1. Sestina, Tritina, Pantoum
Poetic Forms
Sestina, Tritina, Pantoum

2. Sestina Sestina comes from the Latin word for sixth.
A sestina is a repetitive form of poetry invented by the poet Arnaut Daniel.

3. Sestina A sestina consists of: Seven stanzas
The sixth line of each of the first six stanzas end in one of six words that are repeated in a specific order.
The seventh stanza, the envoy, has only three lines and includes two of the six words in each of its lines.

4. 1. A sarcastic brother 2. it can get very annoying 3
1. A sarcastic brother 2. it can get very annoying 3. it’s even worse since he’s older 4. When I’m around him, I’m blue 5. He stu…stu…stutters. 6. He likes cookies, they’re made out of ginger.
1. I don’t like ginger. 2. I don’t like my brother We both….both…stutter 4. We both are annoying. 5. It’s always blue. 6. He’s much older.

5. How to Set it Up
Stanza One

6. How to Set it Up
Stanza Two

7. How to Set it Up
Stanza 3

8. How to Set it Up
Stanza 4

9. How to Set it Up
Stanza

10. How to Set it Up
Stanza 6

11. How to Set it Up
Envoy

12. Can you identify the structure?
Read “A Sestina for Michael Jordan” in your orange packet. This poem is an example of a sestina. Can you read the poem and identify which words are repeated throughout? Where is the envoy?
You have five minutes to write.

13. Tritina
Tritina comes from the Latin word for three. Like the sestina, it is a repetitive form of poetry that consists of:
Three stanzas Envoy
The three lines of each of the three stanzas end in one of three words, repeated in a specific order. The envoy is one line that contains all three words.

14. How to Set it Up
Stanza 1

15. How to Set it Up
Stanza 2

16. How to Set it Up
Stanza 3

17. How to Set it Up
Envoy
One line that uses all 3 words

18. Can you identify the structure?
Read “A Trintina for Mom” can you identify the structure for a trintina? What words are repeated in this poem?

19. Pantoum
The pantoum originated in Malayan literature as an oral form of poetry.
The pantoum that we read and write today was first described by Victor Hugo who wrote The Hunchback of Notre Dame and Les Miserables. He wrote during the 1820s.

20. Pantoum
The pauntoum consists of four line stanzas with lines repeated in a set pattern.
The second and fourth lines of each stanza reappear as the first and third of the next. The length of a pantoum—the number of stanzas—is up to the poet.

21. How to Set it Up
Stanza 1
Line 1 Line 2 Line 3 Line 4

22. How to Set it Up Stanza 2 Line 5: same as Line 2, above
Line 6: Line 7: same as Line 4, above Line 8

23. How to Set it Up Stanza 3 Line 9: same as Line 6, above Line 10

24. Can you identify the structure?
Read “A Pantoum for Blue,” what makes a pantoum different from a sestina or a trintina? How many stanzas does a pantoum, have? Are words repeated? Which words?

25. Time to Write
Practice writing sestinas, trintinas, and pantoums. Start with the trintina. Pick a topic from you list “Where Poetry Hides” and start writing. The formula for a trintina is listed in your orange packet.

26. Time to Share
You will have ten minutes to write your trintina, if you finish early move on to writing a sestina about a different topic.

27. Homework
Your homework assignment is to write a pantoum for a specific color. Use “A Pantoum for Blue” as your inspiration. We will begin class tomorrow by reviewing these poetic forms, and sharing our pantoums.