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Hello, Frank Hubeny here. Today the challenge is to write three-line poems or poems having mainly three-line stanzas. In other words the focus is on tercets or as I titled this prompt, “triplets”.
Laura Bloomsbury focused on tercets earlier this year while featuring Raymond Garlick’s poetry. This prompt focuses only on having three lines with no set rhyme words, meter or theme.
So one could write a haiku, a poem of three lines. Or one could write a villanelle, a poem mainly containing stanzas of three lines (except for the last). Or one could write a canto similar to those written by Dante in the Divine Comedy. I will try to write a tercet like Dante’s.
Threes appear all over the Divine Comedy. There are three parts: Inferno, Purgatory and Paradise. Each part contains 33 cantos (plus 1 at the beginning). Not only does each tercet have 3 lines, as I expected it would, but the entire tercet has exactly 33 syllables. That means each line contains on average eleven syllables.
Each canto ends with a single line and the rhyme pattern is ABA BCB CDC DED … XYX Y. The “…” means it can go on (and on). These cantos are over 100 lines each. For this prompt, let’s limit it to five tercets plus a concluding stanza so that a villanelle would fit in the prompt, but you only need write one tercet.
Initially I was going to make the challenge to write a few tercets like Dante’s, but they are more complicated than I realized. I have written a couple of them as practice. To get an eleven-syllable line using an iambic meter I have had some success writing a line where both the first and last syllable are accented. That seems to work, but you may have an interesting way to construct these.
After posting your tercet, triplet or poem with at most five tercet stanzas copy the link and paste it in the Mister Linky below. The Mister Linky will be open for 48 hours. Read how those who linked with you met the challenge.
Don’t forget to link back to this post so your readers can find it in case they would like to post a poem of their own. If you wish, you may leave me a comment below.
dVerse 
The pub is open!
Good evening all! Thanks for hosting and setting up the bar for an interesting, flexible challenge, Frank. I went all out on the threes – I’ve never written lines of thirty-three syllables before!.
You did go all out! I thought eleven syllable lines were difficult enough, but your example of thirty-three syllable lines has opened up possibilities for the use of threes.
Thank you, Frank! I wasn’t sure if I could do it, and it took a lot of concentration and counting.
I didn’t count every line, but I think you did it.
Hello Frank- Thank you so much for hosting! I have written a haiku today. I hope everyone is doing well.
I also hope everyone is doing well. Your quote from Tolkien fit your haiku well.
Thank you Frank.
Hello Frank and All. This will be fun, as a couple of interesting rhyming words presented themselves today that can be used. The weather is gorgeous today and the asparagus is at the height of deliciousness. Wishing everyone a fabulous weekend and may love rain/reign over us all.
May love reign and rain over all of us.
I like what you did there, Frank 🙂
Hi Frank. Thanks for hosting. I actually wrote my Monday Morning Musings this week in stanzas of three with the second and third lines rhyming, and then with a one-line verse in between. I’ll do something different for this challenge.
Whichever you prefer. I am looking forward to it. I used a post from Monday for this prompt.
Hello Frank and others…. I just came back from being wild and crazy getting a haircut and a nice meal at a restaurant. It is past bedtime already so I think I will have to skip writing tonight… I will try to write to this prompt on OLN… maybe some nice terza rhyme …
Thanks for stopping by, Bjorn!
I’d like to see a “before” and “after” of the haircut, Bjorn and a description of your restaurant meal. Been months since having either…
It all seems like a long time ago, though only a few months, when I remember doing things differently.
Thanks for hosting, Frank. I simply wrote a poem that has three-line stanzas.
That is all that was needed. I am glad you linked it.
OK, I always say I like the technical prompts. 48 hours, huh. 🙂
Yes, 48 hours but pretty much anything with 3 lines will do. That is usually how long the Poetics, Meeting the Bar and Open Link Night are open.
sorry cheated dragged one out from a few years ago but thank you for reminding e of it.
I sometimes link poems I have posted previously. I don’t think it is cheating.
You made me work today Frank. (K)
I am glad you took up the challenge of writing stanzas like Dante’s. I plan to write more, but I have not written four of them yet.
It’s like a puzzle, and I enjoy it. But some are easier than others.
Good point! It’s like a word jigsaw puzzle. I think I found it difficult because I kept trying to push the pieces that I thought should fit where they didn’t want to go. That seemed easier than trying another piece.
I’ve been to that place too Frank.
Hi, Frank and everyone! I just posted. 🙂
I liked thought from your poem of the clear visions that come when the glasses and lenses are clean.
Good Evening All! Frank thanks for hosting. I had to honor my visitation today with the gift of birdsong. I will be around for a bit tonight and I’ll be back tomorrow to read more.
Pleasant dreams dear poets!
That was an unusual encounter with the blue jay. I don’t remember seeing one recently.
I imagine the hopefulness in its song.
Good prompt. I love taking on the old forms.
It is good to see what forms are out there. This is the first time I realized what was involved in those tercets Dante wrote.
Villanelles are tough but I made sure I took a chance anyway~
They are difficult and I usually avoid them for that reason, but all of that repetition, like a song, allows one to keep repeating a point over and over again in a melodic way.
Sorry I couldn’t drop by last night. Thursday nights are always busy. You know I can’t resist a villanelle, but I might try those Dantean tercets over the next few days. It’s nice to have a structural prompt, too. Thank you, Frank.
That was a very melodic villanelle describing the Queen of Trianon. All of the repeating lines kept me focused on her.
Hello Frank, hope you’re doing good. I’ve attempted writing to a canto, I am little late to the party but this time I at least made it! I enjoyed composing the poem very much, thank you for hosting 🙂
Jay
You gave us a very good example of a terza rima canto along with a description of how one does this form correctly. I find hendecasyllablic lines difficult. Thank you for linking that!
Thankyou and it’s always a pleasure joining in, Frank🙏😁