Tricolon is a poetic device where lines are organized into three similar-sounding sentences. It can be found in famous expressions and mottos, such as “Liberte, Egalite, Fraternite” and “Duty, Honor, Country”. The tricolon does not require exact syllabic parallelism and can take on contrived forms, such as the tricolon crescendo or decrescendo. Other poetic constructions include bicolon and tetracolon.
Tricolon refers to poetic lines organized into three similar-sounding sentences. Perhaps one of the most famous examples is Julius Caesar’s Latin expression “veni, vidi, vici”, or “I came, I saw, I conquered”. When translated from the original language, however, the line technically loses its tricolon construction, as the number of syllables is no longer equal – a poetic device known as parallelism.
This tricolon structure can be found in many popular expressions and mottos around the world. For example, France’s memorable motto is “Liberte, Egalite, Fraternite.” Other popular expressions that use this device with one word per section to make their meaning more memorable include the public safety message “stop, drop and roll” and US General Douglas MacArthur’s famous statement of “Duty, Honor, Country” . When only repeated words are used, the tricolon is called hendiatris.
Many famous phrases throughout history have used a tricolon approach, which is the most basic illustration of the ancient rule of three. This rule does not require exact syllabic parallelism, but rather some form of literary organization that deals with three. The following quote from former British leader Winston Churchill, for example, has no three parts exactly alike: “Never in the history of human endeavor has so much been owed by so many to so few.” However this sentence has the same gravity as if it were composed of three perfectly equal parts.
As a rhetorical device with no exactly matching parts, the tricolon could take on even more contrived forms. When the sentence builds or slowly recedes in pitch and syllables, this is commonly called the tricolon crescendo or decrescendo. These devices are part of a larger category of repeating instruments known to the ancient Greeks as anaphora.
Some might forgo the rule of three in favor of other famous poetic constructions. A bicolon, for example, uses a single repetition and not three. Also, a tetracolon involves four points to form matter into the shape of the square, as opposed to the straight-line approach of the bicolon and the triangle of the tricolon.
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