Angeline
Poet Chick
- Joined
- Mar 11, 2002
- Posts
- 27,295
Welcome to the wonderful world of the terzanelle! The terzanelle is a modern poetic form invented in America in 1965 by the poet and poetry critic Lewis Turco. It combines two older European forms: the villanelle and the terza rima. A terzanelle uses the villanelle's refrain (repeating line) and the terza rima's end line patterning (rhyme scheme).
Like the terza rima, the terzanelle consists of nineteen lines. It has six stanzas. The first five stanzas are interlocking (meaning they are connected by refrain and rhyme scheme) triplets (three lines each); the last stanza is a quatrain (four lines), which is also interlocking. It is connected to the triplets by refrain and rhyme.
According to Turco, every line is the same metrical length. Turco does not specify a particular meter. Other sources do not necessarily agree with this. However since the terzanelle is a lyric poem, it has an inherent rhythm and musicality. Therefore, you wouldn't want to make lines so different in length from one another that you lose its rhythmic quality. And to a certain extent--because of the rhyme and refrain--you are limited in how different the lines can be.
I should note that depending on which sources (besides Turco's) that you consult, you will find different length requirements for this form. Some agree with Turco and say it must be nineteen lines; others say it can be any length beyond two triplets and the quatrain (which allows the poet to use both repeating lines and rhymes). So it's up to you how long you want to make it, although if you want to go with Turco's definitions of the form, you'll have six stanzas.
Now, for a few (more!) specifics.
The Refrain and Rhyme Scheme
I'm going to quote here from Turco's The Book of Forms. If you were to Google "terzanelle", you might find variations from this.
The center line of each triplet is a repeton reappearing in the last line of the succeeding triplet with the exception of the penultimate stanza, which reappears in the quatrain. This is the rhyme and refrain scheme for the triplets: A1BA2, bCB, cDC, dED, eFE. The poem may end one of two ways: fA1FA2 or fFA1A2. Every line is the same metrical length.
Now, here is a map for the terzanelle by line. The letter indicates which lines are repeated, while the number indicates how you need to vary the rhyme.
1. A1
2. B
3. A2
4. b
5. C
6. B
7. c
8. D
9. C
10. d
11. E
12. D
13. e
14. F
15. E
16. f
17 A1 or F
18. F or A1
19. A2
Note that the last stanza, the quatrain, indicates there are two ways to do the stanza. Your choice as to which one you prefer.
So beyond the refrain and rhyme, what is the challenge of writing this form? Most terzanelle writers would agree that it is in finding ways to vary meaning in the repeating lines. And those repeating lines seem to invite enjambment (i.e., running sentences across lines), but remember that you will also have to make two lines from the beginning of your poem fit logically in that last stanza. So, yes, it can be a fairly challenging form, but some would argue that it's easier to write than a villanelle because at least the terzanelle allows you to work with a new refrain in each triplet.
Besides varying meaning in the refrain, there are other poetic tools you can use in the form to make it more interesting, such as alliteration, assonance, and consonance. You can also place internal rhymes thoughout the poem.
And finally some sample terzanelles to see how it all comes together. Take a look at how the poets play with the rhymes and the refrains.
Terzanelle in Thunderweather
Lewis Turco
This is the moment when shadows gather
under the elms, the cornices and eaves.
This is the center of thunderweather.
The birds are quiet among these white leaves
where wind stutters, starts, then moves steadily
under the elms, the cornices and eaves.
these are not our voices speaking guardedly
about the sky, of the sheets of lightening
where wind stutters, starts, then moves steadily
Into our lungs, across our lips, tightening
our throats. Our eyes are speaking in the dark
about the sky, of the sheets of lightening
that illuminate moments.
In the stark shades we inhabit, there are no words
for our throats. Our eyes are speaking in the dark
Of things we cannot say, cannot ignore,
This is the moment when shadows gather
shades we inhabit, there are no words for
this is the center of thunderweather.
******************
Terzanelle for the Burghers of Calais
Laverne Frith
The six brave burghers of Calais,
bent on the final sacrifice
first cast by Rodin in clay.
The King demanded they pay the price
which was too dear for grief to bear,
bent on the final sacrifice.
