The sonnet, a fourteen-line poetic form that originated in medieval Italy, made its way over to England through the very popular poems of Petrarch, an Italian poet, and Ronsard, a French one.
These European sonnets followed a rhyme scheme referred to now as the Petrarchan or Italian sonnet. However, once it got to England in the sixteenth century, British poets started to shake things up a bit. The so-called English sonnet is divided into three quatrains stanzas of four lines each , which in turn each have two rhymes. In our example, "minds" and "finds" are the "a" rhyme in stanza 1, and "love" and "remove" are the "b" rhyme; in stanza 2, "mark" and "bark" are "c," while "shaken" and "taken" are "d," et cetera.
Finally, the last two lines 13 and 14 are grouped together as a couplet, and rhyme with each other — if they were added on to the scheme we wrote out above, they would be G-G "proved" and "loved" in Sonnet Shakespeare wrote so many sonnets of this form that we now commonly call it the Shakespearean sonnet.
Is there just one sonnet form? Did Shakespeare invent it? Read on to learn about the history of the sonnet and the various qualities that make up a sonnet poem, including the traditional sonnet rhyme scheme and meter.
We'll also go over all the major types of sonnets, give you examples, and offer a handful of tips for writing your very own sonnet poem. In addition, sonnets have something called a volta twist or turn , in which the rhyme scheme and the subject of the poem suddenly change, often to indicate a response to a question, a solution to a problem, or the resolving of some sort of tension established at the beginning of the poem. This turn normally happens closer to the end of the sonnet, though precisely when it appears varies depending on the particular sonnet form.
Originating in Italy, the sonnet comes from the Italian word sonetto , meaning "little song" or "little sound. Called the Petrarchan or Italian sonnet, this sonnet structure consists of first an octave eight lines of verse in iambic pentameter and then a sestet six lines.
The rhyme scheme is abba abba ; the rhyme scheme in the sestet can vary a little but is typically cde cde or cdc dcd. But it is perhaps famed 16th-century English poet and playwright William Shakespeare who came up with the most well-known and easily recognizable sonnet form.
In the Shakespearean or English sonnet, each line is 10 syllables long written in iambic pentameter.
The structure can be divided into three quatrains four-line stanzas plus a final rhyming couplet two-line stanza. The Shakespearean sonnet rhyme scheme is abab cdcd efef gg. In terms of themes, these days sonnets are most often associated with themes of love and romance, though topics such as death, time, and faith are not uncommon.
As I explained above, the two main types of sonnets are the Petrarchan or Italian sonnet and the Shakespearean or English sonnet. Portrait of Francesco Petrarch. The Petrarchan sonnet is the original sonnet structure developed by Italian poet Francesco Petrarch. To reiterate, here are the main characteristics of this sonnet form:. The following poem was written by famed 19th-century English poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning.
In this highly romantic Petrarchan sonnet, the speaker is enumerating the many ways she loves someone. Title page for Shakespeare's sonnet collection, first published in The Shakespearean sonnet is arguably the most famous sonnet form and was developed by William Shakespeare , who wrote more than sonnets using this structure.
This eloquently written poem perhaps best encapsulates the Shakespearean sonnet form. Here, Shakespeare compares the transient beauty of a young man to a tranquil, warm summer day.
While the Petrarchan and Shakespearean sonnet forms are indisputably the most famous and most popular kinds of sonnets, several other sonnet structure types do exist. Portrait of Edmund Spenser. The Spenserian sonnet is a sonnet form named for 16th-century English poet Edmund Spenser , who introduced this structure in his collection of sonnets titled Amoretti. The Spenserian sonnet is extremely similar to the Shakespearean sonnet.
The main difference is the rhyme scheme: whereas the Shakespearean rhyme scheme introduces a new rhyme in each quatrain, the Spenserian sonnet carries over the latter rhyme from the previous quatrain in a chain rhyme: abab bcbc cdcd ee. Like both the Petrarchan and Shakespearean sonnets, Spenserian sonnets are normally written in iambic pentameter. Here is an example of a Spenserian sonnet, written by Edmund Spenser himself. Portrait of a young John Milton.
The Miltonic sonnet was named for 17th-century English poet John Milton , who is best known for his epic poem Paradise Lost. While this sonnet form is mostly the same as that of the Petrarchan sonnet it uses the Petrarchan rhyme scheme of abba abba cde cde , Miltonic sonnets use enjambment to offer a more compact, interconnected presentation of the thoughts being expressed.
Enjambment is when a sentence, thought, or phrase continues beyond a line in poetry without pause. It is in the rhyme structure that many sonnets vary. The Petrarchan sonnet, also called the Italian sonnet, is named after the Italian poet Francesco Petrarca who popularized the form in the 14th century. This sonnet begins with an eight-line octave following a rhyme scheme of abbaabba. The final six lines, or sestet, may fluctuate in their pattern, but generally follow a rhyme of cdecde , cdcdcd , or cddcdd.
The Shakespearean sonnet, or English sonnet, consists of three quatrains and a couplet. This structure creates a rhyme scheme of abab cdcd efef gg.
Each four-line quatrain is unified in its topic. Although the turn called a volta in the Shakespearean sonnet often occurs in the ninth line, it can also be reserved for the final couplet. This couplet acts as a surprising resolution to the problem expressed throughout the sonnet. Many modern sonnet writers invent their own forms and vary the rhyme schemes freely. Some reject rhyme altogether and write in blank verse. However they may vary their structure, all sonnet writers practice true economy of language.
Limited to just 14 lines, they must rely on deliberate diction and frequent use of figurative language, including extended metaphors and symbolism. Given their intricate structures and density of meaning, sonnets are complex poems and require careful attention from their readers.
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