Home › Glossary › Letter H

harmony tercet

Form
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

Want to hear it? Click the Listen button to hear the browser speak the word using text-to-speech!

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 poetic unit emphasizing harmony in rhythm or meaning.

Detailed Definition
Harmony tercet refers to a three-line unit in which sound, sense, and rhythm coalesce into a seamless whole—typically through internal rhyme, alliteration, or metrical symmetry—producing a sense of completeness and aesthetic unity; such tercets often serve as self-contained meditations within longer poems, offering moments of clarity or resolution amid complexity.
Example
Example in poetry:
In Dante’s “Divine Comedy,” harmony tercet (terza rima) unites form and spiritual ascent; In Percy Bysshe Shelley’s “Ode to the West Wind,” harmony tercet channels natural force; In W.H. Auden’s “In Memory of W.B. Yeats,” harmony tercet mourns poet’s legacy; In Elizabeth Bishop’s “Sestina,” harmony tercet rotates emotional motifs; In Derek Walcott’s “A Far Cry from Africa,” harmony tercet balances colonial critique; In Terrance Hayes’ “American Sonnet,” harmony tercet boxes political tension.
Additional Notes
A specific type of three-line stanza (tercet) achieving a pleasing, balanced effect through coordinated rhythm, consonant sounds, or thematic agreement, often suggesting completeness or tranquility.
Also Known As
harmonious triplet consonant tercet harmonic triptych balanced tercet
Skip to main content