Home › Glossary › Letter M

Magnetic trio

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 group of three poetic lines bound together by strong sonic or thematic attraction

Detailed Definition
A magnetic trio is a three-line stanza whose internal dynamics—through rhyme, rhythm, or semantic interplay—create a powerful sense of cohesion and forward momentum; it functions as a concentrated unit of poetic energy that “pulls” the reader into its expressive orbit.
Example
Example in poetry:
A tercet like “Fire in the blood / Ice in the veins / Storm in the mind” using elemental imagery and assonance to bind; Dante’s “Inferno” tercets with interlocking rhyme creating magnetic trio effect; a modern example: “No name / No face / No trace” using repetition and rhythm to unify
Additional Notes
Magnetic trio: A three-line unit whose internal elements resonate strongly with each other or with other parts of the poem; see also attractive tercet (10147) and lyric triplet (10098).
Also Known As
Attractive triplet Resonant tercet Cohesive three-line unit Pulling triad Magnetic tercet
Skip to main content