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tercet
Introduction References & Edit History
Quizzes
Illustration of "The Lamb" from "Songs of Innocence" by William Blake, 1879. poem; poetry
A Study of Poetry
4:043 Dickinson, Emily: A Life of Letters, This is my letter to the world/That never wrote to me; I'll tell you how the Sun Rose/A Ribbon at a time; Hope is the thing with feathers/That perches in the soul
Famous Poets and Poetic Form
Emily Dickinson (1830-1886) only confirmed photograph of Emily Dickinson. 1978 scan of a Daguerreotype. ca. 1847; in the Amherst College Archives. American poet. See Notes:
Poetry: First Lines
Quick Facts
Also spelled:
tiercet
Related Topics:
stanza
the number three
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tercet

poetic form
Also known as: tiercet
Written and fact-checked by
Britannica Editors
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....
Britannica Editors
History

tercet, a unit or group of three lines of verse, usually containing rhyme, as in William Shakespeare’s “The Phoenix and the Turtle”:

Death is now the phoenix’ nest;
And the turtle’s loyal breast
To eternity doth rest,…