6 Must-Read Septet Poems

The septet, a poetic form consisting of seven lines, offers a versatile structure for poets to express their ideas and emotions. While there’s no strict meter or rhyme scheme universally applied to all septets, several patterns are commonly observed. For instance, one popular rhyme scheme is ABABBCC, known as the rhyme royal when used in septets, though this scheme is more traditionally associated with longer forms.

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The cold earth slept below

by Percy Bysshe Shelley

Shelley’s ‘The cold earth slept below’ paints a freezing winter night where the speaker discovers his beloved’s cold body.

This poem adopts the septet form, consisting of four seven-line stanzas. This structure allows Shelley to build a rhythmic and cohesive narrative. The septet form, with its consistent pattern, enhances the poem's melancholic and reflective tone, providing a steady flow that mirrors the relentless, cold progression of the winter landscape and the inevitability of death.

The cold earth slept below;

Above the cold sky shone;

And all around,

With a chilling sound,

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My Arkansas

by Maya Angelou

‘My Arkansas’ by Maya Angelou unveils a state’s history with vivid imagery, exploring resilience and transformation amid historical burdens.

The poem ‘My Arkansas’ adopts the septet form, that is, seven lines per stanza. This structure provides a sense of balance and rhythm, enhancing the poem's readability and flow. The consistent use of seven lines in each stanza allows for a cohesive presentation of the poem's themes and imagery, contributing to its overall impact and resonance.

There is a deep brooding

In Arkansas.

Old crimes like moss pend

From poplar trees.

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The Sea and the Hills

by Rudyard Kipling

‘The Sea and the Hills’ by Rudyard Kipling depicts the ocean, its heaving waves, incredible winds, and ever-present danger. It has evoked longing in men throughout time and will continue to do so, just as one longs to return home.

'The Sea and the Hills' is written in septets. This means each stanza has seven lines. The poem has four stanzas, each exploring different aspects of the sea. Kipling uses this form to create a rhythmic and detailed description. The septet structure helps build clear picture of the ocean's power and beauty.

Who hath desired the Sea? - the sight of salt water unbounded -

The heave and the halt and the hurl and the crash of the comber wind-hounded?

The sleek-barrelled swell before storm, grey, foamless, enormous, and growing

Stark calm on the lap of the Line or the crazy-eyed hurricane blowing -

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Loving Someone You Can't Have

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Love’s Exchange

by John Donne

‘Love’s Exchange’ by John Donne explores the anguish of unreciprocated love, portraying intense emotional suffering.

Donne's 'Love's Exchange' is considered a septet because each stanza consists of seven lines. This seven-line stanza structure is relatively uncommon in English poetry. However, it adds a unique rhythmic and visual element to the poem. The consistent use of septets throughout the poem contributes to its formal structure and enhances the lyrical quality, allowing Donne to explore complex emotions and themes within a tightly controlled framework.

Love, any devil else but you

Would for a given soul give something too.

At court your fellows every day

Give th’ art of rhyming, huntsmanship, or play

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The Runaway Slave At Pilgrim’s Point

by Elizabeth Barrett Browning

In the shadow of Pilgrim’s Point, a runaway slave confronts oppression, but shows resilience and defiance amidst despair and hope.

This poem is composed of 35 septets, all following a consistent rhyme scheme. The regularity of this form symbolises the confinement and lack of agency suffered by the speaker and other enslaved people. There is only one stanza in this poem which is not a septet: the final, thirty-sixth stanza, which is an octet. This slight change symbolises the slow move towards progressive ideals which will free the speaker from her enslavement.

I stand on the mark beside the shore

Of the first white pilgrim's bended knee,

Where exile turned to ancestor,

And God was thanked for liberty.

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Kinsale

by Derek Mahon

‘Kinsale’ is a short but powerful poetic rendering of the titular port twon which explores themes of hope and optimism.

The Septet form for this poem contains Mahon's meditation on change within a single seven-line stanza, where the ABBCBAC rhyme scheme creates both forward momentum and circular return. This pattern allows the poem to pivot from past to present while the form's brevity ensures each word carries significant weight.

The kind of rain we knew is a thing of the past -

deep-delving, dark, deliberate you would say,

browsing on spire and bogland; but today

our sky-slue slates are steaming in the sun,

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6 Must-Read Septet Poems

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6 Must-Read Septet Poems

The cold earth slept below

by Percy Bysshe Shelley

My Arkansas

by Maya Angelou

The Sea and the Hills

by Rudyard Kipling

Love’s Exchange

by John Donne

The Runaway Slave At Pilgrim’s Point

by Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Kinsale

by Derek Mahon

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