Basic Sonnet Forms Basic Sonnet Forms Return to Sonnet Central home . A sonnet is fundamentally a dialectical construct which allows the poet to examine the nature and ramifications of two usually contrastive ideas,emotions, states of mind, beliefs, actions, events, images, etc., byjuxtaposing the two against each other, and possibly resolving or justrevealing the tensions created and operative between the two. O. K., so much for the fancy language. Basically, in a sonnet, youshow two related but differing things to the reader in order to communicatesomething about them. Each of the three major types of sonnets accomplishesthis in a somewhat different way. There are, of course, other types of sonnets,as well, but I'll stick for now to just the basic three (Italian, Spenserian, English), with a brief look at some non-standard sonnets. I. The Italian (or Petrarchan) Sonnet: The basic meter of all sonnets in English is iambic pentameter ( basic information on iambic pentameter),although there have been a few tetrameter and even hexametersonnets, as well.

The Italian sonnet is divided into two sections by two differentgroups of rhyming sounds. The first 8 lines is called the octaveand rhymes: a b b a a b b a The remaining 6 lines is called the sestet and can haveeither two or three rhyming sounds, arranged in a variety ofways: c d c d c d c d d c d c c d e c d e c d e c e d c d c e d c The exact pattern of sestet rhymes (unlike the octave pattern)is flexible. In strict practice, the one thing that is to be avoidedin the sestet is ending with a couplet (dd or ee), as this wasnever permitted in Italy, and Petrarch himself (supposedly) never used a couplet ending; in actual practice, sestets aresometimes ended with couplets (Sidney's "Sonnet LXXI givenbelow is an example of such a terminal couplet in an Italiansonnet). The point here is that the poem is divided into two sections bythe two differing rhyme groups.

In accordance with the principle(which supposedly applies to all rhymed poetry but oftendoesn't), a change from one rhyme group to another signifiesa change in subject matter. This change occurs at thebeginning of L9 in the Italian sonnet and is called the volta,or "turn"; the turn is an essential element of the sonnet form, perhaps the essential element. It is at the volta thatthe second idea is introduced, as in this sonnet by Wordsworth: "London, 1802" Milton! thou shouldst be living at this hour: England hath need of thee: she is a fen Of stagnant waters: altar, sword, and pen, Fireside, the heroic wealth of hall and bower, Have forfeited their ancient English dower Of inward happiness. We are selfish men; Oh! raise us up, return to us again; And give us manners, virtue, freedom, power. Thy soul was like a Star, and dwelt apart; Thou hadst a voice whose sound was like the sea: Pure as the naked heavens, majestic, free, So didst thou travel on life's common way, In cheerful godliness; and yet thy heart The lowliest duties on herself did lay.

Here, the octave develops the idea of the decline and corruption of the English race, while the sestet opposes to that loss the qualities Milton possessed which the race now desperately needs. A very skillful poet can manipulate the placement of the volta for dramatic effect, although this is difficult to do well. An extremeexample is this sonnet by Sir Philip Sidney, which delays the voltaall the way to L 14: "Sonnet LXXI" Who will in fairest book of Nature know How Virtue may best lodged in Beauty be, Let him but learn of Love to read in thee, Stella, those fair lines, which true goodness show. There shall he find all vices' overthrow, Not by rude force, but sweetest sovereignty Of reason, from whose light those night-birds fly; That inward sun in thine eyes shineth so. And not content to be Perfection's heir Thyself, dost strive all minds that way to move, Who mark in thee what is in thee most fair. So while thy beauty draws the heart to love, As fast thy Virtue bends that love to good.

"But, ah," Desire still cries, "give me some food." Here, in giving 13 lines to arguing why Reason makes clearto him that following Virtue is the course he should take, he seems to be heavily biassing the argument in Virtue'sfavor. But the volta powerfully undercuts the arguments of Reason in favor of Virtue by revealing that Desire isn't amenableto Reason. There are a number of variations which evolved over time to make iteasier to write Italian sonnets in English.

Most common is a changein the octave rhyming pattern from a b b a a b b a to a b b a a c c a,eliminating the need for two groups of 4 rhymes, something not alwayseasy to come up with in English which is a rhyme-poor language.Wordsworth uses that pattern in the following sonnet, along with aterminal couplet: "Scorn Not the Sonnet" Scorn not the Sonnet; Critic, you have frowned, Mindless of its just honours; with this key Shakespeare unlocked his heart; the melody Of this small lute gave ease to Petrarch's wound; A thousand times this pipe did Tasso sound; With it Camoens soothed an exile's grief; The Sonnet glittered a gay myrtle leaf Amid the cypress wtih which Dante crowned His visionary brow: a glow-worm lamp, It cheered mild Spenser, called from Faery-land To struggle through dark ways; and when a damp Fell round the path of Milton, in his hand The Thing became a trumpet; whence he blew Soul-animating strains--alas, too few!

