Tercet
Tercet
Type: noun
Pronunciation: /tur-set/
What does Tercet mean? A stanza with three (3) lines rhymed or unrhymed.
A tercet is a stanza with three (3) lines that usually all rhyme, doesn’t rhyme, or the first and the third line rhyme, which is an ABA rhyming pattern.
Tercets can also have an AAA, ABA, AAB, or ABC pattern. Tercets don’t have to rhyme.
A poem with tercets that ends with a couplet is called a “terza rima.”
Tercet Synonyms: Terza Rima
Example of a Tercet:
Here’s an example of a tercet with a rhyme scheme (ABA):
[The moonlight casts a silver glow (A)
Upon the quiet sea below (B)
As stars in silence start to show.” (A)]
More Stanza Forms: Monostich, Couplet, Quatrain, Quintain, Sestet, Septet, Octave, Heterometric Stanza, Spenserian Stanza, Ballad Stanza
Example sentence: “I wrote a beautiful tercet today.”