From: A self-admitted noob
To: Anyone in a similar situation
For any of you who found the PS description of the Terzanelle somewhat lacking, I took the sample poem, Lewis Turco's "Terzanelle in Thunderweather", and marked it up so I could better see which lines were being re-used and where. If this is helpful, great, and if he's used something non-standard, by all means, correct me!
I have numbered the lines 1-19 on the left. If a line is in bold, it is a line that is also used elsewhere. If a line is in italics, it is one of re-used lines, with the original line number in parentheses. As an example, line 1, "This is the moment when shadows gather", is reused as line 17, "This is the moment when shadows gather" (1).
1 This is the moment when shadows gather
2 under the elms, the cornices and eaves.
3 This is the center of thunderweather.
4 The birds are quiet among these white leaves
5 where wind stutters, starts, then moves steadily
6 under the elms, the cornices, and eaves-- (2)
7 these are our voices speaking guardedly
8 about the sky, of the sheets of lightning
9 where wind stutters, starts, then moves steadily (5)
10 into our lungs, across our lips, tightening
11 our throats. Our eyes are speaking in the dark
12 about the sky, of the sheets of lightening (8)
13 that illuminate moments. In the stark
14 shades we inhibit, there are no words for
15 our throats. Our eyes are speaking in the dark (11)
16 of things we cannot say, cannot ignore.
17 This is the moment when shadows gather, (1)
18 shades we inhibit. There are no words, for (14)
19 this is the center of thunderweather. (3)
A shorthand notation: A1BA2, bCB, cDC, dED, eFE, fA1fA2
(uppercase are lines used twice, lowercase rhyme with corresponding uppers)
Frankly, I hope to learn out here, and will never be offended if someone points out something that is "off". I've made a number of stupid mistakes, including not naming a poem correctly, putting blank lines where they aren't supposed to be, and my favorite, denoting the poem as a part of the contest and then forgetting to enter it!!!