How many end words does a sestina have, and how do they function?

• A. Four end words that appear in every stanza
• B. Six end words that rhyme with each other
• C. Six end words that alternate according to a set pattern
• D. Eight end words that never repeat

Answer: (C)

Six end words anchor a sestina. Each line ends with one of these six words, and across the six six-line stanzas those endings repeat in a fixed rotation. In the standard form, the first stanza ends with the six words in their natural order. The second stanza shifts to a rotation: the sequence becomes the last word from the previous line moved to the front, giving an order of 6-1-2-3-4-5. The third stanza continues as 5-6-1-2-3-4, the fourth as 4-5-6-1-2-3, the fifth as 3-4-5-6-1-2, and the sixth as 2-3-4-5-6-1. A three-line envoy then uses the same six end words to conclude the poem. This pattern creates a musical, insistent effect, since the same set of words keeps returning in new positions and contexts instead of introducing new end rhymes or additional words.