[tree-uh-ley, trahy-uh-lit] 
| a short poem of fixed form, having a rhyme scheme of ab, aa, abab, and having the first line repeated as the fourth and seventh lines, and the second line repeated as the eighth. |
| tri·o·let (trē'ə-lĭt, trī'-, trē'ə-lā') n. A poem or stanza of eight lines with a rhyme scheme abaaabab, in which the fourth and seventh lines are the same as the first, and the eighth line is the same as the second. [French, diminutive of trio, trio; see trio.] |
triolet
medieval French verse form that consists of eight short lines rhyming ABaAabAB (the capital letters indicate lines that are repeated). The name triolet is taken from the three repetitions of the first line. The great art of the triolet consists in using the refrain line with naturalness and ease and in each repetition slightly altering its meaning, or at least its relation to the rest of the poem. The triolet is preserved in many modern European literatures, especially for light and humorous verse.
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