Another variation on the Italian form is this one, byTennyson's older brother Charles Tennyson-Turner,who wrote 342 sonnets, many in variant forms.Here, Turner uses an a b b a c d c d e f f e f epattern, with the volta delayed until the middleof L9: "Missing the Meteors" A hint of rain--a touch of lazy doubt-- Sent me to bedward on that prime of nights, When the air met and burst the aerolites, Making the men stare and the children shout: Why did no beam from all that rout and rush Of darting meteors, pierce my drowsed head? Strike on the portals of my sleep? and flush My spirit through mine eyelids, in the stead Of that poor vapid dream? My soul was pained, My very soul, to have slept while others woke, While little children their delight outspoke, And in their eyes' small chambers entertained Far notions of the Kosmos! I mistook The purpose of that night--it had not rained. II.

The Spenserian Sonnet: The Spenserian sonnet, invented by Edmund Spenseras an outgrowth of the stanza pattern he used in TheFaerie Queene (a b a b b c b c c), has the pattern: a b a b b c b c c d c d e e Here, the "abab" pattern sets up distinct four-linegroups, each of which develops a specific idea;however, the overlapping a, b, c, and d rhymes form thefirst 12 lines into a single unit with a separated finalcouplet. The three quatrains then develop threedistinct but closely related ideas, with a differentidea (or commentary) in the couplet.

Interestingly,Spenser often begins L9 ofhis sonnets with "But" or "Yet," indicating a voltaexactly where it would occur in the Italian sonnet;however, if one looks closely, one often finds that the "turn" here really isn't one at all, that the actualturn occurs where the rhyme pattern changes, withthe couplet, thus giving a 12 and 2 line pattern very different from the Italian 8 and 6 line pattern (actualvolta marked by italics): "Sonnet LIV" Of this World's theatre in which we stay, My love like the Spectator idly sits, Beholding me, that all the pageants play, Disguising diversely my troubled wits. Sometimes I joy when glad occasion fits, And mask in mirth like to a Comedy; Soon after when my joy to sorrow flits, I wail and make my woes a Tragedy. Yet she, beholding me with constant eye, Delights not in my mirth nor rues my smart; But when I laugh, she mocks: and when I cry She laughs and hardens evermore her heart. What then can move her?

If nor mirth nor moan, She is no woman, but a senseless stone. III. The English (or Shakespearian) Sonnet: The English sonnet has the simplest and most flexiblepattern of all sonnets, consisting of 3 quatrains of alternating rhyme and a couplet: a b a b e f e f g g As in the Spenserian, each quatrain develops aspecific idea, but one closely related to the ideasin the other quatrains. Not only is the English sonnet the easiest in termsof its rhyme scheme, calling for only pairs ofrhyming words rather than groups of 4, but it isthe most flexible in terms of the placement of thevolta.

Shakespeare often places the "turn,"as in the Italian, at L9: "Sonnet XXIX" When in disgrace with Fortune and men's eyes, I all alone beweep my outcast state, And trouble deaf heaven with my bootless cries, And look upon myself and curse my fate, Wishing me like to one more rich in hope, Featured like him, like him with friends possessed, Desiring this man's art and that man's scope, With what I most enjoy contented least, Yet in these thoughts my self almost despising, Haply I think on thee, and then my state, (Like to the lark at break of day arising From sullen earth) sings hymns at heaven's gate, For thy sweet love remembered such wealth brings, That then I scorn to change my state with kings.

Equally, Shakespeare can delay the volta tothe final couplet, as in this sonnet where eachquatrain develops a metaphor describing theaging of the speaker, while the couplet thenstates the consequence--"You better love menow because soon I won't be here": "Sonnet LXXIII" That time of year thou mayst in me behold, When yellow leaves, or none, or few do hang Upon those boughs which shake against the cold, Bare ruined choirs, where late the sweet birds sang. In me thou seest the twilight of such day, As after sunset fadeth in the west, Which by and by black night doth take away, Death's second self that seals up all in rest. In me thou seest the glowing of such fire, That on the ashes of his youth doth lie, As the deathbed, whereon it must expire, Consumed by that which it was nourished by. This thou perceivest, which makes thy love more strong, To love that well, which thou must leave ere long. IV. The Indefinables There are, of course, some sonnets that don't fit any clear recognizablepattern but still certainly function as sonnets.

Shelley's "Ozymandias"belongs to this category. It's rhyming pattern of a b a b a c d c e d e f e fis unique; clearly, however, there is a volta in L9 exactly as in anItalian sonnet: "Ozymandias" I met a traveller from an antique land Who said: Two vast and trunkless legs of stone Stand in the desert . . . Near them, on the sand, Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown, And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command Tell that its sculptor well those passions read Which yet survive, (stamped on these lifeless things,) The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed: And on the pedestal these words appear: "My name is Ozymandias, king of kings: Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!" Nothing beside remains. Round the decay Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare The lone and level sands stretch far away.

