Ronnie McGinn's Poetry Page

Terza rima is a verse form composed of iambic tercets (three-line groupings).

The rhyme scheme for this form of poetry is "aba bcb cdc," etc. The second line of each tercet sets the rhyme for the following tercet, thus supplying the verse with a common thread, a way to link the stanzas.

The only time the form changes is at the conclusion of the poem, where a double line that rhymes with the second line of the final tercet stands alone; the rhyme scene at the end of the poem looks like this: "xyx yzy zz."

Dante used terza rima in his Divine Comedy. An excellent example occurs in Percy Bysshe Shelley's 'Ode to the West Wind.'

Shelley employs a terza rima sonnet form for each of the five parts that make up the poem. I thought it might be fun to give it a try.

The Borrower

Compass pointing towards a troubled sea,
The winding way ahead looks all downhill,
A wall of mounting debt is facing me,

Some stranger, out of reach, sends me a bill,
An agony of thought tares me apart,
Companionable silence makes me still.

From where did this financial turmoil start?
Who dangled dreams of lucre in my face?
Why did I let my hunger rule my heart?

Oh I was young enough to stand the pace,
'Twas following my dream that made me old,
Now architects of greed have won the race.

But seeds of hate they've planted centrefold,
For rich or poor - the grave is just as cold!

© Ronnie McGinn