What is a Sestina?
A complex poetic form consisting of six stanzas of six lines each and a final tercet.
Six Sestets and a Tercet: A Poet's Puzzle
A sestina is a complex poetic form consisting of six sestets (six-line stanzas) and a final tercet (three-line stanza) serving as a conclusion.
The sestina is unique because it uses a complex pattern of repetition and rhyme. The same six end-words must appear in each stanza, but in a specific order that is predetermined by the poet. In the first stanza, the words appear at the end of the lines in this order: 1-2-3-4-5-6. In the second stanza, the order becomes 6-1-5-2-4-3. The pattern continues in this way until the final tercet, which uses two of the end-words in each line.
The sestina is a challenging form that allows poets to experiment with language, repetition, and structure in unique ways.
Here are two examples of stunning sestinas worth adoring—each with its own unique style and subject matter.
Bishop's sestina is a melancholy, introspective meditation on loss and the passage of time—structured around the image of a grandmother's andirons.
Pound's sestina is a pointed, satirical critique of the elitist culture of his time, written in a staccato, sarcastic style that underscores his biting social commentary.