Introduction

In poetry an octave can be any poetry stanza consisting of eight lines, and generically speaking, it can be any meter, rhymed, or un-rhymed, and any line length.
Most people consider octave poetry forms to be solely associated with the sonnet form, when nothing could be further from the truth. It is arguable which came first the octave or the sonnet. What is known is that sonnets and poems using the octave form appeared in Italy around the same time, and although there are an extremely large number of sonnets around, there are also a large number of poems that have used an octave stanza of one kind or another.
Canzonetta Each stanza, a, b, a, b, c, d, c, D.
or, Prime a, b, a, b, c, b, c, B.
last line repeats any meter
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Cavatina 3 x Alternating lines 10 syllables no rhyme with 4 syllables rhyming or repeat
then 2 x 10 syllable lines rhyming
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Common Octave a. b. c. b. a. b. c. b.
a. c. Iambic Tetrameter.
b, Iambic Trimeter
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Hymnal Octave a. b. c. b. a. b. c. b.
a. Iambic Tetrameter.
b, Iambic Trimeter
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Huitain a. b. a. b. b. c. b. c., or
a. b. a. b. a. c. a. c.
eight or ten syllable form
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Italian Octave a. b. b. a. a. b. b. a.

no set form, later Iambic.
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Sicilian Octave a. b. a. b. a. b. a. b.

no set form, later Iambic.
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Ottava Rima a. b. a. b. a. b. c. c.

no set form, later Iambic.
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Strambotto Toscano a. b. a. b. a. b. c. c.

hendecasyllable lines (11 syllables)
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Strambotto Siciliano a. b. a. b. a. b. a. b.

hendecasyllable lines (11 syllables)
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Strambotto Romagnuolo a. b. a. b. c. c. d. d.

hendecasyllable lines (11 syllables)
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