This form of poetry,
the Sestina, is derived from the
Italian sesto (sixth).
History.
The Sestina first showed up as a French form.
The Sestina was one of several very complex forms that has regained some use
among American poets.
Form.
In a traditional Sestina:
The lines are grouped into six sestets [or 6
line stanzas] and a concluding tercet [a 3 line stanza]. Thus a Sestina has 39
lines.
Lines may be of any length but usually the length
of the lines are consistent in length within a single poem.
The end of each of each line in that first
stanza matters because the words are repeated in differing patterns through
each stanza. The six words that end each
of the lines of the first stanza are repeated in a different order at the end
of lines in each of the subsequent five stanzas.
There is one possible exception. Some writers will used homonyms to add verity
in the poem.
For example “write” could be used in one
stanza and when the word comes around again it could be “right” and it could be
“rite” another time.
This homonym aspect is not done by all or even
most writers using this form, but it something you can consider doing if you
want. It is permitted by the form.
The particular pattern is given below. (This
kind of recurrent pattern is "lexical repetition".)
While some writers have written rhymed
sestinas, my suggestion is not to add a further complication to an already
complicated form, unless that is just something that you enjoy. In your first few efforts make your repeated
words unrhymed.
The first line of each sestet after the first
ends with the same word as the one that ended the last line of the sestet
before it.
In the closing tercet, each of the six words
are used, with one in the middle of each line and one at the end.
The pattern of word-repetition is as follows,
where the words that end the lines of the first sestet are represented by the
numbers "1 2 3 4 5 6":
1 2 3 4 5
6 - End words of lines in
first sestet.
6 1 5 2 4
3 - End words of lines in
second sestet.
3 6 4 1 2
5 - End words of lines in
third sestet.
5 3 2 6 1
4 - End words of lines in
fourth sestet.
4 5 1 3 6
2 - End words of lines in fifth
sestet.
2 4 6 5 3
1 - End words of lines in
sixth sestet.
(6 2) (1 4) (5
3) - Middle and end words of lines in tercet.
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Your Composition.
The repetition of words in a Sestina makes
this form a good match for a story that uses common speech, for in conversation
the repetition of key words is common. The Sestina is a more
"natural" form than the
Villanelle (which is comparatively artificial in repeating whole lines).
The writer of a Sestina (as with the Villanelle) can use the repetition to delve more deeply into the material.
Each stanza can revisit that material and show more facets of what the poet
feels.
As with other forms, try the traditional form
first. Once you have mastered that, you are ready for your own variations.
Here are some steps to take in creating a
Sestina:
1.
Decide upon six words that are your candidates
for the words that will repeat. I recommend concrete nouns (e.g., wool,
chimney, lozenge, floor) and active verbs (e.g., climbs, opens).
2.
Alternatively, begin
by writing a 6-line poem that you want to expand into a Sestina. Reorganize
that sestet if appropriate to get more interesting end-words.
3.
On a large blank sheet
of paper (or, if you prefer, on a new computer text file) write the end words
for the first stanza, leaving space to complete the line:
Do the same for the second sestet and so on:
Then for the tercet, write the appropriate two
words per line, e.g.:
Be sure to follow the above guidelines for form. You will then have written 1 or 2 words in
each of the 39 lines of the whole poem!
4. Now write the stanzas, using the stepping
stones provided by the chosen words.
5. Sometimes a writer finds that a later stanza
is a much stronger one than her first one, and she wants to move that later
stanza to the start of the poem. That's fine! Simply move as a block your
strong stanza and all the sestets that follow it (down to and not including the
tercet). Preserve their sequence, and put them at the start, before what was
previously the first sestet.
Check the pattern of end-words. You should
find that the Sestina's pattern is still in order (even though a different word
is now word "1", etc.) for all the sestets. Then make appropriate
adjustments to the placement of your 6 chosen words in the final tercet.
6. As with all formal poems nowadays, it is vital that the form
does not "drive" your poem. If the rhyme scheme and form begin to
feel forced, then the poem's content must be asserted.
7. Traditionally, one keeps the same line length,
as that gives the rhythmic repetition that the ear associates with music. It
also gives a pleasant appearance on the page. Sometimes a writer wants to vary
the line length in order to challenge the listener's or reader's expectations:
that is fine if you do it deliberately. Just don't be lazy and cut lines short
or run them on because you can't be bothered to fix your poem's problems.
