9th literature - Sestina Project: Art and Poetry in Response

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The Sestina• is divided into 6 sestets (six line stanzas) and 1

triplet called an envoi • is usually unrhymed and works by repeating the

end words of each line. • The envoi contains, in any order, all of the six

end-words. The catch is that one has to be buried in each line and another must be at the end of the line.

• The pattern for repeating the words is like this: (stanza A) 123456, (stanza B) 615243. This 615243 pattern is how each of the "next" stanzas are made.

An ExampleHere in this bleak city of Rochester,Where there are twenty-seven words for "snow,"Not all of them polite, the wayward mindBasks in some Yucatan of its own making,Some coppery, sleek lagoon, or cinnamon islandAlive with lemon tints and burnished natives, And O that we were there. But here the nativesOf this grey, sunless city of RochesterHave sown whole mines of salt about their land(Bare ruined Carthage that it is) while snowComes down as if The Flood were in the making.Yet on that ocean Marvell called the mind An ark sets forth which is itself the mind,Bound for some pungent green, some shore whose nativesBlend coriander, cayenne, mint in makingRoasts that would gladden the Earl of RochesterWith sinfulness, and melt a polar snow.It might be well to remember that an island

Was blessed heaven once, more than an island,The grand, utopian dream of a noble mind.In that kind climate the mere thought of snowWas but a wedding cake; the youthful natives,Unable to conceive of Rochester,Made love, and were acrobatic in the making. Dream as we may, there is far more to makingDo than some wistful reverie of an island,Especially now when hope lies with the RochesterGas and Electric Co., which doesn't mindSuch profitable weather, while the nativesSink, like Pompeians, under a world of snow. The one thing indisputable here is snow,The single verity of heaven's making,Deeply indifferent to the dreams of the natives,And the torn hoarding-posters of some island.Under our igloo skies the frozen mindHolds to one truth: it is grey, and called Rochester. No island fantasy survives Rochester,Where to the natives destiny is snowThat is neither to our mind nor of our making.

Your turn… ;)• Choose a subject for your poem. This is

completely up to you.• Decide upon six words that are your candidates

for the words that will repeat. I recommend concrete nouns (e.g., wool, chimney, lozenge, floor) and active verbs (e.g., climbs, opens).

• On a large blank sheet of paper, write the end words for the first stanza, leaving space to complete the line. Do the same for the second sestet and so on.

• Now write the stanzas, using the stepping stones provided by the chosen words.

• The envoi should follow this pattern: 6 52 43 1

Requirements• Your six words must relate to a theme or major

element of East of Eden• Your sestina MUST be about a theme from East

of Eden, a character, or a symbolic segment of the plot.

• You must include at least six different poetic devices (Be sure to label on the second copy). You may choose these devices from the poetry device packet.

• You must follow the sestina form exactly.• You must place your typed poem in the middle of

a “word collage” of your 6 words. Your end result will be a piece of poetic art worthy of framing.

The grade…I will be grading on…• the inclusion of the required devices.• Your adherence to the sestina form• Artistic effort (word collage). I don’t want you to grab a

piece of poster board and write your words all over it in pencil and markers. BE CREATIVE. To get full credit in this category, you must exceed my expectations.

• Your poem’s depth. Surface, “top 40 lyrics” poetry will not earn you full credit.

• This project will be worth 150 points.

Examples