Ok, brilliant students - I present the Triolet

This form stems from medieval French poetry - the earliest written examples are from the late 13th century. The triolet is a close cousin of the rondeau, another French verse form emphasizing repetition and rhyme. Some of the earliest known triolets composed in English were written by Patrick Cary, briefly a Benedictine at Douai, who purportedly used them in his devotions. British poet Robert Bridges reintroduced the triolet to the English language, where it enjoyed a brief popularity among late-nineteenth-century British poets.

A triolet (pronounced /ˈtraɪ.əlɨt/ or US: /ˌtriː.əˈleɪ/) is a one stanza poem of eight lines. Its rhyme scheme is ABaAabAB and often all lines are in iambic tetrameter: the first, fourth and seventh lines are identical, as are the second and final lines, thereby making the initial and final couplets identical as well. Needless to say, the first line must be powerful, since it is to be repeated three times in eight lines. Getting the rhyme scheme down right while maintaining the iambic can be quite a challenge.

An expanded triolet is a series of triolets strung together with a common theme. Here is one I wrote long ago for a class in this form.

Good luck!

Bring back the Jackie Gleason shows
That made me laugh with wild delight
Until I had a runny nose.
Bring back the Jackie Gleason shows.
They were just ordinary joes
But Ralph and Norton were a sight!
Bring back the Jackie Gleason shows
That made me laugh with wild delight.


Bring back the funny Bob Hope shows
Wherever men were sent to fight.
He traveled with the USO's
Bring back the funny Bob Hope shows.
While soldiers fought against our foes
He offered them a brief respite.
Bring back those funny Bob Hope Shows
Wherever men were sent to fight.


Bring back those great Jack Benny shows
That used to fill my Friday night.
Chin held by hand in classic pose
Bring back those great Jack Benny shows.
As everyone who watched him knows
His fiddle playing was a fright!
Bring back those great Jack Benny shows
That used to fill my Friday night.


The tides of Life have ebbs and flows
That bring the dark where once was light.
Joy comes to life and then it goes.
The tides of Life have ebbs and flows.
These three now share deserved repose
Forever young in Heaven's sight.
The tides of Life have ebbs and flows
That bring the dark where once was light.


In my mind admiration grows
For these three stars that shone so bright
Until the final curtain close
In my mind admiration grows.
I thank them for their silly prose
And bid the three a fond goodnight.
In my mind admiration grows
For these three stars that shone so bright.



Remember, please don't use the quote button when responding. If there is something you would like to reference, simply copy and paste that part to your response.

Have fun!

RE: Aria's Triolet -

Chance

When hope stands golden in the sun
the future shines for all to see;
with chance to walk and even run.
When hope stands golden in the sun
and all is well, with love has come
the truth that God's been good to me.
When hope stands golden in the sun
the future shines for all to see.

RE: Ok, brilliant students - I present the Triolet

AARGGHHH!!! I'm gonna have to find something to give you a challenge. Obviously this didn't since it's PERFECT! Not only did you follow the form perfectly, the iambic did not have one syllable out of place AND the poem made wonderful sense and a great message. Wow...all that and brains, too. I'm very impressed, Aria.

a Triolet - Oh Misty Moon

Oh Misty Moon
____________



Oh misty moon, come shine on me
your gentle lace from Heaven's gate
and lift your veil of fantasy
oh misty moon, come shine on me
where I may sail your midnight sea
on winged streams that radiate
oh misty moon, come shine on me
your gentle lace from Heaven's gate

Oh misty moon, come shine on me
with warm-glow dreams of my soul-mate
where soft, we drift on beams of we
oh misty moon, come shine on me
and spark our touch with energy
to match the solar lights of fate
oh misty moon, come shine on me
with warm-glow dreams of my soul mate.

RE: Ok, brilliant students - I present the Triolet

Perfect iambic - perfect structure..perfect syllable counts...perfect flow. What else is there to say?

Excellent job, Springsize!

RE: Ok, brilliant students - I present the Triolet

Balladeer ~

Thank you so much for your feedback...

and for all of the teaching exercises..

RE: Ok, brilliant students - I present the Triolet

Sex in the Country

It’s fun making my woman laugh
Like Cowboys and Indians night
As dancing with wolves on the grass
It’s fun making my woman laugh
I do not lie so polygraph
We love laying down under moonlight
It’s fun making my woman laugh
Her smile is beautiful and bright

It’s fun making my woman laugh
She’s crazy about my belly
I could write a whole paragraph
It’s fun making my woman laugh
She loves to drink from my carafe
I have my own laughter deli
It’s fun making my woman laugh
Tickles me to see her jelly

It’s fun making my woman laugh
Loves playing sex in the country
I could make a big photograph
It’s fun making my woman laugh
There’s no giraffes just cows and calf’s
That’s the reward I get you see
It’s fun making my woman laugh
Good like a broken phonograph

RE: Ok, brilliant students - I present the Triolet

Close but no cigar, John. You didn't quite follow the proper form. Check it again...it IS a good effort, though

RE: Ok, brilliant students - I present the Triolet

[quote="Balladeer"]This form stems from medieval French poetry - the earliest written examples are from the late 13th century. The triolet is a close cousin of the rondeau, another French verse form emphasizing repetition and rhyme. Some of the earliest known triolets composed in English were written by Patrick Cary, briefly a Benedictine at Douai, who purportedly used them in his devotions. British poet Robert Bridges reintroduced the triolet to the English language, where it enjoyed a brief popularity among late-nineteenth-century British poets.

