MDVL 302 Lecture Notes - Sestina, Petrarch
Document Summary
Sestina (ye goat-herd gods) by sir philip sidney. Two sestinas in total (12 stanzas of 6 lines with a 3 line tornata at the end) Each speaker has 6 stanzas, and both speakers have the tornata. The form was invented by sir philip sidney. The order of the words at the end of each stanza repeats again after 6 stanzas. Depicts the life of a shepherd in an idealized manner. Simplistic and uncomplex life and way of living. The shepherds are mourning the loss of a beautiful woman they saw passing through the forest. She was so beautiful that now they cannot see beauty in anything, or hear music anymore, and are in a deep depression. The stanzas of the poem become more personal, and more depressing as they proceed. In the tornata, all 6 of the words are brought together in the 3 lines.
