Amerikanische Sestine

The sestina, an intricate verse form created and mastered by the Provençal poets, is a 39-line poem consisting of six six-line stanzas and one three-line envoi (or „send-off“). The six end-words are repeated in a prescribed order, as end words in each of the subsequent stanzas. The concluding tercet brings together all six of the end words. The numerological scheme, which once may have had magical significance, has the precision and elegance of musical (or mathematical) form:

Stanza one: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

two: 6, 1, 5, 2, 4, 3

three: 3, 6, 4, 1, 2, 5

four: 5, 3, 2, 6, 1, 4

five: 4, 5, 1, 3, 6, 2

six: 2, 4, 6, 5, 3, 1

envoi: 5, 3, 1 or 1, 3, 5

Nach dieser Einführung in die Form der Sestine kommentiert Edward Hirsch eine amerkianische Sestine (von Anthony Hecht) / The Washington Post 30.10.03