Structure
Sestet
From Italian sestetto: a group of six. In the Petrarchan sonnet, the sestet (CDECDE or CDCDCD) responds to the octave's proposition. Also a complete six-line stanza in other forms.
Definition
A six-line stanza or the concluding six lines of a Petrarchan sonnet, often providing resolution or complication.
Example
The sestet of Milton's sonnet 'When I Consider How My Light Is Spent' offers divine consolation: 'They also serve who only stand and wait.'