A page from the "Poetry through the Ages" exhibit...



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To the point.

Because of its rarity, only a few examples of classic triolet exist in print. However, several modern-day poets have found the form a succinct way to communicate specific moments or moods.

In this first example, 14th century French poet Jean Froissart actually mislabeled the title as "Rondel." In fact, it is a triolet, indicating how interchangeable the two forms appeared to those who wrote both.

Rondel
Jean Froissart (1337-1404)

Love, love, what wilt thou with this heart of mine?

Naught see I fixed or sure in thee!
I do not know thee,–nor what deeds are thine:
Love, love, what will though with this heart of mine?

Shall I be mute, or vows with prayers combine?

Ye who are blessed in loving, tell it me:
Love, love, what wilt thou with this heart of mine?
Naught see I permanent or sure in thee!
 

The old made new.

Skipping five centuries to late 19th century England, triolet experienced a mini-renaissance among poets who were eager to apply antiquated forms to modern subject matter. Many poets who normally worked in free or blank verse grabbed onto old forms and, through their interest, kept them alive in the annals of poesy. This movement was particularly fervent when Robert Bridges reintroduced triolet to the English language some two centuries after Benedictine Monk Patrick Carey used the form for his devotionals.

Untitled
Robert Bridges (1844-1930)

When first we met, we did not guess

That Love would prove so hard a master;
Of more than common friendliness
When first we met we did not guess
Who could foretell the sore distress,
The inevitable disaster,
When first we met? We did not guess
That Love would prove so hard a master.
 

Moving to the dramatic.

The most famous poet known to have worked with triolet was Thomas Hardy, who shaped the form to fit more melodramatic subjects. Hardy’s poem, "How Great My Grief," is perhaps the best-known example:

How Great My Grief
Thomas Hardy (1840-1928)

How great my grief, my joys how few,

Since first it was my fate to know thee!
- Have the slow years not brought to view
How great my grief, my joys how few,
Nor memory shaped old times anew,
Nor loving-kindness helped to show thee
How great my grief, my joys how few,
Since first it was my fate to know thee?
 

Favored by women.

Triolet also found favor among women. It is believed that 14th century Italian poet Christine di Pisan (who became a poet after marrying and moving to France) wrote triolet, but no examples have survived. Centuries later, the granddaughter of naturalist Charles Darwin, Frances Cornford, composed a popular triolet:

To a Fat Lady Seen from the Train
Frances Cornford (1886-1960)

O why do you walk through the fields in gloves,

Missing so much and so much?
O fat white woman whom nobody loves,
Why do you walk through the fields in gloves,
When the grass is soft as the breast of doves
And shivering sweet to the touch?
O why do you walk through the fields in gloves,
Missing so much and so much?
 

The next generation.

The triolet’s original intent of providing humor in its eight lines is captured by poet-musician LuAnn Kennedy, who is quickly establishing a following while in her mid-twenties.

We Poets
LuAnn Kennedy (1984– )

We poets are so very strange!

We write and write and lose our minds!
Emotions flow in quite a range;
We poets are so very strange!
We’re happy. Then, we quickly change;
To make a world it takes all kinds.
We poets are so very strange!
We write and write and lose our minds!
 
 

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