sestina

[ se-stee-nuh ]

noun

, Prosody.

, plural ses·ti·nas, ses·ti·ne [se-, stee, -ney].

1. a poem of six six-line stanzas and a three-line envoy, originally without rhyme, in which each stanza repeats the end words of the lines of the first stanza, but in different order, the envoy using the six words again, three in the middle of the lines and three at the end.

sestina

/ sɛˈstiːnə /

noun

1. an elaborate verse form of Italian origin, normally unrhymed, consisting of six stanzas of six lines each and a concluding tercet. The six final words of the lines in the first stanza are repeated in a different order in each of the remaining five stanzas and also in the concluding tercet Also calledsextain

Word History and Origins

Origin of sestina¹

1580–90; < Italian, equivalent to sest ( o ) (< Latin sextus sixth ) + -ina -ine ²

Word History and Origins

Origin of sestina¹

C19: from Italian, from sesto sixth, from Latin sextus

Example Sentences

That it was used and admired by Dante and Petrarch, alone gives the sestina a royal precedence over all of the other forms.

From Project Gutenberg

The sestina, a very elaborate canzonet, was invented in Provence and borrowed by the Italians.

From Project Gutenberg

The common form of the sestina has six stanzas of six lines each, with a tercet at the end.

From Project Gutenberg

Naught else have I afforded you, madame, save very anciently a Sestina.

From Project Gutenberg

From Italy have come, besides the ottava rima and the sonnet, two other metrical forms, the sestina and the terza rima.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• ballad
• composition
• epic
• lyric
• poetry
• rhyme
• sonnet
• verse
• writing