Terza rima is a rhyme scheme consisting of interconnected rhymes in triplets, with each line rhyming with the following line. It was created by Dante Aligheri for his Divine Comedy, and is closely tied to the work. The structure is based on a trinity and reflects the concept of the Holy Trinity within Catholicism. The rhyme scheme essentially has no beginning or end, reflecting the eternal nature of the Holy Trinity.
Terza rima is a type of rhyme scheme built on series of interconnected rhymes that occur in triplets. A tercet is a three-line stanza, just as a couplet is a two-line stanza, and a quatrain is a four-line stanza. This three-line structure is an integral part of this particular rhyme scheme. Terza rima essentially consists of a rhyme scheme appearing as “aba, bcb, cdc, ded,” in which the rhyming sound introduced in one verse continues into the next, which then introduces the rhyme for the next verse.
The rhyme scheme known as terza rima was created by the Italian poet Dante Aligheri while composing his Divine Comedy or Divine Comedy. This epic poem is made up of three sections called Hell, Purgatory, and Paradise, describing the poet’s journey into Hell, through Purgatory, and finally Paradise, or Heaven. Written in the early 14th century, the Divine Comedy is a massive work dealing largely with Catholic themes of sin, retribution, forgiveness, and the universe created by Dante’s ideal Christian God.
Terza rima is essential to the structure of the Divine Comedy and has become so closely tied to the work that any use of this rhyme scheme is almost inherently seen as an allusion to Dante’s poem. The structure of the third rhyme begins with a poem written as a series of tercets, or three-line stanzas. In these triplets, a rhyme scheme is used in which each line rhymes not with the next, but with the following line. This continues for three rhymes, at which point a new rhyme takes over.
The structure of the third rhyme can most easily be visualized as “aba, bcb, cdc, ded”, where each letter represents a continuous rhyme. Other than the beginning and end of the poem, each rhyme can be repeated three times, and these interlocking chains of rhymes can essentially go on forever. This structure pulls the reader through the poem, creating a sense of visual momentum, as each triplet continues the previous rhyme and introduces the next. The reader naturally reads on with an unconscious desire to see the rhyme unfold from tercet to tercet.
Terza rima is essentially based on a trinity, and is often seen as Dante’s way of making the structure of his poem reflect on the concept of the Holy Trinity within Catholicism. Since the Holy Trinity is said to be eternal, this concept is well reflected in Dante’s structure, as the rhyme scheme essentially has no beginning or end of its own. The limitations of human poetry, however, require a starting and ending point that are imperfect within the poem. This may reflect Dante’s humility in creating a poetic structure meant to mimic his idea of eternal and omnipotent, but limited by human limitations.
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