Poetic Terms Dictionary
Structure

Tercet

From French tercet: a group of three. The fundamental unit of terza rima; used in the villanelle and haiku. An odd-numbered stanza creates an asymmetric, open-ended energy.

Definition

A unit or stanza of three lines, rhymed or unrhymed, forming a complete metrical and often semantic unit.

Example

Three-line stanzas in terza rima (ABA); the triplet (AAA) within a Shakespearean sonnet.

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