A Wreath of Sonnets nation again. Besides the complex and sophisticated content, "A Wreath of Sonnets" has an interesting format, too: the last line of one sonnet becomes the first line of the next one, making all fourteen sonnets of the circle an intertwining "garland" of lyric poetry; one sonnet cannot exist without the other. The first lines of all the single fourteen sonnets form in turn another sonnet, called the "Master Theme" or the "Magistrale". In the Slovene original, the first letters of every verse form the words "Primicovi Julji", meaning "to Julija Primic". The poem was recognized as a masterpiece by Matija
Octave (poetry) Octave (poetry) An octave is a verse form consisting of eight lines of iambic pentameter (in English) or of hendecasyllables (in Italian). The most common rhyme scheme for an octave is "abba abba". An octave is the first part of a Petrarchan sonnet, which ends with a contrasting sestet. In traditional Italian sonnets the octave always ends with a conclusion of one idea, giving way to another idea in the sestet. Some English sonnets break that rule, often to striking effect. In Milton's Sonnet 16, the sestet begins early, halfway through the last line of the octave: Patience's too-quick reply