The Queen then begged the king to spare
those lives still hanging by a string,
which was too dear for grief to bear.
The King considered everything;
the heavy crown, the weighty choice;
those lives still hanging by a string,
until at last he heard her voice,
so strong, so insistent, he had to yield.
For heavy crown, the weighty choice
for valor shown while in the field,
so strong, so insistent, he had to yield
by six brave burghers of Calais
first cast by Rodin in clay.
******************
Terzanelle at twilight
Aparna Raghunath
Suspended twixt day and night
With the evening breezes singing -
The magic hour of twilight.
The earth and sky are listening,
The world is at peace
With the evening breezes singing
Twilight, the hour of ease;
All Nature wants to rest
The world is at peace.
Time to return to the nest
As the night time gathers around
All Nature wants to rest
By the fireside, prayers abound
It's time to sing the Vesper
As the night time gathers around
The breezes benediction whisper
Suspended twixt day and night
It's time to sing the Vesper
In the magic hour of twilight
******************
Terzanelle of Kosovo Fields
Richard Jackson
The soldier thinks he can beat the moon with a stick.
His is a country where roads do not meet, nor words touch.
The walls around him crumble: his heart is a pile of bricks.
We sit with the sky draped across our knees and trust
that the shadows of planes, whisper like children in the fields,
follow roads that do not meet us, speak words we will not touch.
The soldier lights a fuse that makes a tragic story real:
our words scavenge the countryside like packs of dogs, derelict,
abandoned, hunted by the shadows of planes that cross the fields.
It's true that the blackbirds fill the air with their terrible music.
How could we think a soldier wouldn't turn our stars to sawdust?
Now our words scavenge the countryside, and our loves are derelict.
I wanted to love you beyond the soldier's aim, beyond the war's clutch.
Now bombs hatch in our hearts. Even the smoke abandons us for the sky.
How could we think a soldier wouldn't turn our stars to sawdust?
We live in a world where the earth refuses to meet the sky.
Our homes are on the march, their smoke abandons us for the sky.
Our soldiers thought they could beat the moon with their sticks.
Now every heart is crumbling, every love is a pile of bricks.
******************
Feel free to add to this information, and if you already have sample terzanelles, please post them in this thread. I'll put a few of mine up in a bit.
Like the terza rima, the terzanelle consists of nineteen lines. It has six stanzas. The first five stanzas are interlocking (meaning they are connected by refrain and rhyme scheme) triplets (three lines each); the last stanza is a quatrain (four lines), which is also interlocking. It is connected to the triplets by refrain and rhyme.
According to Turco, every line is the same metrical length. Turco does not specify a particular meter. Other sources do not necessarily agree with this. However since the terzanelle is a lyric poem, it has an inherent rhythm and musicality. Therefore, you wouldn't want to make lines so different in length from one another that you lose its rhythmic quality. And to a certain extent--because of the rhyme and refrain--you are limited in how different the lines can be.
I should note that depending on which sources (besides Turco's) that you consult, you will find different length requirements for this form. Some agree with Turco and say it must be nineteen lines; others say it can be any length beyond two triplets and the quatrain (which allows the poet to use both repeating lines and rhymes). So it's up to you how long you want to make it, although if you want to go with Turco's definitions of the form, you'll have six stanzas.
Now, for a few (more!) specifics.
The Refrain and Rhyme Scheme
I'm going to quote here from Turco's The Book of Forms. If you were to Google "terzanelle", you might find variations from this.
The center line of each triplet is a repeton reappearing in the last line of the succeeding triplet with the exception of the penultimate stanza, which reappears in the quatrain. This is the rhyme and refrain scheme for the triplets: A1BA2, bCB, cDC, dED, eFE. The poem may end one of two ways: fA1FA2 or fFA1A2. Every line is the same metrical length.
Now, here is a map for the terzanelle by line. The letter indicates which lines are repeated, while the number indicates how you need to vary the rhyme.
1. A1
2. B
3. A2
4. b
5. C
6. B
7. c
8. D
9. C
10. d
11. E
12. D
13. e
14. F
15. E
16. f
17 A1 or F
18. F or A1
19. A2
Note that the last stanza, the quatrain, indicates there are two ways to do the stanza. Your choice as to which one you prefer.