Frederick Goddard Tuckerman wrote sonnets with free abandonand with virtually no regard for any kind of pattern at all, his rhymesafter the first few lines falling seemingly at random, as in this sonnetfrom his "Sonnets, First Series," which rhymes a b b a b c a b a d e c e d,with a volta at L10: "Sonnet XXVIII" Not the round natural world, not the deep mind, The reconcilement holds: the blue abyss Collects it not; our arrows sink amiss And but in Him may we our import find. The agony to know, the grief, the bliss Of toil, is vain and vain: clots of the sod Gathered in heat and haste and flung behind To blind ourselves and others, what but this Still grasping dust and sowing toward the wind? No more thy meaning seek, thine anguish plead, But leave straining thought and stammering word, Across the barren azure pass to God: Shooting the void in silence like a bird, A bird that shuts his wings for better speed.

One wonders if the "sod"/"God" rhyme, being six lines apart,actually works, if the reader's ear can pick it up across thatdistance. Still, the poem has the dialectical structure thata sonnet is supposed to have, so there is justification for infact considering it one. V. Links to Various Sonnet Sequences In addition to the sonnets and sequences available at Sonnet Central, there are several included in the Poets' Corner archive, listed below. Edmund Spenser, Amoretti: ~spanou...nser1.html Sir Philip Sidney, Astrophil and Stella: ~spanou...ney01.html What Is the Difference Between an Elizabethan & Petrarchan Sonnet? | Education - Seattle PI What Is the Difference Between an Elizabethan & Petrarchan Sonnet? Education by Demand Media William Shakespeare wrote many Elizabethan sonnets. Related Articles How to Name a Polymer For a poem to be considered a sonnet, it must be 14 lines long and be written in iambic pentameter. Sonnets also must follow specific rhyme schemes -- the structure and rhyme scheme used determines which type of sonnet it is.

Each type of sonnet also includes a volta, or turn -- a shift that changes the poem's course and meaning. The form, perhaps the first designed to be read silently, originated in 13th century Italy, and it was later perfected by the poet Francesco Petrarca. The Petrarchan sonnet follows his structure and rhyme scheme. Elizabethan sonnets, also known as Shakespearean or English sonnets, are structured differently and were first written by Elizabethan-era poets like William Shakespeare. Petrarchan Sonnet The Petrarchan sonnet is divided into two parts: An octave, consisting of the first eight lines, and a sestet, comprised of the final six lines. In a Petrarchan sonnet, the volta is located at the ninth line, just after the eight-line octave. It is often signified by a transitional word or phrase like "thus" or "but" or "and yet" as the sestet resolves the ideas found in the octave. The Petrarchan sonnet also has a unique rhyme scheme.

If identical letters indicated a final rhymed syllable, the rhyme scheme for the Petrarchan sonnet is: ABBA ABBA CDECDE or ABBA ABBA CDCDCD. Elizabethan Sonnet The Elizabethan sonnet is divided into three four-line stanzas called quatrains, along with a final two-line couplet. An Elizabethan poem usually saves its volta for the transition between the third stanza and the final couplet. The suddenness of the volta at the end can make an Elizabethan sonnet seem more uneven than a Petrarchan one. The rhyme scheme for an Elizabethan sonnet is: ABAB CDCD EFEF GG.

References Shakespearean Sonnet or English Sonnet or Elizabethan Sonnet - Sonnets - Poetry Magnum Opus Shakespearean Sonnet or English Sonnet or Elizabethan Sonnet Started by Tinker , Jun 02, 2009 11:41 PM Please log in to reply 1 reply to this topic Explore the Craft of Writing Poetry The Sonnet / English Poetry The Shakespearean, English or Elizabethan Sonnet By Shakespeare's time, (his works are believed to date from 1590 through 1613), the sonnet had already been established in English poetry, thanks primarily to Wyatt, Surrey and Spenser William Shakespeare utilized and popularized the sonnet with the declamatory couplet. His popularity springboarded the sonnet to a prominent place in English literature and become the 2nd dominant sonnet form along side the Petrarchan or Italian Sonnet . The Shakespearean Sonnet, sometimes called the English Sonnet or Elizabethan Sonnet, does not use the octave/sestet structure of the Italian Sonnet. It is usually found in three quatrains ending with a rhyming couplet.

