Forms
Once you have a set of verse-types as basic building blocks, it’s time to combine them into actual poems.
Usually (and especially in the past) this was done following some structures/rules which dictate what meters are acceptable and in what position, who rhymes with what, how to group stuff, etc.
Here are the main forms of traditional Italian poetry. In virtually all cases, as we will see, verses will have to be either endecasillabi or settenari:
| Name | Schema |
|---|---|
| Sonnetto | Q4Q4T3U3 |
| Canzone petrarchesca | (PnQnSXX)+ CXX |
| Canzone ode | (S)+ |
| Canzone pindarica | SSO |
| Sestina lirica | (ABCDEF FAEBDC … BDFECA XYZ)+ |
| Ballata italiana | (rip MnNn-1XXRC)+, rip follows XRC |
| Barzelletta | ABBA XYXYYZZA |
| Madrigale | T3 U3 … C |
| Terza rima | ABA BCB CDC … YZY Z |
| Ottava rima | (XYXYXYZZ)+ |
Notation
In the table above, and in the following discussion, we adopted the usual convention of representing a verse by a letter, with the repetition of the same letter indicating the appearance of the same rhyme at the end of the verse. A space will indicate a separation of stanzas.
Small caps letters (like this) will indicate a verse that has less syllables than the longest verse of the poem (so writing Aa will most likely mean a rhyming couplet formed by an endecasillabo followed by a settenario).
It is not uncommon for more complex forms to have a pattern repeat itself in all stanzas, but with different rhymes. For example: ABbACc DEeDCc indicates two stanzas that end with rhyming couplets of identical rhyme, the third and last verse being settenari, and which start with a crossed rhyme ABbA, different in each stanza.
We will write the same thing by using the italic “math unknown letters” X, Y, Z…, and condense ABbACc DEeDCc into (XYyXCc)2.
Further, often it does not matter what the specific pattern is, as long as it’s the same in all stanzas: it could be, say, XYYX or XxYZ. We will indicate a generic schema like that with a bold letter, like S.
Thus, three stanzas that begin with whatever schema followed by a rhyming couplet with the exact same rhyme will be indicated by (SCC)3 — or (S4CC)3 if we want to say the schema is made up of four verses.
If the number of times the pattern is repeated is not fixed, we’ll use a +: (SCC)+.
To help the reader to distinguish the structure in the poem text, such schemas will be demarcated by indenting their first verse, or by some vertical space.
Sonetto
Invented in the 1200s, likely by Giacomo da Lentini, it is composed of fourteen endecasillabi.
The first eight make up the fronte (“front”), while the remaining are the sestina (“sestet”). In out notation, this looks like F8S6.
In turn, these groupings are usually divided respectively in two quartine (following the same pattern), and two terzine — Q4Q4T3U3 in our notation.
The usual rhyme pattern for the front is either ABABABAB or ABBAABBA. The sestet has much more freedom. In the example below (also presented here), it is CDC DCD.
Intoórnoó ad una foónteé, in un prateèllo
Di veérdi eèrbeétte pieènoó e di beèi fioóri,
Sedeano treé angioóleétteé, i loóroó amoóri
Foórseé narrandoó; eét a ciascuna il belloó
Visoó adoómbrava un veérdeé ramosceèllo
Cheé i capeéi d’ ôr cingeéa; al qual di fuoòri
EÉ deéntroó insieèmeé i dua vaghi coóloóri
Avvolgeéva un soóaveé veénticeèllo.
EÉ doópoó alquantoó l’una alleé dueé disseé,
Coóm’ioó udi — Deèh seé peér avveéntura
Di ciascuna l’amanteé qui veénisseé,
Fuggiremmoó noói quinci peér paura? —
A cui leé dueé rispoóser — Chi fuggisseé,
Poòcoó savia sarìa coón tal veéntura —
Variations
The main way one plays with a sonnet’s structure is by adding a few more verses at the end. This is usually done in one of two ways:
- ritornello (“refrain”): one additional endecasyllable (or two, for the ritornello doppio, “double refrain”);
- sonetto caudato (“sonnet with a tail”), where the “tail” is composed of a settenario (rhyming with the previous verse) and two further endecasillabi rhyming with each other. It is most common in humorous or “realistic” poems.
