Ognuno sta solo sul cuor della terra
trafitto da un raggio di sole:
Ed è subito sera.
Glossary
|
WORD
|
DEFINITION
|
POSSIBLE SYNONYMS
|
|---|---|---|
| cuor (n.) | the central or innermost part of something | heart, core, center, crux, nucleus |
| da (prep.) | identifying the agent performing an action | by, by means of, at the hand of, by way of |
| della (prep. + art.) | expressing the relationship between a part and a whole | of the |
| di (prep.) | expressing ownership | of |
| è (v.) | from the verb essere—to be, to exist | it is |
| ed (conj.) | used to introduce an additional comment | and, so, then, and so |
| ognuno (pron.) | each person in a group, without exception | everybody, everyone, all of us, each of us |
| raggio (n.) | a narrow beam of light | ray, beam, shaft, light, beacon |
| sera (n.) | the later part of the day, from late afternoon until bedtime | evening, twilight, dusk, nightfall, eventide, sunset, sundown |
| sole (n.) | the star at the center of our solar system. | sun, sunlight, daystar, eye of heaven, source of light |
| solo (adj.) | on one’s own | alone, by oneself, solitary, solo, lonesome, unaccompanied |
| sta (v.) | from the verb stare—to be or stay | is, remains, stands, is situated |
| subito (adv.) | quickly and without warning | suddenly, all at once, swiftly, straightaway, now, anon |
| sul (prep.) | expressing location or arrival in a particular place or position | at the, in the, on the |
| terra (n.) | third planet from the sun | earth, world, planet |
| trafitto (v.) | to force through, to cut through | pierced, stabbed, impaled |
| un (indef. art) | used to refer to a single person or thing | one, a |
Background
About Tercet
A tercet is a three-lined verse, or a group, or unit of three lines. These three lines are often rhymed together, or they rhyme with another triplet. It has a flow of words as rolling waves.
Types of Tercet
- Haiku
Haiku is a Japanese type of tercet. It is a three-line poem based usually on nature, and follows five-seven-five syllable counts. It means the first line contains five, the second seven, and the third line five syllables.
- Triplet
A triplet has three rhymed lines in each stanza. Its rhyme scheme is AAA.
- Enclosed or Sicilian Tercet
An enclosed or Sicilian tercet uses a rhyme scheme of ABA. In simple words, the first and third lines rhyme together and enclose a rhyming middle line. This tercet adds the challenge of using iambic pentameter. It means each line uses ten syllables with emphasis on each second syllable.
- Villanelle
Another type of triplet which uses five tercets and one quatrain. It follows the rhyme scheme as: A1 b A2 / a b A1 / a b A2 / a b A1 / a b A2 / a b A1 A2.
- Terza Rima
Terza rima is one of the most challenging types of tercet. It usually follows iambic pentameter with rhyme scheme of ABA BCB CDC. This is a complicated rhyme scheme that binds stanzas together in which the second line in each stanza rhyme with the next tercet.
Bio
One of Italy’s most important poets of the twentieth century, Salvatore Quasimodo was born in Modica, Sicily. When he was seven years old, his family moved to Messina, a city in Sicily that had been struck by a devastating earthquake, so his father could help the victims there. Quasimodo published his first poems when he was just sixteen. He studied to be an engineer but had to leave school for economic reasons. When he wasn’t working, he continued to write poetry and also studied Latin and Greek. Throughout his career he was known for his strong, passionate writing and for his translations of important texts into Italian, including parts of the Bible and works of Shakespeare. In 1959 he won the Nobel Prize in Literature.