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Difficulty: Very hardPoetic Forms and Structures

Read the stanza below:

"The golden sun ascends the eastern height,
And casts its brilliant beam across the sea,
Dispelling all the shadows of the night,
To set the sleeping earth in wonder free;
Arrayed in glorious robes of dazzling light,
It promises what destiny shall be,
Yet human hearts still ponder in their dread,
The quiet path where silent spirits tread."

Which structural poetic stanza form is demonstrated in the excerpt above?

  1. Ottava rimaAnswer
  2. B
    Petrarchan octave
  3. C
    Rhyme royal
  4. D
    Spenserian stanza

Answer

Ottava rima
The excerpt consists of eight lines written in iambic pentameter with an abababcc end-rhyme scheme (height/night/light [a], sea/free/be [b], dread/tread [c]). This structural arrangement uniquely defines ottava rima.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Count the total number of lines in the poetic stanza.
The stanza contains exactly 8 lines.
Establishing line length narrows down candidate fixed stanza structures.
2
Map the end-rhyme pattern line by line.
Line 1 (height: a), Line 2 (sea: b), Line 3 (night: a), Line 4 (free: b), Line 5 (light: a), Line 6 (be: b), Line 7 (dread: c), Line 8 (tread: c). The scheme is abababcc.
Rhyme scheme identification distinguishes between different eight-line and fixed poetic structures.
3
Analyze the meter of each line.
Each line follows a 10-syllable iambic pentameter rhythm.
Combining line count (8 lines), iambic pentameter meter, and the abababcc rhyme scheme definitively identifies ottava rima.

Key Concept

Ottava Rima Stanzaic Form
Estimated Time:1m 30s
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Topics

Poetic Forms and Structures

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