sestinas

A sestina is a highly structured fixed verse form that consists of six six-line stanzas followed by a three-line envoy, for a total of 39 lines. The defining feature is the use of six end-words chosen in the first stanza, which recur at the end of lines in a strict, rotating pattern throughout the remaining stanzas. The poem does not rely on rhyme; the rhetorical and sonic effects come from the repetition and the way the language bends toward the repeated words. The envoy, a three-line concluding stanza, uses all six end-words and often serves to summarize or resolve the poem’s imagery or argument.

The typical pattern arranges the end-words in a fixed sequence across the stanzas. A common version is: in the first stanza the six end-words appear in order; in the second stanza they appear in reverse order, each shifted so that every line ends with one of the six words; and this rotation continues through the sixth stanza. The middle lines of each stanza are crafted to lead toward the stanza’s end-word, creating a web of repetition that drives the poem forward. While this rotation is commonly taught, poets may vary the exact order as long as the six words remain in a cyclical, predetermined scheme.

Origins lie in medieval European poetry, with strong associations to the French and Provençal troubadours, and later Italian practice. The form was revived and adapted in modern poetry, where it has been used by poets seeking formal rigor and heightened musicality. Notable modern examples include Elizabeth Bishop’s Sestina, which helped popularize the form in English-language poetry. The sestina remains a demanding exercise in repetition, diction, and narrative coherence.