The Distinguishing Aspect

John Beach's fifth collection of poetry. The 35 terzanelle poems in this collection are about identity: both the secret identity and the public persona. I have chosen 26 characters from classic literature, theater, the Pulps, comic books, and radio programs, each of whom uses a hidden identity (or identities) for heroic and less-than-heroic purposes. The real question is why they do so, why any of us do.

The terzanelle is a French/Italian adaptation of the terza rima to the villanelle form. Each terzanelle is meant to be 19 lines long (ten syllables each), composed of five triplets with a concluding quatrain, and are written in iambic pentamater. I don't pay much attention to where my metrical feet are stepping, but I enjoy the puzzle-like nature of this form and the subtlety of the repeating lines, the variations in meaning. I also enjoy breaking the lines and changing punctuation.