Although the Italian form often pivots between the octave and the sestet, the Shakespearean Sonnet pivots deeper into the poem, sometime after line 9 or 10. Shakespeare even delayed the pivot until the 13th line in his Sonnet 30. Wherein the Italian sonnet discloses the epiphany of the subject slowly, the Shakespearean Sonnet makes a swift leap to the epiphany at the ending couplet. Cartoon by Steve Shann found at wordpress.com Shakespeare knew well the sonnet sequence is not a way of telling a story, but exists for the sake of prolonged lyrical meditation. His thoughts, his dreams, his loves all playout in this musical form. The defining features of the English or Shakespearean Sonnet are: it is a quatorzain made up of 3 quatrains and ending in a rhymed couplet. metric, written in iambic pentameter. Sometimes the opening line of the sonnet begins with the first foot, a trochee before the poem falls into a regular iambic pattern.

composed with the volta (a non physical gap) or pivot (a shifting or tilting of the main line of thought) deep into the poem, varied but always well after the 2nd quatrain. developed so that each quatrain progresses toward a surprising turn of events in the ending couplet. The epiphany of the poem arrives in a swift leap at the end. rhymed with up to 7 rhymes with a rhyme scheme is abab cdcd efef gg. composed with an ending rhymed couplet which should be declamatory and the defining feature of the sonnet. This couplet is often the loudest, most powerful part of the sonnet. "Sonnet Reversed" by Rupert Brooke Hand trembling towards hand; the amazing lights Of heart and eye. They stood on supreme heights. Ah, the delirious weeks of honeymoon! Soon they returned, and, after strange adventures, Settled at Balham by the end of June. Their money was in Can. Pacs. B. Debentures, And in Antofagastas. Still he went Cityward daily; still she did abide At home. And both were really quite content With work and social pleasures. Then they died.

They left three children (besides George, who drank): The eldest Jane, who married Mr Bell, William, the head-clerk in the County Bank, And Henry, a stock-broker, doing well. Returning to Italy Sonnet | Define Sonnet at Dictionary.com sonnet noun 1. Prosody. a poem, properly expressive of a single, complete thought, idea, or sentiment, of 14 lines, usually in iambic pentameter, with rhymes arranged according to one of certain definite schemes, being in the strict or Italian form divided into a major group of 8 lines (the octave) followed by a minor group of 6 lines (the sestet), and in a common English form into 3 quatrains followed by a couplet. verb (used without object) Older Use. to celebrate in a sonnet or sonnets.

Origin of sonnet 1550-60; < Italian sonnetto < Old Provençal sonet, equivalent to son poem (< Latin sonus sound 1) + -et -et Related forms outsonnet, verb (used with object) Dictionary.com Unabridged Examples from the Web for sonnet Expand Contemporary Examples Is it possible to follow up a school-shooting episode with lines from sonnet 116? British Dictionary definitions for sonnet Expand noun 1. a verse form of Italian origin consisting of 14 lines in iambic pentameter with rhymes arranged according to a fixed scheme, usually divided either into octave and sestet or, in the English form, into three quatrains and a couplet verb (transitive) to celebrate in a sonnet Word Origin C16: via Italian from Old Provençal sonet a little poem, from son song, from Latin sonus a sound Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd.

1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012 Word Origin and History for sonnet Expand n. 1557 (in title of Surrey's poems), from Middle French sonnet (1540s) or directly from Italian sonetto, literally "little song," from Old Provençal sonet "song," diminutive of son "song, sound," from Latin sonus "sound" (see sound (n.1)). Originally in English also "any short lyric poem;" precise meaning is from Italian, where Petrarch (14c.) developed a scheme of an eight-line stanza (rhymed abba abba) followed by a six-line stanza (cdecde, the Italian sestet, or cdcdcd, the Sicilian sestet). Shakespeare developed the English Sonnet for his rhyme-poor native tongue: three Sicilian quatrains followed by a heroic couplet (ababcdcdefefgg).

The first stanza sets a situation or problem, and the second comments on it or resolves it. Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper Petrarchan Sonnet: Rhyme Scheme, Format & Example Poems - Video & Lesson Transcript | Study.com Petrarchan Sonnet: Rhyme Scheme, Format & Example Poems Watch short & fun videos Start Your Free Trial Today An error occurred trying to load this video. Try refreshing the page, or contact customer support. You must create an account to continue watching Register for a free trial Are you a student or a teacher? I am a student Start Your Free Trial To Continue Watching As a member, you'll also get unlimited access to over lessons in math, English, science, history, and more. Plus, get practice tests, quizzes, and personalized coaching to help you succeed. Coming up next: Helen Bannerman: Biography & Books You're on a roll. Keep up the good work! Your next lesson will play in 10 seconds 0:01 What Is a Petrarchan Sonnet? 1:57 Emma Lazarus' 'The New… 4:46 A Contemporary… Add to Add to Add to Want to watch this again later?

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Premium Edition: You can share your Custom Course by copying and pasting the course URL. Only Study.com members will be able to access the entire course. Create an account to start this course today Try it free for 5 days! Instructor: Richard Davis Richard teaches college writing and has a master's degree in creative writing. The sonnet is one of the most well-respected poetic forms in the English language, but did you know that this form began in Italian? Explore the inner workings of the Petrarchan sonnet and break down examples from Emma Lazarus and Joshua Mehigan. What Is a Petrarchan Sonnet? When we talk about formal poetry, we usually describe a poem using terms like meter, which is the pattern of weak and strong syllables in a line, and rhyme scheme, which is the order in which rhymes occur. Sometimes, rhyme and meter come together to make a unique pattern that takes on a life of its own. We call such patterns received forms because we have 'received' them from the poets who first used the pattern. In this lesson, we'll look at one of the most important received forms in English literature. This form is the Petrarchan sonnet, also known as the Italian sonnet.

