Which statement best describes the formal nature of a sestina?

• A. A completely free verse form with no pattern.
• B. A prose-like narrative with no line breaks.
• C. A highly patterned repetition of end words.
• D. A rhymed couplet-based structure.

Answer: (C)

The main idea behind a sestina’s form is a highly patterned repetition of end words. Six different end words are chosen, and they must reappear at the ends of lines in a strict, rotating order across six six-line stanzas, with a concluding three-line ending (envoy) that also uses those words in a prescribed way. This creates a weaving effect: the same six words show up again and again, not in random places, but in a carefully arranged sequence that guides the poem’s movement. Because of this fixed repetition, the form feels formal and engineered rather than free or prose-like, and it isn’t built on rhymed couplets—the distinctive feature is the deliberate, end-word rotation that unifies the whole poem.