Definition of Octave
In literature, an octave is referred to the eight line stanza of the poem. It is found in various poetic forms including the Italian sonnets. The word ‘octave’ has it roots from the Latin word ‘octavus’ which simply means ‘eight’.
In the context of the sonnet, an octave usually refers to the first eight lines in which the poet establishes a theme or raises a concern, a context, or describes a state that is then followed by six lines, called the sestet. An octave is a stanza of eight lines and can be of different structures; however, in a Petrarchan sonnet, the structure of the octave shall be ABBAABBA.
Function of Octave
Octave is one of the salient structural features of the poetry.
It’s main purpose is to develop the theme, idea, or problem that will be illustrated in the following parts of the poem.
In relation to the sonnet, the octave builds up the conflict whose resolution or negation is given by the sestet.
This structural division allows a clear and compelling progression of thought. In this way, the issues regarding ideas and emotions can be explored in an efficient and logical sequence, which is very beneficial to the poets.
Moreover, the octave has a unique form and rhythmic pattern, which creates a pleasing musical effect and enhances the work’s overall rhythm.
Examples of Octave in Literature
1- “Sonnet 18” by William Shakespeare
Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate:
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer’s lease hath all too short a date:
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is his gold complexion dimmed;
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance or nature’s changing course untrimmed;
In this excerpt, the use of an octave (the first eight lines of the sonnet) is deployed to present the main theme of the poem. The octave starts with the famous question, “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?”.
The writer proceeds to compare the beloved with a summer’s day, as she is far more beautiful and faithful.
By making comparison to the rough winds, the fleeting nature of summer and unreliable sun, the octave introduces the propositions as to the steadiness of the beloved lady. This structure introduces the poetic statement with which the poet intends to build on in the concluding sestet.
2- “On His Blindness” by John Milton
When I consider how my light is spent,
Ere half my days, in this dark world and wide,
And that one talent which is death to hide
Lodged with me useless, though my soul more bent
To serve therewith my Maker, and present
My true account, lest he returning chide;
“Doth God exact day-labour, light denied?”
I fondly ask; but Patience, to prevent
Here, the octave sets up the contemplation and conflict of the speaker. The octave of the poem focuses on the blindness of the speaker (“how my light is spent”) and the issue of stagnation in relation to the male speaker’s desire to serve God.
The expressive question “Doth God exact day-labour, light denied?” extends the agony and doubt of the speaker. The octave prepares for the resolution and the succeeding sestet, in which the speaker treats the subject that is troubling him through the character Patience.
3- “Sonnets from the Portuguese 43” by Elizabeth Barrett Browning
How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of Being and ideal Grace.
I love thee to the level of every day’s
Most 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.
The application of octave, the first eight lines of the poem, brings out the theme of love in a passionate manner. Starting from the well-known line of Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s poem “How do I love thee?
Let me count the ways”, the octave goes on and explains the dimensions and depth of the speaker’s love. In the octave, the theme of boundless and pure love is established by stating the various ways and to what extent she loves from the depth and breadth of her soul, the essential needs of a human being, up to the lowest.
This structure lays the emotional foundation of the poem, that will be developed within the sestet that concludes the poem.
4- “London, 1802” by William Wordsworth
Milton! thou shouldst be living at this hour:
England hath need of thee: she is a fen
Of stagnant waters: altar, sword, and pen,
Fireside, the heroic wealth of hall and bower,
Have forfeited their ancient English dower
Of inward happiness. We are selfish men;
Oh! raise us up, return to us again;
And give us manners, virtue, freedom, power.
In the sonnet, the octave of Wordsworth urges the poet John Milton to come back and revive the virtues of the English people.
The poet laments the decay of the moral and spiritual environment of the country and the octave describes the bad characteristics of the modern society. This creates a foundation that precedes the development of the sestet, in order to analyze the chosen theme in depth.
5- “On First Looking into Chapman’s Homer” by John Keats
Much have I traveled in the realms of gold,
And many goodly states and kingdoms seen;
Round many western islands have I been
Which bards in fealty to Apollo hold.
Oft of one wide expanse had I been told
That deep-browed Homer ruled as his demesne;
Yet did I never breathe its pure serene
Till I heard Chapman speak out loud and bold:
This octave outlines the extensive reading experience that Keats has encountered, as well as the marvels that he has accessed through books.
However, he finally awakens deep appreciation of the grandeur of Homer only when he has to read the Homeric work in translation, rendered by Chapman.
Thus, the octave contrasts the previously possessed knowledge of Keats with the newly gained vision that results in the expression of admiration in the sestet.
6- “The New Colossus” by Emma Lazarus
Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
The poet by using the octave juxtaposes the statue for the New World with the Colossus of Rhodes. In the poem, the statue symbolizes a beacon of hope for the immigrants, thus creating a strong imagery of America as the country of opportunities.
The first stanza creates the tone for the artwork demonstrating the motif of hospitality and acceptance of the stranger.
Literary Devices Related to Octave
1- Volta
A volta, which literally means ‘turn’, in basically involves a shift in a rhetoric or a dramatic change in thought and feeling. In sonnets, the volta usually occurs at the ninth line which divides the sonnet into two parts; the octave and the sestet.
This change is also crucial for building the theme of the poem and for progressing from the analysis of the problem or the situation stated in the octave to the conclusion or the contemplation of the situation in the sestet.
Example:
In “Sonnet 18” by William Shakespeare, the Volta comes at the beginning of the sestet: “But thy eternal summer shall not fade.”
This marks a change from contemplating the transient beauty of a summer’s day to celebrating the enduring beauty of the beloved.
2- Rhyme Scheme
The rhyme scheme can be defined as the systematic arrangement of rhymes on the ending lines of a poetry.
In relation to the octave, the use of rhyme scheme contributes to the creation of the musical and architectural properties of the poem.
Octave of the Petrarchan sonnet typically follows an ABBAABBA pattern that gives the poem a harmonized view as compared to the structure of the sestet.
See also: Literary Devices That Start With O