Named after 14-century Italian poet Francesco Petrarca, the Petrarchan sonnet is a 14-line poem that uses iambic pentameter and a somewhat flexible rhyme scheme. When I use the term 'iambic pentameter,' I simply mean that each line contains five iambs, or a weak syllable followed by a strong syllable, such as the word 'aRISE' or the phrase 'the NIGHT.' For the purposes of this lesson, however, we'll be focusing more on the rhyme scheme of the Petrarchan sonnet. When I say that rhyme scheme is somewhat flexible, I mean that the first eight lines, or octave, of a Petrarchan sonnet almost always follows the same rhyme scheme: abbaabba. A good way to remember this is to think of the Swedish pop band ABBA. The rhyme scheme of the last six lines, or sestet, of a Petrarchan sonnet varies from poem to poem. Some of the most common rhyme schemes for the sestet are cdecde, cdcdcd, cddcdd, and cddece. Of course, these aren't the only rhyme schemes available for the sestet.

Emma Lazarus' 'The New Colossus' Did you know that one of the most enduring poems in American history is a Petrarchan sonnet? In 1903, this poem was engraved on a plaque and placed on the lower level of the Statue of Liberty, where it can still be found today. This poem is 'The New Colossus' by Emma Lazarus. Let's take a look at it: 'Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame, (a) With conquering limbs astride from land to land; (b) Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand (b) A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame (a) Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name (a) Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand (b) Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command (b) The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame. (a) 'Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!' cries she (c) With silent lips. 'Give me your tired, your poor, (d) Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, (c) The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.

(d) Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, (c) I lift my lamp beside the golden door!' (d) In order to determine whether a poem is a Petrarchan sonnet, we have to look for two signs. The first sign is that the poem has 14 lines. The next sign is the nature of the poem's rhyme scheme. It's easiest to look for the 'abbaabba' than for the rhyme scheme in the sestet. Chances are, if a poem has 14 lines and an octave that follows an 'abbaabba' rhyme scheme, you've encountered a Petrarchan sonnet. 'The New Colossus' certainly fits the bill! Another important aspect of the Petrarchan sonnet is what occurs between the octave and the sestet. Usually, the first eight lines introduce an idea, question, or problem, and the last six lines provide a solution or a new perspective. The change that takes place is known as a volta, which means 'turn' in Italian. Does 'The New Colossus' contain a volta? Absolutely!

The first eight lines offer a vivid image of the Statue of Liberty, and the last six lines give us a new perspective by allowing the Statue to speak. × SparkNotes: Shakespeare’s Sonnets: The Sonnet Form The Sonnet Form Context Themes, Motifs & Symbols A sonnet is a fourteen-line lyric poem, traditionally written in iambic pentameter—that is, in lines ten syllables long, with accents falling on every second syllable, as in: “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?” The sonnet form first became popular during the Italian Renaissance, when the poet Petrarch published a sequence of love sonnets addressed to an idealized woman named Laura. Taking firm hold among Italian poets, the sonnet spread throughout Europe to England, where, after its initial Renaissance, “Petrarchan” incarnation faded, the form enjoyed a number of revivals and periods of renewed interest. In Elizabethan England—the era during which Shakespeare’s sonnets were written—the sonnet was the form of choice for lyric poets, particularly lyric poets seeking to engage with traditional themes of love and romance.

(In addition to Shakespeare’s monumental sequence, the Astrophel and Stella sequence by Sir Philip Sydney stands as one of the most important sonnet sequences of this period.) Sonnets were also written during the height of classical English verse, by Dryden and Pope, among others, and written again during the heyday of English Romanticism, when Wordsworth, Shelley, and particularly John Keats created wonderful sonnets. Today, the sonnet remains the most influential and important verse form in the history of English poetry. Two kinds of sonnets have been most common in English poetry, and they take their names from the greatest poets to utilize them: the Petrarchan sonnet and the Shakespearean sonnet. The Petrarchan sonnet is divided into two main parts, called the octave and the sestet. The octave is eight lines long, and typically follows a rhyme scheme of ABBAABBA, or ABBACDDC. The sestet occupies the remaining six lines of the poem, and typically follows a rhyme scheme of CDCDCD, or CDECDE. The octave and the sestet are usually contrasted in some key way: for example, the octave may ask a question to which the sestet offers an answer.

