(also joc partit, Fr. jeu parti). In Occitan, a specialized variety of tenso (q.v.) in which one poet proposes two hypothetical situations (e.g. whether it is better to love a lady who does not love you, or to be loved by a lady whom you do not love). The second poet chooses and defends one of these alternatives, while the first poet upholds the other. After each has had his say in the same number of stanzas (usually three), all identical in structure, the poets commonly refer the debate to one or more arbiters for settlement. There are also ps. involving three poets and three choices, but these are far less frequent. It seems certain that these ps. really represent the cooperative work of two or more poets; but in view of the difficulties involved, it is unlikely that they were actually improvised, as they purport to be. Sometimes it is even clear from the poem itself that the poets were writing back and forth over a considerable distance.
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