Sestina

Thirty-nine lines in six stanzas whose six end-words rotate through fixed permutations to a closing envoi.

Specifications & Metrics

type

Fixed poetic form

origin

12th-century Provence

originator

Arnaut Daniel, troubadour

meter

Usually iambic pentameter or syllabic

lines count

39

Core Principles & Analysis

• Thirty-nine lines: six six-line stanzas and a three-line envoi.
• The troubadour Arnaut Daniel invented its rotating end-word scheme.
• Pound and Bishop made it a modern English challenge form.

Sources

• Wikipedia: Sestina