8. Traditionally,
one keeps the same end words. You can modify them, or replace them with
off-rhymed words, etc. The less you follow the traditional form, the less you
can claim to have written a Sestina. Again, only break the form's rules because
you choose to, not because you lack the skills and devotion to make your poem
work in the traditional form.
Inner Child by Paula Swanson
In the unrestrained laughter of children,
is the exalted, purity of joy.
Just seeing that first Crocus of the Spring
or kittens, their antics, exuberant.
You can't help but smile, in wonderment,
at the abundance of simple pleasures.
To watch vibrant sunsets, brings great pleasure.
As does a phone call, from both my children.
I'll recall their eyes, filled with wonderment,
and their squeals, as fresh snow fall, brought pure joy.
Their young minds, bounding with exuberance,
playing outside, in the warm days of Spring.
I love new baby animals at spring.
Their mothers, showing them off, with pleasure.
Playing, jumping, with such exuberance.
I am happy to have all the children,
with which to share these adventures and joy.
To see their eyes, grow big in wonderment.
I remember my own childhood wonders.
Seeing big rainbows in the skies of Spring.
Hearing birds, in the morning, sing with joy.
Watching mom, tend her roses, with pleasure.
My Grandmother, would send out us children,
to go play and use up our exuberance.
Now it's Grandchildren, with exuberance,
that find, in their lives, so much to wonder.
See the world through the eyes of a child,
the seasons; Winter, Fall, Summer and Spring.
I can't think of anything more pleasant,
than to watch them, their lives, filled with such joy.
Life in the desert, has brought me much joy.
Thunderstorms, beat my heart, exuberant.
My heart and soul, revived, with the pleasures.
Rugged beauty, fills my mind with wonder.
As life giving rains, that herald the Spring,
welcomes all of natures newborn children.
I find joy and exuberance abound,
in the pleasures and wonders within life.
That spring forth, from the child, within me.
Here is an example for my own work. It comes from a verse novel I wrote and there
is a scene where there is a funeral for a family killed in a murder
suicide.
From
Zounds [a verse novel] by
tex norman
An hour later it was time to start.
A hundred people came, a lot of them
were friends of Mattie and Miranda,
kids from school, but not too many friends
of Bobby showed. They were too young
to be exposed to these rituals of death.
All the kids from Madrigals were there.
For kids that talk almost all the time
at school, this scene was odd ‘cause no one
seemed to have a thing to say. Everyone
was secretly relieved when the preacher
stood and cleared his throat.
The Funeral (a sustina)
“Blessed be our God –
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
And blessed be His
Kingdom, now and forever.
My name is Pastor Joseph
Fite. and I am here
to lead us in
celebration of the life
of Megan Weeks, a woman
filled with love,
and for four children,
three of which are dead.
“We thank our God that
Tiffany is not dead,
Such a loss as this can
wound the spirit.
We’re in shock and
questioning God’s love.
Yes, five are dead, but
they’re not dead forever.
No, I believe there is
an after-life.
Young people listen! I
need you to hear
“but what’s even more
important, you need to hear
that those we honor here
today are not dead.
This may be the first
time in your life
that someone you know
has given up their Spirit,
and most of us are
taught death lasts forever.
How could a God of love
“allow this to happen?
Where is God’s love?
We’re hurting, Lord!
There’s too much suffering here!
It’s more than we can
take! They’re dead. Forever.
Aren’t we taught this
fact about the dead?
That’s wrong! Wrong,
because we don’t have a Spirit.
You think, “Hey,
preacher, what about eternal life?’
“Yes, young people, I
believe in life
eternal. I believe our
God’s a God of love.
But we don’t have a
spirit. We are Spirit.
We are Spirits that have
bodies while we’re here.
Our soul wears our body.
But once we’re dead
the soul discards the
body, living on forever.
“God made us Spirits, so
we could live forever.
That’s how He gave us
our eternal life.
Yes, we miss our loved
ones when they’re dead.
It hurts, of course,
being separated from their love.
Our Spirits dress in
flesh while we are here,
but we are not our
flesh. We’re Spirit,
“and our Spirit lives
forever.
We wear our bodies like
space suits, our life
support is God’s love.
We do not die.”
A Last Word.
Just because you start with the intention of
writing a Sestina, you do not have to keep your poem in that form if it does
not work for you. Your attempt to write a formal poem may help you find words
that you would not have found otherwise. And you may decide that you choose to
end up with a poem in a different form, perhaps even a prose poem.