In the following Petrarchan sonnet, John Keats’s “On First Looking into Chapman’s Homer,” the octave describes past events—the speaker’s previous, unsatisfying examinations of the “realms of gold,” Homer’s poems—while the sestet describes the present—the speaker’s sense of discovery upon finding Chapman’s translations: Much have I travell’d in the realms of gold, And many goodly states and kingdoms seen; Round many western islands have I been Which bards in fealty to Apollo hold. Oft of one wide expanse have I been told That deep-brow’d Homer ruled as his demesne; Yet did I never breathe its pure serene Till I heard Chapman speak out loud and bold: Then felt I like some watcher of the skies When a new planet swims into his ken; Or like stout Cortez when with eagle eyes He star’d at the Pacific—and all his men Look’d at each other with a wild surmise— Silent, upon a peak in Darien. The Shakespearean sonnet, the form of sonnet utilized throughout Shakespeare’s sequence, is divided into four parts.

The first three parts are each four lines long, and are known as quatrains, rhymed ABAB; the fourth part is called the couplet, and is rhymed CC. The Shakespearean sonnet is often used to develop a sequence of metaphors or ideas, one in each quatrain, while the couplet offers either a summary or a new take on the preceding images or ideas. In Shakespeare’s Sonnet 147, for instance, the speaker’s love is compared to a disease. In the first quatrain, the speaker characterizes the disease; in the second, he describes the relationship of his love-disease to its “physician,” his reason; in the third, he describes the consequences of his abandonment of reason; and in the couplet, he explains the source of his mad, diseased love—his lover’s betrayal of his faith: My love is as a fever, longing still For that which longer nurseth the disease, Feeding on that which doth preserve the ill, The uncertain sickly appetite to please. My reason, the physician to my love, Angry that his prescriptions are not kept, Hath left me, and I desp’rate now approve Desire is death, which physic did except.

Past cure am I, now reason is past care, And frantic mad with evermore unrest, My thoughts and my discourse as madmen’s are, At random from the truth vainly expressed; For I have sworn thee fair and thought thee bright, Who art as black as hell, as dark as night. In many ways, Shakespeare’s use of the sonnet form is richer and more complex than this relatively simple division into parts might imply. Not only is his sequence largely occupied with subverting the traditional themes of love sonnets—the traditional love poems in praise of beauty and worth, for instance, are written to a man, while the love poems to a woman are almost all as bitter and negative as Sonnet 147—he also combines formal patterns with daring and innovation. Many of his sonnets in the sequence, for instance, impose the thematic pattern of a Petrarchan sonnet onto the formal pattern of a Shakespearean sonnet, so that while there are still three quatrains and a couplet, the first two quatrains might ask a single question, which the third quatrain and the couplet will answer. As you read through Shakespeare’s sequence, think about the ways Shakespeare’s themes are affected by and tailored to the sonnet form.

Be especially alert to complexities such as the juxtaposition of Petrarchan and Shakespearean patterns. How might such a juxtaposition combination deepen and enrich Shakespeare’s use of a traditional form? More Help What Is the Significance of a Sonnet? | The Pen and The Pad What Is the Significance of a Sonnet? by Jordan Weagly William Shakespeare wrote an important collection of sonnets that discuss the emotional experiences of love. Related Articles The General Characteristics of Italian Sonnets Understanding the significance of a sonnet can help you strengthen close reading and analytical skills, build a better appreciation for poetry, and derive more meaning from your reading. The sonnet is a significant form of poetry with a set structure. In Western literary traditions, sonnets have played an important role because of the works of authors such as Francesco Petrarca (Petrarch) and William Shakespeare. Since these early beginnings, the sonnet has held a significant place in literature for both its unique form and presentation of content. Form Sonnets are poems with 14 lines, usually with 10 syllables in each line, following the traditional English rhythm of unstressed and stressed beats called iambic pentameter.

Like haiku, sonnets are strong examples of poetry with a strict form, as opposed to free verse, which allows for unrestricted use of rhyme and stanza structure. The significance of the sonnet is closely linked to this form and how it has been used by authors. Rhyme schemes vary, but notable types have developed throughout literary history. The most prominent types of sonnets in English are the Italian or Petrarchan sonnet and the English or Shakespearean sonnet. The Petrarchan sonnet consists of one eight-line stanza (an octave) followed by one six-line stanza (a sestet), traditionally with a rhyme scheme such as abbaabba cdecde. The English sonnet consists of three four-line stanzas (quatrains) followed by a single two-line stanza (a couplet), following a rhyme scheme of abab cdcd efef gg. The Spenserian sonnet is another prominent type of English sonnet, which has a traditional rhyme scheme of abab bcbc cdcd ee. Historic Significance According to the Folger Shakespeare Library, sonnets first became prominent during the 14th century when the form used by Petrarch became significant in Italy.

