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Dialogic sestina

Form
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

A sestina structured as an alternating dialogue between two distinct voices, using the form’s repetitive end-words to enact conversational tension or harmony.

Detailed Definition
A Dialogic sestina incorporates multiple speaking voices within the strict rotational pattern of end-words characteristic of the sestina; rather than a single speaker, different voices claim lines or stanzas, turning the form’s repetition into a site of debate, memory, or fractured identity, enhancing thematic complexity through structural constraint.
Example
Example in poetry:
In Elizabeth Bishop and Robert Lowell’s exchanged sestinas, form becomes dialogic through mutual constraint; In Bernadette Mayer and Anne Waldman’s collaborative sestinas, feminist themes emerge through dialogic structure; In contemporary poetry, Tyehimba Jess’ “Olio” uses dialogic sestina to stage historical Black performers; In Terrance Hayes’ “Golden Shovel,” the sestina-like constraint creates dialogic tension with Gwendolyn Brooks; In Layli Long Soldier’s “Whereas,” official and personal voices form dialogic sestina of refusal.
Additional Notes
Sestina incorporating dialogue between speakers while maintaining complex end-word repetition pattern. Technically challenging variation combining dramatic and formal demands. Compare with standard sestina.
Also Known As
Conversational sestina Speaking six-stanza Interactive thirty-nine-liner Two-voice spiral
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