The development of octaves occurred slowly. This occurred in the fourth century and served as a period of time for the newly baptized to take a joyful retreat. The first such feasts were Easter, Pentecost, and, in the East, Epiphany. The practice of octaves was first introduced under Constantine I, when the dedication festivities of the basilicas at Jerusalem and Tyre, Lebanon were observed for eight days.Īfter these one-off occasions, annual liturgical feasts began to be dignified with an octave. Īs circumcision was performed on the 'eighth day' after birth, the number 8 became associated also with baptism, and baptismal fonts have from an early date often been octagonal. The 'eighth day' or octava dies was associated with the weekly Christian celebration of the resurrection of Christ every 'eighth day', which became a name for Sunday.

2.1.2 Reduction by Pius XII and Paul VI.

In these lines, he makes use of the typical rhyme scheme associated with the poetic form while also using other techniques like alliteration and anaphora. In the best modern way-the children’s eyes The children learn to cipher and to sing, I walk through the long schoolroom questioning In this particular poem, Yeats describes a visit to the Convent School at Waterford, a progressive institution that housed kids four to seven years old. Although it is not always the case, usually the lines are all in iambic pentameter. The stanzas follow a rhyme scheme of ABABABCC, changing end sounds from stanza to stanza. The poem is made up of eight stanzas, each of which contains eight lines. In this poem, a lover of poetry will find a good example of the ottava rima form. If so, she’ll love him better after death.Įxample #2 Among School Children by William Butler Yeats In the final six lines, she eventually addresses God, acknowledging that she may die if he chooses. The person to whom she is speaking is likely her husband, Robert Browning, a fellow writer. My soul can reach, when feeling out of sightĪfter this, she adds more reasons that she loves the intended listener. I love thee to the depth and breadth and height How do I love thee? Let me count the ways. The lines are perfectly structured and make use of the rhyme scheme one would expect, ABBAABBA. In the first eight lines, the speaker goes over the various ways that she loves “thee” or you.

Hymnal Octave- Also known as the common octave, these poems follow a rhyme scheme of ABCBABCB and make use of iambic terameter and iambic trimeterĮxamples of Octaves in Poetry Example #1 How do I love thee? by Elizabeth Barrett BrowningĪlso known as Sonnet 43, this poem is a great example of how the octave is used within an Italian or Petrarchan sonnet.

The form was most commonly used in the late medal period of Italian poetry.

Sicilian Octave -The lines of a Sicilian octave, also known as a Neapolitan octave, each contains eleven syllables and follow a rhyme scheme of ABABABAB.

The lines alternate between iambic pentameter and iambic diameter with a rhyme scheme of ABCB DEFE.

Cavatina -This is a poetic form that originated in Italy in the 14th century.

They rhyme ABABCDCD, sometimes changing to ABABCDCB.

Canzonetta - This is a type of poem that is made up of several stanzas of eight lines.

The lines are written in iambic pentameter and follow a rhyme scheme of ABBAABBA.

Italian (Petrarchan) Sonnet Octave- As described above, the octave forms the first part of an Italian or Petrarchan sonnet.

These eight-line poems follow a rhyme scheme of ABABABCC and use iambs, usually iambic pentameter.

Ottava Rima -This form is most commonly associated with the Italian writer Giovanni Boccaccio.

$octave meaning$

Here is a list of some of the most popular: There are as many different types of octave poems are there are arrangements of rhyme and meter within eight lines. It could be a shift in the speaker, the topic, the point of view, or anything else a writer can think of. This turn is made up of a shift of some kind. Between the two there is, in some cases, what is known as a “turn” or “ volta”. These lines are then responded to in the sextet. In the octave of a sonnet, the writer sets out the first part of their poem. These two quatrains make up the first half of the most popular sonnet forms, the Italian, or Petrarchan, and the English or Shakespearean. The octave can usually be dived directly in half, into two sets of four lines, known as quatrains.

The first is the octave, made out of eight lines and the second is the sextet, made up of six lines.

Sonnets are usually separated into two sections. One of the most frequent ways that the word “octave” appears in regards to poetry is connected to sonnet writing.

Octave meaning