The form then spread during the Renaissance to England, Portugal, Spain, Germany, and France, and in Elizabethan England, Shakespeare mastered the sonnet in the English language. During the Romantic period in Germany, the work of August Wilhelm von Schlegel gave sonnets significance in the German literary tradition. After Shakespeare and the English Renaissance, the sonnet form continued to be used in poetry, but it was not until the work of writers during the English Romantic period like William Wordsworth that they became popular again. It remained a significant poetic form in the 20th century through the work of American poets such as Robert Frost, Edna St. Vincent Millay and Gwendolyn Brooks. Content Dating back to Petrarch, traditional sonnets contain strong themes of love. Petrarch discussed unattainable love and the pain that it can bring, and English poets such as Shakespeare followed this example during his time. While sonnets often discuss the difficulties of love, other themes are also appropriate. According to the Folger Shakespeare Library, Petrarch’s sonnets also explored the notion that poems, and art works in general, will outlive their creators.

Contemporary Significance Sonnets remain significant because they offer examples of how strict, formal poetry can also offer some flexibility to authors. For example, switching the rhythm of a sonnet’s typical unstressed/stressed pattern to a stressed/unstressed pattern in one line draws attention to the line and does not violate the more important formal requirements such as stanza length. Contemporary poets have used the traditional rules of line, rhythm and rhyme and the opportunity to bend these rules as a way to add new meaning and unique expression to their poetry. References English Sonnet: Definition, Rhyme Scheme, Structure & Examples - Video & Lesson Transcript | Study.com English Sonnet: Definition, Rhyme Scheme, Structure & Examples Watch short & fun videos Start Your Free Trial Today An error occurred trying to load this video. Try refreshing the page, or contact customer support. You must create an account to continue watching Register for a free trial Are you a student or a teacher? I am a student Start Your Free Trial To Continue Watching As a member, you'll also get unlimited access to over lessons in math, English, science, history, and more. Plus, get practice tests, quizzes, and personalized coaching to help you succeed.

Coming up next: Hamlet: Beyond the Famous Soliloquy You're on a roll. Keep up the good work! Your next lesson will play in 10 seconds 0:02 Definition of a Sonnet 0:34 Structure & Example Add to Add to Add to Want to watch this again later? Log in or sign up to add this lesson to a Custom Course. Custom Courses are courses that you create from Study.com lessons. Use them just like other courses to track progress, access quizzes and exams, and share content. Teachers Organize and share selected lessons with your class. Make planning easier by creating your own custom course. Students Create a new course from any lesson page or your dashboard. From any lesson page: Click "Add to" located below the video player and follow the prompts to name your course and save your lesson. From your dashboard: Click on the "Custom Courses" tab, then click "Create course". Next, go to any lesson page and begin adding lessons. Edit your Custom Course directly from your dashboard. Personalize: Name your Custom Course and add an optional description or learning objective. Organize: Create chapters to group lesson within your course. Remove and reorder chapters and lessons at any time.

Share your Custom Course or assign lessons and chapters. Teacher Edition: Share or assign lessons and chapters by clicking the "Teacher" tab on the lesson or chapter page you want to assign. Students' quiz scores and video views will be trackable in your "Teacher" tab. Premium Edition: You can share your Custom Course by copying and pasting the course URL. Only Study.com members will be able to access the entire course. Create an account to start this course today Try it free for 5 days! Instructor: Jason Lineberger Jason has 20 years of education experience including 14 years of teaching college literature. In this lesson, you'll learn about one of the most common forms of poetry, the sonnet. In particular, you'll learn the requirements for the kind of sonnet that William Shakespeare made famous, the English sonnet, and you'll have a chance to test your understanding with a quiz. Definition of a Sonnet The sonnet is a traditional poetic form. There are two basic types of sonnet: the English sonnet, also called the Shakespearean sonnet, and the Italian sonnet, also called the Petrarchan sonnet.

Both of these types of sonnet have 14 lines, so what distinguishes them is how the sections are broken up and how the poem rhymes. An English sonnet follows the pattern 'abab cdcd efef gg', dividing the poem into three quatrains and a closing couplet. Structure and an Example Let's break down the requirements of the sonnet by examining a particularly famous example, 'Sonnet 130' by William Shakespeare, the poem better known by its first line, 'My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun'. One requirement of the English sonnet is line length. Every line should be ten syllables long. Let's take a look at that first line: Not only should the line be ten syllables, but also the syllables should follow a soft/loud pattern in order to qualify as an English sonnet. In this line, the syllables numbered in red are the loud ones, while the ones numbered in black are soft. This 10-syllable pattern is called iambic pentameter, and it's a must for writing English sonnets. Next, the English sonnet is broken into four parts - three quatrains and a couplet.

A quatrain is a group of four lines that rhyme together. For the English sonnet, the first line rhymes with the third one, and the second line rhymes with the fourth one. Take a look at this example: Three quatrains makes 12 lines, and that leaves the final two lines for the end - a couplet. A couplet is a pair of rhymed lines. Here's the couplet ending of Shakespeare's poem: × About the Sonnet About the Sonnet Chris Baldick Sonnet : a lyric poem comprising 14 rhyming lines of equal length: iambic pentameters in English, alexandrines in French, hendecasyllables in Italian. The rhyme schemes of the sonnet follow two basic patterns. (1) The Italian sonnet (also called the Petrarchan sonnet after the most influential of the Italian sonneteers) comprises an 8-line 'octave' of two quatrains, rhymed abbaabba, followed by a 6-line 'sestet' usually rhymed cdecde or cdcdcd.

