Craft: Volta

Babel, Donne, Keats, Glück, Dugan

Isaac Babel:

A phrase is born into the world both good and bad at the same time. The secret lies in a barely discernable twist. The lever should rest in your hand, getting warm. You must turn it once, but not twice.

The volta, Italian for “turn,” is the pivot or transition point between an octave and sestet in a sonnet. It creates a decisive turning of th…