The Inquiry of Subjects is a solemn poetic form, originating in The Temptation of Slobs. The rules of the form are applied by poets to produce individual poems which can be recited. The poem is a single tercet. Use of metaphor is characteristic of the form. Each line has two syllables. The first line is intended to make an assertion. The second line is intended to make a counter-assertion. The third line is intended to synthesize previous ideas.