For example, you may write a sestina about love by focusing on your love for your older sister. You may compose the sestina with memories or feelings you associate with your sister.
For example, you may write a sestina about your first kiss or your first time swimming in the ocean.
Stanza 1: A, B, C, D, E, F Stanza 2: F, A, E, B, D, C Stanza 3: C, F, D, A, B, E Stanza 4: E, C, B, F, A, D Stanza 5: D, E, A, C, F, B Stanza 6: B, D, F, E, C, A Envoi: B, E Envoi: D, C Envoi: F, A The order may seem complicated at first, but it simply involves “folding”. If you imagine a line of, say, beads on a string, labeled A–B–C–D–E–F, and then “fold” this line down the middle, you end up with F–A–E–B–D–C. Then continue this process for the remaining stanzas. When you get to stanza 6, notice that the first three end words are used in the middles of the envoi’s lines, and the last three end words are used at the ends of the envoi’s lines. The envoi must include the remaining three end words in the poem. This way, the six recurring words appear in the final three lines of the poem. A sestina does not have to rhyme.
“Sestina: Alforte” by Ezra Pound[4] X Research source “Farm Implements and Rutabagas in a Landscape” by John Ashbery[5] X Research source “A Miracle for Breakfast” by Elizabeth Bishop[6] X Research source “O Light Red Light” by Cathy Park Hong[7] X Research source
For example, for a poem about your love for your older sister, you may choose: “sister, share, hold, learn, bright, blood. ”
For example, you may have one line refer to your sister as a “bright star” and another line later refer to the “bright look on her face. ”
For example, you may use a rhyme like “blood good” or “bright might. ”
Often, metaphors are considered more effective than similes. Try using a mix of metaphors and similes to add variety to your sestina.
For example, for a poem about your older sister, you may focus on how she smells when she’s angry or upset, or how she sounds when she being affectionate towards you.
For example, in Ezra Pound’s “Sestina: Alforte,” he uses exclamation marks and a reinterpretation of the word “peace” to end the poem: “And let the music of the swords make them crimson!/Hell grant soon we hear again the swords clash!/Hell blot black for always the thought “Peace!””
You can also read the sestina aloud to others to get their feedback. Ask them to tell you how it sounds as you read it aloud to them.
For example, a title for a sestina about your older sister might be, “Sestina: My Sister,” or “Bright, Blood, Sister. ”
