Tetrameter.—A term improperly applied to the octosyllable; properly to divers long lines of eight iambs, anapæsts, or trochees.
Thesis.—See Arsis.
Time.—A "word of fear" in prosody, as it is almost always a "voice prophesying war." Used merely in the sense of "rhythm," it is quite innocuous; and construed generally, as when Southey says that "two short syllables take up only the time of one," there need be no harm in it. But when absolute "duration" is insisted on, and people discuss whether this can be given by that or the other means, great and unnecessary mischief is likely to be done.
Tribrach.—A foot of three short syllables ( ̆ ̆ ̆ ). Very frequent in later English, perhaps less so in earlier.
Triolet.—A short French form of the rondeau, in the most common variety of which the first of eight lines is repeated in the fourth and seventh, the second being also repeated in the eighth, so that there are only five lines of independent sense. (See example, p. [125].)
Triple.—See Duple.
Triplet.—A group of three lines; most commonly used of three which rhyme together. See Tercet.
Trochee.—A foot of two syllables—long, short ( ̄ ̆ ). The complement-contrast of the iamb; an invaluable variant upon it; the best introducer (by admitting it as a substitute) of the dactyl in English; and very effective by itself when properly managed.
Truncation.—The lopping off of a syllable at beginning or end of line. This in the latter case equals what is here called Catalexis (q.v.), and in the former is often better accounted for by a monosyllabic foot. But there are cases, as in Chaucer's "acephalous" lines, where it is not inapplicable.
Tumbling Verse.—A phrase of King James the Sixth (First) in his prosodic treatise, which has caused, or at least been connected with, difficulties (see Cadence). He seems to have meant by it nothing more than the loose half-doggerel anapæsts which were so common in the first two-thirds of the sixteenth century.