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Elegiac tercet

Form
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

A three-line stanza in elegiac tone, often following terza rima or similar schemes

Detailed Definition
An elegiac tercet is a three-line stanza traditionally used to convey solemn grief, often combining iambic pentameter and trimeter lines with an ABA rhyme scheme; derived from classical elegiac couplets but adapted into triplets, it offers a measured, dignified structure for mourning that balances emotional weight with formal containment and lyrical flow.
Example
Example in poetry:
An elegiac tercet mourns in three-line stanzas, often using ABAB rhyme or blank verse, as in Shelley’s “Adonais”: “I weep for Adonais—he is dead!”; In “In Memoriam A.H.H.,” Tennyson uses elegiac tercets: “He is not here; but far away / The noise of life begins again”; Another: “The chair sits empty by the fire— / no hand to stir the tea, no voice / to name the birds outside the door”
Additional Notes
Elegiac tercet typically follows an ABA rhyme scheme with iambic pentameter and trimeter alternation (as in classical elegiac couplets adapted to tercets); conveys solemnity and measured grief.
Also Known As
Mourning triplet Lamenting tercet Threnodic three-liner Elegiac trio Mourning tercet
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