge ended on the 29th…here’s the triolet I wrote today without realizing: https://eluminoracreations.wordpress.com/2020/03/03/triolet-poem-let-there-be-storms/.
You may still link it this Thursday for Open Link Night (or link some other poem). That will be open for two days as well. Thank you for stopping by and posting a link to your poem! Well done triolet.
Thanks for letting me know! 🙂
Managed another one: https://xanhaiku.wordpress.com/2020/03/03/playing-around/
Pingback: Make Art – Triolet inspired by Neil Gaiman and Chris Riddell – The world according to RedCat
I know this has been over for a long time, but I enjoyed making this triolet and wanted to share it. 😁
In the shadows of broken dreams
Lost in splinter’d realities
Listening to so many screams
In the shadows of broken dreams
World falling apart at the seams
Denying these brutalities
In the shadows of broken dreams
Lost in splinter’d realities
Thank you for sharing the triolet, Amaya! The “broken dreams” are relevant today and may their breaking turn out to be a blessing in disguise.