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Sestina links
The sestina is a complex form in which six line-ending words are repeated in an intricate specified pattern through six 6-line stanzas and a 3-line “envoi.” It dates back to the 12th century French troubadours, and has been used by many poets writing in modern English. You can read some of the best and most famous sestinas in English using the links below, each accompanied by a list of its six line-ending words.
Sestina
The sestina defined, in our glossary of poetic forms.
“Farm Implements and Rutabagas in a Landscape” by John Ashbery
“thunder... apartment... country... pleasant... scratched... spinach...”
“Paysage Moralisé” by W.H. Auden
“valleys... mountains... water... islands... cities... sorrow...”
“A Miracle for Breakfast” by Elizabeth Bishop
“coffee... crumb... balcony... miracle... sun... river...”
“Sestina” by Elizabeth Bishop
“house... grandmother... child... stove... almanac... tears”
“Two Lorries” by Seamus Heaney
“ashes... lorry... coalman... mother... Magherafelt... load/lode...”
“Sestina: Altaforte” by Ezra Pound
“peace... music... clash... opposing... crimson... rejoicing...”
“Ye Goat-herd Gods” by Sir Philip Sidney
A double sestina, 12 stanzas using the same six line-ending words: “mountains... valleys... forests... music... morning... evening...”
“Sestina of the Tramp-Royal” by Robert Louis Stevenson
“all... world... good... long... done... die...”
“Sestina” by Algernon Charles Swinburne
“day... night... way... light... may... delight...”