terza rima

/ˈtʌrtsə ˌrimə/

Poetry with three-line stanzas, in which the second line of the first stanza rhymes with the first and last lines of the next stanza, is terza rima. The rhyme scheme of terza rima is represented as ABA BCB CDC.

In Italian, terza rima means "third rhyme," and its first known use was in Italian poet Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy. The form has been popular with many English-language poets ever since, including Chaucer, Milton, and Auden. Percy Bysshe Shelley used terza rima in Ode to the West Wind, ending the first stanza with the words "being," "dead," and "fleeing;" and the next with "red," "thou," and "bed."

Definitions of terza rima

1. noun

   a verse form with a rhyme scheme: aba bcb cdc, etc.
   type of:

   poem, verse form

   a composition written in metrical feet forming rhythmical lines