Canzone petrarchesca
Of the various types of canzone (“song”), this is the oldest (which is why it’s also called antica, “ancient”). You likely won’t find many examples of it on this website, because by definition these are longish poems (if you define “long” as “more than twenty verses,” which is not much in and of itself but requires quite a bit of work to set up, and I’m lazy).
All verses are either endecasillabi or settenari. Usually, the more the endecasillabi in proportion to the settenari, the more solemn the canzone.
The canzone is made up of strofe (“stanzas”), in a variable number that usually isn’t too far from five, and is closed by a shorter quasi-strofa, called congedo (“farewell”).
Each strofa is composed of three parts: two same-length piedi (“feet”) and a sirma (the term is borrowed from the classical Greek for “train”/“trawl”, and doesn’t have any other meaning in Italian).
In our notation, that’s something like (PnQnS)+ C.
Here is a (shortened) example from Petrarca:
Chiareé, fresche eét doólci acqueé,
oóveé leé beèlleé meémbra
poòseé colei cheé soóla a meé par doònna;
geèntil ramoó oóveé piacqueé
(con sospir mi rimembra)
a leèi di fareé al beèl fiancho coóloónna;
herba eét fior’ cheé la goònna
leéggiadra ricoverse
co l’angeèlicoó seénoó;
aeéreé sacroó, seéreénoó,
oóveé Amoór co’ beègli oòcchi il coòr m’apeèrseé:
dateé udïenzia insieèmeé
a leé doóleènti mieé paroòleé eéxtreèmeé.
S’eégli è pur mioó deéstinoó,
eé l cieèloó in ciò s’adopra,
ch’Amoór quest’oòcchi lagrimando chiuda,
qualcheé gratia il meéschinoó
coòrpoó fra voói ricopra,
eé toórni l’alma al proòprioó albeèrgoó ignuda.
La moòrteé fia meén cruda
seé queésta spene poòrtoó
a quel dubbioósoó passoó:
ché loó spiritoó lassoó
noón poória mai in più ripoósatoó poòrtoó
né in più tranquilla foòssa
fuggir la carneé travagliata eét l’oòssa.
[...]
Seé tu avessi ornamenti quant’ài voòglia,
poresti arditamente
uscir deél boscho, eét gir in fra la geènteé.
The piedi are composed by the same number (typically between two and four) and the same types of verses, in the same order. The rhyme scheme can be the same or not (which is why we used PQ instead of PP), but there can’t be verses without a rhyme throughout the two feet). In the example above, however, n = 3 and P and Q are both abC.
The sirma can vary a lot, but a typical feature is the chiave (“key,” also known with the Latin “concatenatio” or “concatenation”), i.e. the first verse of the sirma rhymes with the last verse of the second piede (in our example, colonna/gonna and ignuda/cruda).
It is also customary that the other verses of the sirma do not rhyme with other verses of the piedi.
Another frequent feature is closing the sirma with a rhyming couplet (Dante called this, again in Latin, the “combinatio,” or “combination”). In the example above, we have cdeeDfF.
As for the congedo, there is not much to be said, other than it is composed of fewer verses than the strofe, and that though it usually takes the same rhyming pattern as part of the strofe, it doesn’t rhyme with them.
In our example, it’s DfF.
So we can write, for the most frequent case, the more precise schema (PnQnSXX)+ CXX, keeping in mind that S starts with the same rhyme as the last verse of Q, and C is the same as the last verses of S.
Canzone-ode
The ode (“ode”) can be thought of as a structurally-simpler version of the canzone, where the strofe have no internal subdivision. Still, their verses are of the same type (endecasillabi or settenari), in the same order and with the same rhyming pattern.
Basically, imagine a canzone without piedi: S+. Very frequently the pattern is ABBA or ABAB, but much more patterns can present themselves.
As an example, an extract from Cesarini’s La meraviglia esser madre dell’ambizione (“marvel is mother to ambition”).
Seguace a meraviglia è gran desio,
e chi brama a temer sempre è costretto.
Lunge felicità, lunge è dal petto.
ove puote albergar mostro sì rio.
