A three-line stanza, rhymed ABA, BCB, CDC is a

Analyze the question: The question describes a poem built from three-line stanzas (tercets) with an interlocking rhyme scheme: ABA, BCB, CDC. We need the term for this form.

Explain the concept: Let's look at each option.

• Couplet: two rhyming lines (AA). It has two lines, not three, so it doesn't fit.
• Haiku: a Japanese form of three lines with a 5-7-5 syllable pattern. It is defined by syllable count, not by an interlocking rhyme scheme.
• Terza rima: an Italian form of three-line stanzas with interlocking rhyme. The middle line of each stanza provides the rhyme for the first and third lines of the next stanza (ABA, BCB, CDC...). Dante used it in The Divine Comedy. Shelley's "Ode to the West Wind" is a well-known English example.
• Heroic couplet: two rhyming lines of iambic pentameter (used by Pope and Dryden). Again, it has two lines, not three.

Solution:

1. The stanzas have three lines each, so couplets and heroic couplets are ruled out.
2. The rhyme scheme links the stanzas: the "B" rhyme in the middle of stanza 1 becomes the outer rhyme of stanza 2, and the "C" in the middle of stanza 2 becomes the outer rhyme of stanza 3.
3. A haiku has no such chain rhyme.
4. This interlocking pattern is the signature of terza rima.

Answer: C. terza rima

Tip: "Terza" means "third" in Italian, so think of three-line stanzas. To remember the rhyme chain, picture it as a rope linking the stanzas: ABA, BCB, CDC. Also remember Dante, Italian, terza rima, and Shelley's "Ode to the West Wind."