A tercet is a poetic unit consisting of three lines. It can be rhymed or unrhymed, and its purpose is to convey a complete thought or idea within those three lines. The beauty of a tercet lies in its brevity and conciseness, allowing the poet to pack a punch in just a few lines.
One example of a tercet is Thomas Hardy's poem “The Convergence of the Twain.” In this poem, Hardy explores the sinking of the Titanic and the idea of fate. The poem is written in rhymed tercets, with each tercet following the rhyme scheme AAA BBB. Here is an excerpt:
In a solitude of the sea
Deep from human vanity,
And the Pride of Life that planned her, stilly couches she.
Steel chambers, late the pyres
Of her salamandrine fires,
Cold currents thrid, and turn to rhythmic tidal lyres.
Here, Hardy uses the tercet form to convey the eerie and haunting atmosphere of the sunken ship, describing its solitude and the transformation of its once fiery engines into cold, rhythmic currents.
Another example of a tercet is Ben Jonson's poem “On Spies.” This poem is written in unrhymed tercets, following the pattern AAA. Here is the poem in its entirety:
Trust not the treason of those smiling looks,
Unto thy foes do no good turns, nor seek,
Nor suffer them to have what thou mistook'st.
In this brief but impactful poem, Jonson warns against trusting deceptive appearances and advises against helping one's enemies or allowing them to take advantage of one's mistakes. The lack of rhyme in this tercet adds to its straightforward and direct tone.
Lastly, Percy Bysshe Shelley's “Ode to the West Wind” is another example of a tercet, but this time in the form of terza rima. Terza rima is a type of interlocking rhyme scheme where the second line of each tercet rhymes with the first and third lines of the following tercet. Shelley's famous ode showcases the power of the wind and its influence on the world. Here is an excerpt:
O wild West Wind, thou breath of Autumn's being,
Thou, from whose unseen presence the leaves dead
Are driven, like ghosts from an enchanter fleeing,
Yellow, and black, and pale, and hectic red,
Pestilence-stricken multitudes: O thou,
Who chariotest to their dark wintry bed
The winged seeds, where they lie cold and low,
Each like a corpse within its grave, until
Thine azure sister of the Spring shall blow
In this example, the tercets flow seamlessly with the rhyme scheme, carrying the reader through the imagery of the wind and its impact on nature.
A tercet is a poetic unit of three lines that can be rhymed or unrhymed. It allows poets to convey a complete thought or idea concisely. Whether it is Hardy's rhymed tercets, Jonson's unrhymed tercets, or Shelley's terza rima, the tercet form offers poets a versatile and impactful way to express their thoughts and emotions in just a few lines.