The Triolet

(Part 1)

(If you like to read to music, I highly recommend listening to “A playlist that makes you feel calm and dreamy..” by Pianza for this particular post, it’s gorgeous!!)

Now, back to the post…

The triolet is a beautiful form of poetry. It is believed to have been developed in the 13th century, but was revived later around the 17th century. While this form of poetry may seem perplexing at first, its meaning and use are incredibly powerful and have become a new favorite of mine.

Many have used it for humor and comedic purposes, but numerous others have pointed out how they believe it should be used for more romantic and moving purposes. Those who stood behind this view also seemed to believe that the use of the triolet should change the meaning of the repeated lines, each time it was written. In this way, if done correctly, the repetitive lines would invoke a different feeling each time it was read, so that it wasn’t simply a sporadic reappearance of the words, but using them to provoke thought into the poem’s very structure.

If this sounds a bit confusing, hang with me, and hopefully I can explain. The triolet is a poem comprised of eight verses, and within these verses, the first line is repeated three times, so the rhyming scheme looks something like ABaAabAB (the “A” being the repeated line, and the “a” being the line that rhymes with “A”). Still sound confusing? Same here, so let me give an example.

The Kiss
Austin Dobson

Rose kissed me today

Will she kiss me tomorrow?

Let it be as it may,

Rose kissed me today.

But the pleasure gives way to a savour of tomorrow; –

Rose kissed me today.

Will she kiss me tomorrow?

By the repetition of these lines, you can see how each time a line recurs, it comes with a new way to see the thought. The poem seems to shift, from blissful and beautiful, to confusion and worry about whether or not Rose will kiss him tomorrow. Others have commented on how this reflection seems to touch on how some think of love as uncertain and occasionally painful. (Let me know what you think.)

However, for now, that is part 1 of the triolet. I shall hopefully do a deeper dive into the triolet because it has some interesting history and incredibly varied uses. Hopefully, the structure makes more sense to you, and let me know if there’s anything more particular you would like me to touch on or if you want to write an example and leave it in the comments! Hopefully, you find this as interesting as I do. Has this become a new favorite style for you? (Also, if you’re a lover of perfect English, where you believe parentheses shouldn’t be used this much in a post, you are correct, but that is one thing I will likely refuse to change, so I apologize in advance, I may have a slight obsession with parenthetical use.)

Sorry for the short-form post, and please come back for part 2! (Because it will be longer.) References will be posted below…

Works Cited

“A Kiss.” All Poetry. 2025, https://allpoetry.com/A-Kiss.
”Triolet.” Britannica. 2025, https://www.britannica.com/art/triolet.