Deceptively simple.
Triolet is a deceptively simple poetry form to write – once the triple-repeating line, from which the form is named, is captured. This all-important line must serve as the opener, the primary inspiration for the middle section, and the set-up for the conclusive final line. Simply pulling a punch line out of thin air doesn’t work. Experienced triolet writers suggest free writing for several pages to create a collection of words and ideas, which helps establish a repeating line as well as rhyme sets.
While traditional French triolet contains eight syllables per line, many English triolets use 10-syllable lines. Either count works, as long as you write in iambic tetrameter, in which the first syllable in each two-syllable pair is unstressed, and the second stressed.
Deconstructing a triolet.
In LuAnn Kennedy’s poem, "The Night," the first line skillfully establishes the journey ahead:
The night is short, though it seems long.
She uses eight-syllable lines, with the four syllabic pairs clearly following iambic tetrameter:
The NIGHT is SHORT, though IT seems LONG.
The second vital aspect of writing triolet is marrying the triple-repeating line to another line, forming a catchy couplet (refrain) that will begin and end the poem. In the absence of a second line, even the greatest opening line will have to be used in a form other than the triolet. Kennedy locks in the poem with a strong second line:
The night is short, though it seems long.
For us the night could last all day.
The author has written a strong couplet and chosen end-words that have numerous rhyming possibilities. The beauty of triolet is that she only has to create three more original lines–but they must flow into and from the repeating opening line in perfect symmetry to the overall subject. That’s why free writing is so important; it enables you to feel command of the subject matter.
Next, she moves into and through the middle of the poem:
It’s full of love’s unending song.
The night is short, though it seems long.
There’s naught between us that is wrong;
She has set up a wonderful love poem, focusing on the best time for lovers to feel shielded from the tugs and pulls of the outside world – the night. The repetition flows naturally and adds a nice depth. Now she needs to use the sixth line to finish the middle of the story, giving us the essence of the experience. It is the last non-repeating line, so it is vital:
We don’t let life get in love’s way.
This is followed by the opening couplet, completing a tightly-woven circle:
The night is short, though it seems long.
For us the night could last all day.
Every word counts.
When brought together, the triolet reads:
The night is short, though it seems long.
For us the night could last all day.
It’s full of love’s unending song.
The night is short, though it seems long.
There’s naught between us that is wrong;
We don’t let life get in love’s way.
The night is short, though it seems long.
For us the night could last all day.
