Octaves are a common form of poetry that have been used in works of English Literature. Famous octave poetry examples can be found in Romantic poetry such as Lord Byron's 'Beppo' (1817) or Elizabeth Barrett Browning's 'How Do I Love Thee? (Sonnet 43)' (1850).
Octave poems: meaning and history
Octave - A poem or stanza that consists of eight lines.
An octave is a popular form of poem or stanza. The form was first popularised in medieval Italy, where poets such as Francesco Petrarch and Giovanni Boccaccio used it to construct parts of their poems. This traditional use of the octave in Italian texts was later brought to England by the poet Sir Thomas Wyatt, whose poems such as 'Whoso List to Hunt, I Know Where is an Hind' (the 1530s-1540s) popularised the stanzaic form.
Whoso list to hunt, I know where is an hind,
But as for me, hélas, I may no more.
The vain travail hath wearied me so sore,
I am of them that farthest cometh behind.
Yet may I by no means my wearied mind
Draw from the deer, but as she fleeth afore
Fainting I follow. I leave off therefore,
Sithens in a net I seek to hold the wind.
Romanticism
Romanticism was a literary, artistic and intellectual movement that peaked in the UK (and Europe) from 1800 to 1850. The Romantic movement aimed to use art to provoke emotional responses, as well as relay the importance of nature and the individual.
These poets and authors broke away from the previous Enlightenment movement, and in doing so, used forms of poetry that had been popular during the medieval period in England and Italy.
Romantic poets such as John Keats and Percy Bysshe Shelley began to use the Italian forms of poetry such as ottava rima and the Petrarchan sonnet, which had previously been popularised by Wyatt.
Ottava Rima - A type of Italian octave where each line consists of ten or eleven syllables.
As the octave is used in both these forms, it became an important feature in many Romantic poems. This is notably seen in the work of Lord Byron, who frequently used octaves in his poetry, such as 'Beppo' (1817).
With all its sinful doings, I must say,
That Italy's a pleasant place to me,
Who love to see the Sun shine every day,
And vines (not nail'd to walls) from tree to tree
Festoon'd, much like the back Scene of a play,
Or Melodrame, which people flock to see
When the first act is ended by a dance
In Vineyards copied from the South of France
In the 20th and 21st centuries, octaves continued to be a popular form of stanza due to their historical importance to the sonnet. During this period, poets began to experiment with the traditional form of the sonnet. However, the octave was frequently still retained in these poems. This is seen in Seamus Heaney's poem, 'The Forge' (2013).
All I know is a door into the dark.
Outside, old axles and iron hoops rusting;
Inside, the hammered anvil’s short-pitched ring,
The unpredictable fantail of sparks
Or hiss when a new shoe toughens in water.
The anvil must be somewhere in the centre,
Horned as a unicorn, at one end and square,
Set there immoveable: an altar
Octave: structure and common features
Octaves can be found in any poem that contains an eight-line stanza. Due to this fact, there is no set trait that can be found in all octaves. However, there are some common features that are frequently found in the form.
Number of Lines
The most important trait of an octave is that it contains eight lines – any more or any less and it can not be considered an octave. Sometimes within a poem, it can be hard to spot an octave when there is no clear break between the stanzas.
When this is the case it is important to remember to look at two features of the stanza. These features are meter and rhyme scheme. Meter refers to the syllable pattern of the poem while rhyme scheme refers to the poem's rhyming pattern. They are integral to the structure of an octave.
Meter
The meter will also stay consistent in the octave. One of the most common meters used when constructing an octave is the iambic pentameter.
Iambic Pentameter - A line of verse containing five metrical feet, with each foot consisting of one unstressed syllable and one stressed syllable.
Octaves written in iambic pentameter were first observed in Petrarchan sonnets, and this has continued through the centuries. An example of an octave written in iambic pentameter can be found in the first stanza of the poem 'Death Be Not Proud' (1633) by John Donne.
Death, be not proud, though some have called thee
Mighty and dreadful, for thou art not so;
For those whom thou think'st thou dost overthrow
Die not, poor Death, nor yet canst thou kill me.
