ottava rima

American  

[oh-tah-vuh ree-muh] / oʊˈtɑ və ˈri mə /

noun

ottava rimas plural

1. an Italian stanza of eight lines, each of eleven syllables (or, in the English adaptation, of ten or eleven syllables), the first six lines rhyming alternately and the last two forming a couplet with a different rhyme: used in Keats' Isabella and Byron's Don Juan.

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ottava rima British  

/ ˈriːmə /

noun

1. prosody a stanza form consisting of eight iambic pentameter lines, rhyming a b a b a b c c

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• ottava rimas
  plural

Etymology

Origin of ottava rima

1810–20; < Italian: octave rhyme

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

ottava rima

Although an occasional narrative experiment might disrupt the format, what makes “Law & Order” special is precisely the fact that it has one, like a sonnet, a sestina, or an ottava rima.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 24, 2022

He bows gracefully to ottava rima, the sonnet and ballad.

From Time Magazine Archive

Anster Fair, a mock-heroic poem, in ottava rima, full of fancy and humour, which at once brought him reputation.

From A Short Biographical Dictionary of English Literature by Cousin, John W. (John William)

At least one poem included by Boccaccio in his Ameto is a strict eclogue, composed throughout in terza rima, which was destined to become the standard verse-form for 'pastoral,' as ottava rima for 'rustic,' composition.

From Pastoral Poetry and Pastoral Drama A Literary Inquiry, with Special Reference to the Pre-Restoration Stage in England by Greg, Walter W.

Dobson,  A., ballades of, 367; Dance of Death, 368; on French lyrical forms, 358f.; on ottava rima, 101; on Pope, 203; Rose Leaves, 381f.*;

From English Verse Specimens Illustrating its Principles and History by Alden, Raymond MacDonald