Everything about Sestet totally explained
A
sestet is the name given to the second division of a
sonnet, which must consist of an
octave, of eight lines, succeeded by a sestet, of six lines. The first documented user of this poetical form was the Italian poet,
Petrarch. In the usual course the rhymes are arranged abc abc, but this isn't necessary. Early
Italian sonnets, and in particular those of
Dante, often close with the rhyme-arrangement abc cba; but in languages where the sonority of syllables isn't so great as it's in
Italian, it's dangerous to leave a period of five lines between one rhyme and another. In the
quatorzain, there is, properly speaking, no sestet, but a quatrain followed by a couplet, as in the case of
English Sonnets. Another form of sestet has only two rhymes, ab ab I ab; as is the case in Gray's famous sonnet
On the Death of Richard West. The sestet should mark the turn of emotion in the sonnet; as a rule it may be said, that the octave having been more or less objective, in the sestet reflection should make its appearance, with a tendency to the subjective manner. For example, in
Matthew Arnold's
The Better Part, the rough inquirer, who has had his own way in the octave, is replied to as soon as the sestet commences:
» So answerest thou; but why not rather say:
"Hath man no second life? - Pitch this one high!
» Sits there no judge in Heaven, our sin to see? -
More strictly, then, the inward judge obey!
» Was Christ a man like us? Ah! let us try
If we then, too, can be such men as he!"
Wordsworth and
Milton are both remarkable for the dignity with which they conduct the downward wave of the sestet in their sonnet. The
French sonneteers of the
16th century, with
Ronsard at their head, preferred the softer sound of the arrangement aab ccb I. The
German poets have usually wavered between the English and the Italian forms.
A
sestet is also six lines of
poetry forming a
stanza or complete poem.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Sestet'.
|
External Link Exchanges
Do you know how hard it is to get a link from a large encyclopaedia? Well we're different and will prove it. To get a link from us just add the following HTML to your site on a relevant page:
<a href="http://sestet.totallyexplained.com">Sestet Totally Explained</a>
Then simply click through this link from your web page. Our crawlers will verify your link, extract the title of your web page and instantly add a link back to it. If you like you can remove the words Totally Explained and embed the link in article text.
As long as your link remains in place, we'll keep our link to you right here. Please play fair - our crawlers are watching. Your site must be closely related to this one's topic. Any kind of spamming, dubious practises or removing the link will result in your link from us being dropped and, potentially, your whole site being banned. |
