Q3B2: Sestina Sestina Sestina Sestina Sestina Sestina

One of Dante's poems that is not thousands of lines long is "Sestina of the Lady Pietra degli Scrovigni." It is a sestina, which is a poetic form I had not read before this. A sestina is a poem consisting of sestets, with the last words of each line repeating in each stanza, with the order differing by a pattern. For example, the first stanza has the last words of shade, hills, grass, green, stone, and lady; the second stanza has lady, shade, stone, hills, green, and grass. It seems like a really interesting structure, but it would seem like it would be difficult to follow the pattern without making the poem sound too repetitive or forced. However, Dante is able to follow the structure while keeping a natural rhythm and diction, along with giving each sestet a different meaning so they do not all have similar topics with only the order of sentences mixed up. He also uses some words, like stone, shade, and hills, in different ways each time. Sometimes they have a literal, physical meaning, but they can sometimes also use a more figurative use of the word. In fact, the first time I was reading it, it took me a few stanzas to notice that the ending words were repeating.

When looking up what sestinas were, I read that they are commonly used to reflect a meaning of the poem, since their complexity and awkwardness make it a less commonly used form. The difficulty and complexity of the poem form reflects the difficulty and complexity of the narrator's situation in the sestina. He is in love with a woman, but he knows that it can never be because the femme fatale does not feel the same. Unrequited love and love that must be avoided for safety can prove to be very complicated and difficult.