Di marmorei palazzi arco dorato,
su cui splender veggiam pitture illustri,
per argivo scarpel le statue industri
non fan l’umano cuor viver beato.
If one allows for verses other than endecasillabi or settenari (including, sometimes, verses with an even number of syllables), one usually refers to the poem as an ode-canzonetta (“ode-little song” — the songs being, for example, opera arias).
Canzone pindarica
The canzone pindarica (“Pindaric song”) is modeled after the Odes of Pindar, and is composed by three sets of verses: the strofe (used in this case as a singular noun, for some reason), the antìstrofe and the epodo.
Strofe (singular) and antistrofe follow the same pattern, like the strofe (plural) of a usual canzone.
The epodo does its own thing.
So, in notation: SSO.
Sestina lirica
This one is for hardcore numerology, or combinatorics, fans, and in particular for those who have a thing for the number six: six stanzas of six verses built around six words.
By that I mean that it requires not only rhymes, but parole-rima (“rhyme-words”): the six verses of the stanzas all end with the same six words, never repeated in the same stanza, and never placed in the same position. The rule is: each stanza’s first verse ends with the same word as the last verse of the previous stanza (for example, F in the case of stanza two). Then, pick the rhyme-word farthest from the one you just used (in this case, in the first stanza, A is farthest from F). Rinse and repeat (farthest from A is E, ….).
The result: ABCDEF FAEBDC CFDABE ECBFAD DEACFB BDFECA.
Everything is closed by a congedo that contains all six rhyme-words, three at the end of the verses, and three within.
An example, again redacted for length, by Petrarca:
L’aeéreé gravato, eét l’impoórtuna neébbia
coómpreèssa intoórnoó da rabbiosi vènti
toòstoó conven cheé si converta in pioòggia;
eét già soón quasi di cristalloó i fiumi,
eé 'n veéceé de l’eérbeétta peér leé valli
noón seé ved’altroó cheé pruine eét ghiaccioó.
EÉt ioó neél coòr via piú freéddoó cheé ghiaccioó
ò di gravi pensier tal una neébbia,
qual si leèva talor di queésteé valli,
serrate incoóntra agli amorosi vènti,
eét circundate di stagnanti fiumi,
quandoó cadeé dal cieèl piú lenta pioòggia.
[...]
Ma noón fuggío già mai neébbia peér vènti,
coómeé quel dí, né mai fiumi peér pioòggia,
né ghiaccioó quandoó 'l soóleé a pre leé valli.
Mind blown, right?
Ballata italiana
The ballata (“ballad”) has many incarnations, sharing two main features:
- it was frequently destined to be sung accompanied by music
- it sports a ripresa (a refrain, literally a “reprise”) repeated between stanzas (and possibly at the end).
The Italian ballad is, as usual, composed only of endecasillabi and settenari.
The stanzas, like in the canzone, are composed of three parts, that are called differently: two mutazioni (“mutations”) and a volta (“vault”).
The difference is that the volta has the same structure as the ripresa, giving us the schema (ripresa MnNnR)+, where R is the schema of the ripresa.
Typically, as in the canzone, the last verse of the second mutazione rhymes with the first of the volta. Also, the last rhyme of each volta (and thus of each stanza) is the same as that of the ripresa, giving us something like (ripresa MnNn-1XXRC)+, where the ripresa has schema XRC (yes, I’m probably stretching this notation a bit).
Example, with only one stanza (by Petrarca):
OÒcchi mieèi lassi, meéntreé ch’ioó vi giroó
neél beèl visoó di queélla cheé v’à moòrti,
pregovi siate accorti,
ché già vi sfida Amoóreé, ond’ioó soóspiroó.
Moòrteé pò chiuder soóla a’ mieèi penseri
l’amoóroósoó camin cheé gli coónduceé
al doólceé poòrtoó de la loór saluteé;
ma puossi a voói celar la vostra luceé
peér meénoó obgetto, peérché meénoó interi
sieéteé formati, eét di minoór virtute.
Peérò, doóleènti, anzi cheé sian venute
l’oóreé deél piantoó, cheé soón già vicineé,
prendete oór a la fineé
breèveé coónfoòrtoó a sí lungoó martiro.
The ripresa (pattern ABbA) is four verses long.