From rest and sleep, which but thy pictures be,
Much pleasure; then from thee much more must flow,
And soonest our best men with thee do go,
Rest of their bones, and soul's delivery.
Rhyme Scheme
The final way to spot an octave in a poem is to look at the rhyme scheme. Often an octave will follow its own rhyme scheme in the poem, which makes it easily identifiable. An octave found in a Petrarchan sonnet will follow an ABBAABBA rhyme scheme, while an octave in an ottava rima will follow an ABABABCC rhyme scheme. In ottava rima, an octave will end with a rhyming couplet, this is seen in poems such as 'Among School Children' (1926) by W.B Yeats.
Labour is blossoming or dancing where
The body is not bruised to pleasure soul,
Nor beauty born out of its own despair,
Nor blear-eyed wisdom out of midnight oil.
O chestnut tree, great rooted blossomer,
Are you the leaf, the blossom or the bole?
O body swayed to music, O brightening glance,
How can we know the dancer from the dance?
Octave: key types and famous poetry examples
Italian Octave
Italian Octave - This type of octave is found in the first stanza of a Petrarchan (or Italian) sonnet.
The Italian octave (or Petrarchan octave) is one of the most popular and well-known forms of the octave. This type of octave can be found in the first stanza of the Petrarchan sonnet. The Petrarchan sonnet was created by the Italian poet, Francesco Petrarch and is comprised of one octave followed by one sestet (a six-line stanza). Here, the octave will be divided into two halves, forming two quatrains (sets of four lines). Within the octave, these quatrains will follow an ABBA rhyme scheme and will also be written in iambic pentameter.
An example of an Italian octave is the first stanza of Elizabeth Barrett Browning's poem, 'How Do I Love Thee? (Sonnet 43) (1850).
How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.I love thee to the depth and breadth and heightMy soul can reach, when feeling out of sightFor the ends of being and ideal grace.I love thee to the level of every day’sMost quiet need, by sun and candle-light.I love thee freely, as men strive for right.I love thee purely, as they turn from praise.
Sometimes the final line of the Italian octave will contain a volta.
Volta - This is a 'turn' in thought or emotion present thus far in the poem. In the Petrarchan sonnet, the volta is typically found between the octave and the sestet. Typically, a thought or emotion will be described during the octave and then following the volta (or change), the sestet will respond to the previous stanza
Ottava rima is a form of octave that was created by the Italian poet Giovanni Boccaccio. Octaves written in ottava rima must consist of eight lines with 10 or 11 syllables. This style was first used in England by Sir Thomas Wyatt, before gaining popularity during the Romanticism movement. When ottava rima is written in English, each stanza will consist of eight lines, written in the iambic pentameter. These octaves will use the rhyme scheme ABABABCC, the final rhyme here will be a perfect rhyming couplet.
An example of ottava rima is John Keats' poem 'Isabella: or the Pot of Basil' (1820)
Fair Isabel, poor simple Isabel!Lorenzo, a young palmer in Love's eye!They could not in the self-same mansion dwellWithout some stir of heart, some malady;They could not sit at meals but feel how wellIt soothed each to be the other by;They could not, sure, beneath the same roof sleepBut to each other dream, and nightly weep.
Did You Know? Petrarch and Boccaccio were contemporaries and kept a correspondence together!
Octave: effect
Octaves have been popular for centuries because they are an effective way to present an idea in poetry. Octaves are able to present a self-contained idea or theme in one section of the poem. They are also effective when used in Petrarchan sonnets as they are able to present a dilemma that will be resolved in the following sestet. The meter and rhyme scheme of the octave can also make the poem easy to remember and more lyrical.
Octave - Key takeaways
- An octave is a unit of poetry that contains eight lines.
- Octaves can form an entire poem, or exist as stanzas in a poem.
- There is no set rhyme scheme or meter for an octave.
- An octave will be the first stanza in a Petrarchan sonnet.
- Ottava rima is an octave where each line is 10 or 11 syllables long.
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