A triolet (pronounced /ˈtraɪ.əlɨt/ or US: /ˌtriː.əˈleɪ/) is a one stanza poem of eight lines. Its rhyme scheme is ABaAabAB and often all lines are in iambic tetrameter: the first, fourth and seventh lines are identical, as are the second and final lines, thereby making the initial and final couplets identical as well. Needless to say, the first line must be powerful, since it is to be repeated three times in eight lines. Getting the rhyme scheme down right while maintaining the iambic can be quite a challenge.

An expanded triolet is a series of triolets strung together with a common theme. Here is one I wrote long ago for a class in this form.

Good luck!

Bring back the Jackie Gleason shows
That made me laugh with wild delight
Until I had a runny nose.
Bring back the Jackie Gleason shows.
They were just ordinary joes
But Ralph and Norton were a sight!
Bring back the Jackie Gleason shows
That made me laugh with wild delight.


Bring back the funny Bob Hope shows
Wherever men were sent to fight.
He traveled with the USO's
Bring back the funny Bob Hope shows.
While soldiers fought against our foes
He offered them a brief respite.
Bring back those funny Bob Hope Shows
Wherever men were sent to fight.


Bring back those great Jack Benny shows
That used to fill my Friday night.
Chin held by hand in classic pose
Bring back those great Jack Benny shows.
As everyone who watched him knows
His fiddle playing was a fright!
Bring back those great Jack Benny shows
That used to fill my Friday night.


The tides of Life have ebbs and flows
That bring the dark where once was light.
Joy comes to life and then it goes.
The tides of Life have ebbs and flows.
These three now share deserved repose
Forever young in Heaven's sight.
The tides of Life have ebbs and flows
That bring the dark where once was light.


In my mind admiration grows
For these three stars that shone so bright
Until the final curtain close
In my mind admiration grows.
I thank them for their silly prose
And bid the three a fond goodnight.
In my mind admiration grows
For these three stars that shone so bright.



Remember, please don't use the quote button when responding. If there is something you would like to reference, simply copy and paste that part to your response.

Have fun!
[/quote]
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

I must confess that I have not come across this novel stanza format where the first couplet is repeated to complete the stanza. and the verse is usually iambic feet.Thanks to Balladeer for bringing this form to our notice, I shall go wading through my poetry collection, in search of it.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Last edited by cousinsoren 05-10-2010 at 11:50:15 PM

RE: Ok, brilliant students - I present the Triolet

Always good to see you, cousinoren. Here's a useful link with examples...enjoy!

http://poetry.about.com/od/poeticforms/g/triolet.htm

RE: Ok, brilliant students - I present the Triolet

Well, I really hope I did this right. This looked to have the potential to be a truly powerful poetic form, so I chose to draw on powerful personal experiences for this one. It is based on true experiences, so I may have gotten caught up in some emotional aftermath and neglected to follow the guidelines precisely, though I did put forth the effort. I do want to say how grateful I am to have the kind of guidance necessary to finally find a proper outlet for this haunting nightmare. Sorry to rattle on, but this was a difficult, refreshing write. *deep breath*

Outpatient

It was supposed to be a simple surgery,
When suddenly my body screamed in anguished cries...
The numbing agents seemed so powerless to me.
It was supposed to be a simple surgery.
My inner scars will be the vivid memories.
"BP's are dropping, thirty-six and twenty-eight!"
It was supposed to be a simple surgery,
When suddenly my body screamed in anguished cries...

Last edited by simoneaugustus 05-16-2010 at 02:03:54 AM

RE: Ok, brilliant students - I present the Triolet

You did an excellent job, miss, and it is a very powerful poem. The only criticism I would offer is..

The numbing agents seemed powerless to me.
the NUMB-ing A-gents SEEMED POW-er-LESS to ME

That's the only line that kills the iambic with "seemed pow", both being accented syllables.

Otherwise, it is a fine piece of work...nicely done.

RE: Ok, brilliant students - I present the Triolet

Crap. Another typo on my part. My handwriting is totally illegible at 2 am when I write these assignments. So sorry, will edit and change that... Thanks for the feedback!