Octave
An octave is an eight-line stanza. It can stand alone as a complete stanza or serve as the opening eight lines of a sonnet, especially in the Italian or Petrarchan tradition, where it usually presents a situation, question, or problem before the closing sestet.
Example
The rain kept tapping on the windowpane,
The kettle whispered softly on the stove,
The empty chair held traces of your rain
Like morning light that falls through hidden cove.
I walked the room, then paused beside the lamp,
Its circle of warm gold upon the floor,
And watched the shadows gather by the ramp
Of evening, while the storm went on outdoors.
Related Definitions
[n] a rhythmic group of eight lines of verse
[n] a musical interval of eight tones
[n] a feast day and the seven days following it
Links
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- How many syllables are in Octave.
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Related Terms
antistrophe, bassoon, block flute, bombard, book, bourdon, burden, canto, cello, chorus, claribel, clarinet, clarion, concert flute, consecutive intervals, contraoctave, cornet, cornopean, couplet, cromorna, cymbel, degree, diapason, diatessaron, diatonic