A long subsection of an epic or long narrative poem, such as Dante Alighieri’s Commedia (The Divine Comedy), first employed in English by Edmund Spenser in The Faerie Queene. Other examples include Lo [..]

a major division of a long poem Folengo’s next production was the Orlandino, an Italian poem of eight cantos, written in rhymed octaves. — Various

1580s, from Italian canto "song," from Latin cantus "song" (see chant (v.)). As "a section of a long poem," used in Italian by Dante, in English first by Spenser.

A sub-division of an epic or narrative poem comparable to a chapter in a novel. Examples include the divisions in Dante's Divine Comedy, Lord Byron's Childe Harold, or Spenser's Faerie [..]

(revision in progress) Card catalog:

n. One of the divisions of an extended poem.

Each one of the sections or chapters in a poetic epic like Dante's Divine Comedy. The word "canto" literally means "song"

to sing

A major subdivision of a long narrative or epic poem serving the same function as a chapter in a novel. Cantos are traditionally numbered in roman numerals. Examples of works divided in this way are D [..]

(n) the highest part (usually the melody) in a piece of choral music(n) a major division of a long poem

V sing; play (roles/music); recite; praise| celebrate; forewarn; enchant| bewitch

song, melody

One of the chief divisions of a long poem; a book.

Can you imagine reading 1,248 pages? Yeah, we didn't think so. But how about 80-ish cantos? You may not even know what a canto is, but we bet that sounds more appealing. Kind of like a novel has [..]