Volta

Also called Turn

The point where a poem turns — changes direction, mood or argument.

What it is

A volta is a shift in a poem: the argument changes, the mood inverts, the speaker realises something. In a Petrarchan sonnet it traditionally falls at line 9; in a Shakespearean sonnet, often at the closing couplet. In free verse it falls wherever the poet puts it.

Where it applies

Poetry questions, and it is one of the most reliable things to look for in an unseen poem.

How it works

It gives a poem a two-part shape: a problem then a response, an assumption then a correction, a scene then its meaning.

The signal is often a small word — "but", "yet", "and yet", "still" — or a change of tense or pronoun.

How to use it in your work

Finding the volta is the fastest route into an unseen poem. Read it twice, find where it turns, and you have the structure of your answer: what it was doing before, what it does after, and why the turn matters.

Say what changes across it, not just that it happens.

Where to get help

Your teacher, and the unseen poetry song.