Terza Rima or Diaspora Sonnet

[Tinker]

Explore the Craft of Writing Poetry
The Sonnet
Sonnet Comparison Chart
English Verse

The Terza Rima or Diaspora Sonnet, appeared in England in the 19th century. It makes use of the interweaving pattern and forward movement of the Italian Terza Rima. This variation of the sonnet is written in tercets with an interlocking rhyme scheme and concludes with a refrain or invocation in the form of a heroic couplet. The Greek word "diaspora"  means "scattered abroad".  The Bible used the word to refer to the Jews who lived outside of Palestine after the Babylonians destroyed Jerusalem in 587 B.C. The Jews scattered into the Greek Roman cities and later further north. They maintained their Jewish identity while adapting to the language and customs of their new homes by continuing to honor Jewish traditions. Perhaps in regard to this Sonnet form, it refers back to the original Italian Terza Rima form continuing its interlocking rhyme while adapting to a new language and new frame.

The elements of the Terza Rima Sonnet are:

1. a quatorzain, made up of 4 tercets and concluding with a rhyming couplet.
2. metric, iambic pentameter.
3. composed with a volta (a non physical gap) or pivot (a shifting or tilting of the main line of thought) sometime after the 2nd tercet.
4. similar to the Spenserian Sonnet in which the poem progresses forward developing the metaphor, conflict, idea or question. The epiphany of the poem arrives logically in the couplet.
5. rhymed with up to 6 rhymes with an interlocking rhyme scheme is aba bcb cdc ded ee.
6. written so that the concluding rhyming couplet serves as a refrain or invocation.

    

   Ode to the West Make me thy lyre, even as the forest is: What if my leaves are falling like its own! The tumult of thy mighty harmonies will take from both a deep, autumnal tone, Sweet though in sadness. Be thou, Spirit fierce,------------- My spirit! Be thou me, impetuous one! Drive my dead thoughts over the universe Like withered leaves to quicken a new birth! And, by the incantation of this verse, Scatter, as from an unextinguished hearth Ashes and sparks, my words among mankind! Be through my lips to unawakened Earth The trumpet of a prophecy! 0 Wind, If Winter comes, can Spring be far behind?                  ---Percy Bysshe Shelley 1792-1822

   Acquainted with the Night I have been one acquainted with the night. I have walked out in rain--and back in rain. I have out walked the furthest city light I have looked down the saddest city lane. I have passed by the watchman on his beat And dropped my eyes, unwilling to explain. I have stood still and stopped the sound of feet When far away an interrupted cry Came over houses from another street, But not to call me back or say good-by; and further still at an unearthly height One luminary clock against the sky Proclaimed the time was neither wrong nor right. I have been one acquainted with the night.                              ----- Robert Frost 1874-1963

   Rim by Tõnis Veenpere The grooves in the gray matter had sunk in; troubling thoughts adhered to the bone rim of a cage, hidden beneath delicate skin from uncurious eyes. Oft, in the dim blush of the winter gloaming came a blast: a wraith of her, locked in a kiss with him; but now, the daystar is returning fast to subjugate -- reveal and burn away -- vexatious apparitions of the past. Time to defy the high and help allay the self-inflicted torment -- to maroon addictions which beget afflictions -- today, while spring dissolves the saffron afternoon into the milk of the Full Flower Moon.

[Tinker]

On 6/2/2009 at 8:27 AM, Tinker said:

Explore the Craft of Writing Poetry
The Sonnet
Sonnet Comparison Chart
English Verse

The Terza Rima or Diaspora Sonnet, appeared in England in the 19th century. It makes use of the interweaving pattern and forward movement of the Italian Terza Rima. This variation of the sonnet is written in tercets with an interlocking rhyme scheme and concludes with a refrain or invocation in the form of a heroic couplet. The Greek word "diaspora"  means "scattered abroad".  The Bible used the word to refer to the Jews who lived outside of Palestine after the Babylonians destroyed Jerusalem in 587 B.C. The Jews scattered into the Greek Roman cities and later further north. They maintained their Jewish identity while adapting to the language and customs of their new homes by continuing to honor Jewish traditions. Perhaps in regard to this Sonnet form, it refers back to the original Italian Terza Rima form continuing its interlocking rhyme while adapting to a new language and new frame.

The elements of the Terza Rima Sonnet are:

1. a quatorzain, made up of 4 tercets and concluding with a rhyming couplet.
2. metric, iambic pentameter.
3. composed with a volta (a non physical gap) or pivot (a shifting or tilting of the main line of thought) sometime after the 2nd tercet.
4. similar to the Spenserian Sonnet in which the poem progresses forward developing the metaphor, conflict, idea or question. The epiphany of the poem arrives logically in the couplet.
5. rhymed with up to 6 rhymes with an interlocking rhyme scheme is aba bcb cdc ded ee.
6. written so that the concluding rhyming couplet serves as a refrain or invocation.

    

   Ode to the West Make me thy lyre, even as the forest is: What if my leaves are falling like its own! The tumult of thy mighty harmonies will take from both a deep, autumnal tone, Sweet though in sadness. Be thou, Spirit fierce,------------- My spirit! Be thou me, impetuous one! Drive my dead thoughts over the universe Like withered leaves to quicken a new birth! And, by the incantation of this verse, Scatter, as from an unextinguished hearth Ashes and sparks, my words among mankind! Be through my lips to unawakened Earth The trumpet of a prophecy! 0 Wind, If Winter comes, can Spring be far behind?                  ---Percy Bysshe Shelley 1792-1822

   Acquainted with the Night I have been one acquainted with the night. I have walked out in rain--and back in rain. I have out walked the furthest city light I have looked down the saddest city lane. I have passed by the watchman on his beat And dropped my eyes, unwilling to explain. I have stood still and stopped the sound of feet When far away an interrupted cry Came over houses from another street, But not to call me back or say good-by; and further still at an unearthly height One luminary clock against the sky Proclaimed the time was neither wrong nor right. I have been one acquainted with the night.                              ----- Robert Frost 1874-1963

   Rim by Tõnis Veenpere The grooves in the gray matter had sunk in; troubling thoughts adhered to the bone rim of a cage, hidden beneath delicate skin from uncurious eyes. Oft, in the dim blush of the winter gloaming came a blast: a wraith of her, locked in a kiss with him; but now, the daystar is returning fast to subjugate -- reveal and burn away -- vexatious apparitions of the past. Time to defy the high and help allay the self-inflicted torment -- to maroon addictions which beget afflictions -- today, while spring dissolves the saffron afternoon into the milk of the Full Flower Moon.