So beyond the refrain and rhyme, what is the challenge of writing this form? Most terzanelle writers would agree that it is in finding ways to vary meaning in the repeating lines. And those repeating lines seem to invite enjambment (i.e., running sentences across lines), but remember that you will also have to make two lines from the beginning of your poem fit logically in that last stanza. So, yes, it can be a fairly challenging form, but some would argue that it's easier to write than a villanelle because at least the terzanelle allows you to work with a new refrain in each triplet.
Besides varying meaning in the refrain, there are other poetic tools you can use in the form to make it more interesting, such as alliteration, assonance, and consonance. You can also place internal rhymes thoughout the poem.
And finally some sample terzanelles to see how it all comes together. Take a look at how the poets play with the rhymes and the refrains.
Terzanelle in Thunderweather
Lewis Turco
This is the moment when shadows gather
under the elms, the cornices and eaves.
This is the center of thunderweather.
The birds are quiet among these white leaves
where wind stutters, starts, then moves steadily
under the elms, the cornices and eaves.
these are not our voices speaking guardedly
about the sky, of the sheets of lightening
where wind stutters, starts, then moves steadily
Into our lungs, across our lips, tightening
our throats. Our eyes are speaking in the dark
about the sky, of the sheets of lightening
that illuminate moments.
In the stark shades we inhabit, there are no words
for our throats. Our eyes are speaking in the dark
Of things we cannot say, cannot ignore,
This is the moment when shadows gather
shades we inhabit, there are no words for
this is the center of thunderweather.
******************
Terzanelle for the Burghers of Calais
Laverne Frith
The six brave burghers of Calais,
bent on the final sacrifice
first cast by Rodin in clay.
The King demanded they pay the price
which was too dear for grief to bear,
bent on the final sacrifice.
The Queen then begged the king to spare
those lives still hanging by a string,
which was too dear for grief to bear.
The King considered everything;
the heavy crown, the weighty choice;
those lives still hanging by a string,
until at last he heard her voice,
so strong, so insistent, he had to yield.
For heavy crown, the weighty choice
for valor shown while in the field,
so strong, so insistent, he had to yield
by six brave burghers of Calais
first cast by Rodin in clay.
******************
Terzanelle at twilight
Aparna Raghunath
Suspended twixt day and night
With the evening breezes singing -
The magic hour of twilight.
The earth and sky are listening,
The world is at peace
With the evening breezes singing
Twilight, the hour of ease;
All Nature wants to rest
The world is at peace.
Time to return to the nest
As the night time gathers around
All Nature wants to rest
By the fireside, prayers abound
It's time to sing the Vesper
As the night time gathers around
The breezes benediction whisper
Suspended twixt day and night
It's time to sing the Vesper
In the magic hour of twilight
******************
Terzanelle of Kosovo Fields
Richard Jackson
The soldier thinks he can beat the moon with a stick.
His is a country where roads do not meet, nor words touch.
The walls around him crumble: his heart is a pile of bricks.
We sit with the sky draped across our knees and trust
that the shadows of planes, whisper like children in the fields,
follow roads that do not meet us, speak words we will not touch.
The soldier lights a fuse that makes a tragic story real:
our words scavenge the countryside like packs of dogs, derelict,
abandoned, hunted by the shadows of planes that cross the fields.
It's true that the blackbirds fill the air with their terrible music.
How could we think a soldier wouldn't turn our stars to sawdust?
Now our words scavenge the countryside, and our loves are derelict.
I wanted to love you beyond the soldier's aim, beyond the war's clutch.
Now bombs hatch in our hearts. Even the smoke abandons us for the sky.
How could we think a soldier wouldn't turn our stars to sawdust?
We live in a world where the earth refuses to meet the sky.
Our homes are on the march, their smoke abandons us for the sky.
Our soldiers thought they could beat the moon with their sticks.
Now every heart is crumbling, every love is a pile of bricks.
******************
Feel free to add to this information, and if you already have sample terzanelles, please post them in this thread. I'll put a few of mine up in a bit.
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