B. "Triolet" by Robert Bridges
Bridges, Robert. "Triolet." Introduction to Poetry. 12th ed. X.J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia. New York: Pearson/Longman, 2007. 211.
"When first we met we did not guess
That Love would prove so hard a master;
Of more than common friendliness
When first we met we did not guess.
Who could foretell this sore distress,
This irretrievable disaster"(lines 1-6).
This poem is a triolet. Its two opening lines are repeated according to a set pattern. It is usually used for a lighter poem, but Bridge's poem carries heavier material. The rhyme scheme is [a b a a b b a b]. At first the speaker explains that he/she did not guess at first that the love relationship would be more than friendship. The first line is repeated in line four to show meaning that the speaker was clearly not thinking that something could go wrong later down the road. The speaker does not talk about the sweet things involved with being in "Love", but instead focuses on the negatives such as the "sore distress"(5). At the end of the poem, the first two lines are again repeated. The meanings of these lines have changed from the beginning of the poem. At the end, the speaker is saying those lines with regret.
2 comments:
BA # 5 comment # 2
I agree with what you say however, I see a different rhyme scheme. I got abaaabab since "friendliness" "guess" and "distress" all share the same "ess" suffix and sound. I also see a pretty continuous iambic tetrameter through the whole poem.
I thought of Robert Bridges' "Triolet" as a poem of tough love. I don't think they ever thought that they would ever fall in love, but they did. And realized that love can be tough, not always so pretty as it can sometimes be portrayed. Then I think once they figured this out (maybe they were fighting or something) that they decided to end their relationship, but at the end of this poem, they still can't believe it's really over and that they still do love each other deep down.
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