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Octave (poetry)

 

 
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Octave (poetry)
 
 
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An octave is a verse form consisting of eight lines of iambic pentameter
Iambic pentameter

Iambic pentameter is a type of meter that is used in poetry and drama. It describes a particular rhythm that the words establish in each Line ....
 (in English) or of hendecasyllable
Hendecasyllable

Hendecasyllable Meter is a kind of verse used mostly in Italy poetry, defined by its having the last stress on the tenth syllable. When, as often happens, this stress falls on the penultimate syllable, the line has exactly eleven syllables ....
s (in Italian). The most common rhyme scheme
Rhyme scheme

A rhyme scheme is the pattern of rhyming lines in a poem or song. It is usually referred to by using Letter s to indicate which lines rhyme. In other words, it is the pattern of end rhymes or lines....
 for an octave is abba abba.

An octave is the first part of a Petrarchan sonnet, which ends with a contrasting sestet
Sestet

A sestet is the name given to the second division of an Italian sonnet , which must consist of an octave , of eight lines, succeeded by a sestet, of six lines....
. In traditional Italian sonnets the octave always ends with a conclusion of one idea, giving way to another idea in the sestet. Some English sonnets break that rule, often to striking effect.






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An octave is a verse form consisting of eight lines of iambic pentameter
Iambic pentameter

Iambic pentameter is a type of meter that is used in poetry and drama. It describes a particular rhythm that the words establish in each Line ....
 (in English) or of hendecasyllable
Hendecasyllable

Hendecasyllable Meter is a kind of verse used mostly in Italy poetry, defined by its having the last stress on the tenth syllable. When, as often happens, this stress falls on the penultimate syllable, the line has exactly eleven syllables ....
s (in Italian). The most common rhyme scheme
Rhyme scheme

A rhyme scheme is the pattern of rhyming lines in a poem or song. It is usually referred to by using Letter s to indicate which lines rhyme. In other words, it is the pattern of end rhymes or lines....
 for an octave is abba abba.

An octave is the first part of a Petrarchan sonnet, which ends with a contrasting sestet
Sestet

A sestet is the name given to the second division of an Italian sonnet , which must consist of an octave , of eight lines, succeeded by a sestet, of six lines....
. In traditional Italian sonnets the octave always ends with a conclusion of one idea, giving way to another idea in the sestet. Some English sonnets break that rule, often to striking effect. In Milton's Sonnet 19, the sestet begins early, halfway through the last line of the octave:

When I consider how my light is spent
Ere half my days in this dark world and wide, And that one talent which is death to hide Lodg'd with me useless, though my soul more bent
To serve therewith my Maker, and present
My true account, lest he returning chide, "Doth God exact day-labour, light denied?" I fondly ask. But Patience, to prevent
That murmur, soon replies: "God doth not need
Either man's work or his own gifts: who best Bear his mild yoke, they serve him best. His state
Is kingly; thousands at his bidding speed
And post o'er land and ocean without rest: They also serve who only stand and wait."

Patience's too-quick reply intrudes upon the integrity of the octave. Since "prevent" also means "anticipate," it is as if Patience is giving the answer before the question is finished.

See also

Two other octave forms with Italian origins:
  • ottava rima
    Ottava rima

    Ottava rima is a rhyme stanza form of Italy origin. Originally used for long poems on heroic themes, it also came to be popular in the writing of mock-heroic works....
  • Sicilian octave
    Sicilian octave

    The Sicilian octave is a verse form consisting of eight lines of eleven syllables each, called a hendecasyllable. The form is common in late Middle Ages Italy poetry ....