The mutazioni, together, follow the rhyming pattern CDEDCE, while the volta goes EFfA, thus linking itself to the last verse of the mutazioni and to the final rhyme, in -iro, of the last verse of the volta.
Barzelletta
A sister-form of the ballata, the barzelletta (“joke”), as the name suggests, is often used for lighter subjects. It is distinguished by the use of ottonari, and by the almost fixed pattern ABBA XYXYYZZA (often even ABBA XYXYYBBA ).
The super-famous example of this is the Canzona di Bacco (“The song of Bacchus”), by Lorenzo il Magnifico, whose ripresa goes:
Quant’è beèlla gioóvineézza
cheé si fugge tuttavia!
Chi vuoól esser lieètoó sia:
di doman noón c’è ceérteézza.
Quest’è Bacco e Arianna
belli, e l’un dell’altro ardenti:
perché 'l tempo fugge e inganna,
sempre insieme stan contenti.
Queste ninfe ed altre genti
sono allegre tuttavia.
Chi vuol esser lieto, sia:
di doman non c’è certezza.
(How beautiful youth is / that, however, runs away! / You want to be happy? Then be:/ There is no certainty about tomorrow.)
Madrigale
A madrigale is a short poem intended for music, and especially secular music.
There are two types, that resemble each other not at all, apart from the usual presence of endecasillabi or settenari. The rhyming pattern, in both cases, can vary wildly.
The first and original type was invented around 1300, and is thus called madrigale trecentesco. It is a sequence of two to five terzine (stanzas composed of three verses), (usually) followed by either one verse, or a couplet, or two couplets.
In symbols: T3 U3 … C
An example, from a musical codex by Giovanni da Firenze:
Deèh, coómeé doólceémeénteé m’abbracciava
stando neél leèttoó, coón la doònna mia,
quandoó la madreé mi disse: "Va’ via!"
Quandoó la figlia inteéseé tal noóveèlla,
volsesi a leèi coón gran malincoónia;
disse: "Fuor, veècchia, di cameéra mia!"
"Or taci, figlia; noón ci far più moòttoó,
ch’i’ meé neé vadoó eé staròmi di sotto."
The music to which the poem was set can be listened to here — alas, no singing.
The second type has been in use since about 1500, and basically has no structure other than being (usually) shorter than a sonnet. Several examples can be found on YouTube. I’m personally partial to Monteverdi, and I would strongly recommend listening to Il lamento della ninfa (The Nymph’s Lament), both as we suppose it might have sounded “originally,” and in this incredible, modern-jazzy rendering.
We move now to forms that are used more in “discursive” rather than “lyrical” poems.
Terza rima
The terza rima (“third rhyme”) was born with Dante’s masterpiece, the Commedia, and it consists of terzine (set of three verses) of (unsurprisingly) endecasillabi chained together by this rhyming patterns: ABA BCB CDC …
The chain ends by adding one isolated verse rhyming with the central verse of the previous terzina.
Example, from the famous ending of the fifth canto of Inferno:
Quando leggemmo il disiato riso
esser basciato da cotanto amante,
questi, che mai da me non fia diviso,
la bocca mi basciò tutto tremante.
Galeotto fu 'l libro e chi lo scrisse:
quel giorno più non vi leggemmo avante.
Mentre che l’uno spirto questo disse,
l’altro piangea; sì che di pietade
io venni men così com’io morisse.
E caddi come corpo morto cade.
Ottava rima
The ottava rima, also simply ottava, has of very straightforward description: stanzas with the pattern XYXYXYZZ.
It has been used for many of the greatest narrative poems in the Italian tradition, like La Gerusalemme liberata or the Orlando furioso.
As an example, here’s a quote from Poliziano’s Orfeo, where Persephone pleads with Hades on Orpheus’ behalf (it can be listened to, among other places, here):
I’ non credetti, o dolce mio consorte,
Che pietà mai venisse in questo regno:
Or la veggio regnare in nostra corte.
Et io sento di lei tutto il cor pregno:
Né solo i tormentati, ma la Morte
Veggio che piange del suo caso indegno.
Dunque tua dura legge a lui si pieghi,
Pel canto per l’amor pe’ giusti prieghi.