Forms and Formats
Sestina, Epigrams, Limericks, Clerihews
Sestina: The sestina comes from a French form of the 12th century. It is usually unrhymed due in large part to its complex format. The sestina also does not have a set line length (therefore no set meter). A sestina consists of 39 lines. Six lines in each of 6 stanzas and a three-line (tercet) stanza known as the envoi.
The difficulty of a sestina comes from its very purpose- the recognition of six factors and their interplay. The last word of each line of the first stanza will be the last word of each line of stanzas two through six, and all six of those words must in the envoi. One of the words will be in the middle and one at the end of each line of the envoi. I think a picture would help here.
Daniel Nester made the drawing (nestersteaching1.blogspot.com)
The pattern of a sestina is 123456, 615243, 364125, 532614, 451362, 246531. A simple way to conceive the pattern is to know the word order formula. The outer pair 1 and 6 become the first two lines of the next stanza in reverse order—6 1. 5 2 switch places and become the next pair of lines; similarly for the 3 4 pair. Every stanza will continue this pairing and switching. Ultimately, every one of the original six line ending words will appear as the ending of every line. The three line (tercet) uses the words two to a line. The usual pattern is 2 5, 4 3, 6 1.
Sestinas can, in the hands of skilled poets, be used to reinforce a set of concepts and the interplay of those concepts. Sestinas can also sound contrived and forced. The difference between those two poles is where the challenge and fun lie.
A. C. Swinburne, Rudyard Kipling, Ezra Pound, W. H. Auden, John Ashbery and Elizabeth Bishop have all written good quality sestinas, but some of these sestinas do not show the poet’s highest abilities. I have included two sestinas (Pound and Kipling) read them for enjoyment and then reread to get the feel of a sestina. 
Epigram Limerick Cherihew
Now let us change the tone, mood, and complexity radically. We will look at the Epigram and the Limerick (with a Clerihew for fun).
Epigram:
Sestina Assignment: Our discussion here will be a comparison between the two examples for tone and mood, and which poem you feel is the best tone for the sestina form. Include the why behind your response. Remember that the poet is not the narrator. The poet is, like the author, using the poem to highlight a point of view--not necessarily his point of view. Read also the sestina in your text entitled, “All-American Sestina.”(pg 787) Decide what is the message behind that sestina.
Limerick, Epigram, Clerihew Assignment: To demonstrate your understanding of any of theses formats, write a original poem in that format. For this assignment knowing the form/format is the key great poetry skill is not. When you write be sure to tell us which format you are using and why it is appropriate for your subject. Witty barbs do not generally fit the Clerihew format, etc.