Sestina Poem Form: How to Write a Sestina

A sestina is a poem in a fixed form. A sestina, deriving from the Italian word “sexto” (sixth), has six stanzas of six lines each, ending with a three-line envoy. An envoi—also called an envoy, tercet, or tornada—is a short stanza at the end of a poem. What makes the sestina form unique is that the end word of each stanza becomes the end word of the first line of the next stanza. Similarly, the other words appearing at the ends of the first stanza’s first five lines cycle through the rest of the poem, appearing at the ends of other lines in the subsequent stanzas.

Sestinas follow a strict form and are usually unrhyming. Below, the numbers represent stanzas, and the letters represent the stanza lines’ end-words, which will be in a different order for each stanza. Each stanza will be a single sestet (six lines) except for the final envoi with three lines. In total, the sestina comprises 39 lines:

1. 1. ABCDEF
2. 2. FAEBDC
3. 3. CFDABE
4. 4. ECBFAD
5. 5. DEACFB
6. 6. BDFECA
7. 7. ACE or ECA (line envoi)

The Provençal troubadour Arnaut Daniel is often credited with creating this poetic form in the twelfth century. The sestina became famous throughout continental Europe in the centuries that followed and the fame of writers like Petrarch and Dante, who popularized the six-line stanzas of this verse form, helped cement the status of the sestina.

In the sixteenth century, Middle English writers began experimenting with the sestina, and in the nineteenth century, there was a renewed interest in the form. There have been different interpretations of the meter and rhyme scheme for this poem; Algernon Charles Swinburne’s “Sestina” was written in rhyming ABABAB iambic pentameter, though many have written sestinas without a rhyme scheme. Swinburne also crafted a double sestina in “The Complaint of Lisa” (1878), with twelve stanzas of twelve iambic pentameter lines each. Modern poets like W. H. Auden and Ezra Pound further revitalized the sestina.

Some notable examples of sestina poems throughout history include:

1. 1. “Sestina: Altaforte” (1909): Ezra Pound’s “Sestina: Altaforte” exemplifies the sestina form. With six stanzas of six lines each, this work ends with a three-line envoi. The six lines of the first stanza each end with unique, unrhyming words, making the rhyme scheme ABCDEF. The end-words of the first stanza become the final words in the lines of the following stanzas. The last word of the first stanza is “rejoicing,” which becomes the last word of the second stanza’s first line; then, the last word of the second stanza becomes the last word of the third stanza’s first line, and so on.
2. 2. “Paysage Moralisé” (1933): W. H. Auden’s “Paysage Moralisé” features six stanzas of six lines, plus a three-line half stanza. Auden’s poem is unrhyming, and the final word of each stanza is the final word in the first line of the subsequent stanza. “Paysage Moralisé” is an allegory of the human condition.
3. 3. “Farm Implements and Rutabagas in a Landscape” (1966): John Ashbery’s “Farm Implements and Rutabagas in a Landscape” features imagery and nonsensical dialogue between characters from the cartoon “Popeye.” The sestina explores themes of dissatisfaction and communication.
4. 4. “A Miracle for Breakfast (1972): Elizabeth Bishop’s “A Miracle for Breakfast'' follows the sestina form of repeating the final word of each stanza in the first line of the next stanza. Uniquely, each line of Bishop’s poem ends with one of six words—the words “coffee,” “crumb,” “balcony,” “miracle,” “sun” and “river” repeat throughout the poem.

Select six words and build your lines and stanzas around those words to create a mood, paint a picture, or depict a character or event that reflects your chosen theme. Follow these steps to make a sestina:

1. 1. Choose a subject or theme. The selected topic will inform which end-words are in your sestina.
2. 2. Select the end-words that highlight your theme. The most important part of your sestina will be these six words that cycle through the poem as the shared final words in the sestets. These should be easy to end a line with and work with different iterations since they’ll appear at least six times in the sestina (or more if they appear internally in lines or the envoi). Nouns and verbs work best, and the words should be reflective of your subject.
3. 3. Select end-words with multiple meanings. To provide further depth and texture to your sestina, you might also pick word that you can use in multiple ways. After ending a line on a word, you can then use it to mean something else at the beginning of the next line.

Become a better writer with the MasterClass Annual Membership. Gain access to exclusive video lessons taught by the world’s best, including Salman Rushdie, Neil Gaiman, Walter Mosley, Margaret Atwood, Joyce Carol Oates, Dan Brown, and more.