The transition from octave to sestet usually coincides with a 'turn' (Italian, volta) in the argument or mood of the poem. In a variant form used by the English poet John Milton, however, the 'turn' is delayed to a later position around the tenth line. Some later poets--notably William Wordsworth--have employed this feature of the 'Miltonic sonnet' while relaxing the rhyme scheme of the octave to abbaacca. The Italian pattern has remained the most widely used in English and other languages. (2) The English sonnet (also called the Shakespearean sonnet after its foremost practitioner) comprises three quatrains and a final couplet, rhyming ababcdcdefefgg. An important variant of this is the Spenserian sonnet (introduced by the Elizabethan poet Edmund Spenser), which links the three quatrains by rhyme, in the sequence ababbabccdcdee. In either form, the 'turn' comes with the final couplet, which may sometimes achieve the neatness of an epigram.

Originating in Italy, the sonnet was established by Petrarch in the 14th century as a major form of love poetry, and came to be adopted in Spain, France and England in the 16th century, and in Germany in the 17th. The standard subject-matter of early sonnets was the torments of sexual love (usually within a courtly love convention), but in the 17th century John Donne extended the sonnet's scope to religion, while Millton extended it to politics. Although largely neglected in the 18th century, the sonnet was revived in the 19th by Wordsworth, Keats, and Baudelaire, and is still widely used. Some poets have written connected series of sonnets, known as sonnet sequences or sonnet cycles: of these, the outstanding English examples are Sir Philip Sidney's Astrophel and Stella (1591), Spenser's Amoretti (1595), and Shakespeare's Sonnets (1609); later examples include Elizabeth Barrett Browning's Sonnets from the Portuguese (1850) and W. H. Auden's 'In Time of War' (1939).

A group of sonnets formally linked by repeated lines is known as a crown of sonnets. Irregular variations on the sonnet form have included the 12-line sonnet sometimes used by Elizabethan poets, G. M. Hopkin's curtal sonnets of 10-1/2 lines, and the 16-line sonnets of George Meredith's sequence Modern Love (1862). Lyric [li-rik]: In the modern sense, any fairly short poem expressing the personal mood, feeling, or meditation of a single speaker (who may sometimes be an invented character, not the poet). In ancient Greece, a lyric was a song for accompaniment on the lyre, and could be a choral lyric sung by a group, such as a dirge or hymn; the modern sense, current since the Renaissance, often suggests a songlike quality in the poems to which it refers. Lyric poetry is the most extensive category of verse, especially after the decline since the 19th century in the West--of the other principal kinds: narrative and dramatic verse. Lyrics may be composed in almost any metre and on almost every subject, although the most usual emotions presented are those of love and grief.

Among the common lyric forms are the sonnet, ode, elegy, haiku, and the more personal kinds of hymn. Lyricism is the emotional or song-like quality, the lyrical property, of lyric poetry. A writer of lyric poems may be called a lyric poet, a lyricist, or a lyrist. In another sense, the lyrics of a popular song or other musical composition are the words as opposed to the music; these may not always be lyrical in the poetic sense (e.g. in a narrative song like a ballad). Pentameter [pen-tamm-it-er]: A metrical verse line having five main stresses, traditionally described as a line of five 'feet.' In English poetry since Chaucer, the pentameter--almost always an iambic line normally of 10 syllables--has had a special status as the standard line in many important forms including blank verse, the heroic couplet, ottava rima, rhyme royal, and the sonnet.

In its pure iambic form, the pentameter shows a regular alternation of stressed and unstressed syllables, as in this line by Percy Bysshe Shelley: If Winter comes, can Spring be far behind? There are, however, several permissible variations in the placing of stresses, which help to avoid the monotony of such regular alternation; and the pentameter may be lengthened from 10 syllables to 11 by a feminine ending. In classical Greek and Latin poetry, the second line of the elegiac distich, commonly but inaccurately referred to as a 'pentameter' is in fact composed of two half-lines of two and a half feet each, with dactyls or spondees in the first half and dactyls in the second. Rhyme scheme : The pattern in which the rhymed line-endings are arranged in a poem or stanza. This may be expressed as a sequence of recurrences in which each line ending on the same rhyme is given the same alphabetic symbol: thus the rhyme scheme of a limerick is given the notation aabba.

Rhyme schemes may follow a fixed pattern, as in the sonnet and several other forms, or they may be arranged freely according to the poet's requirements. The simplest rhyme schemes are those of rhyming couplets (aabbcc, etc.) and of the common quatrain forms (abab, abcb, abba), while those of ottava rima, rhyme royal, the Spenserian stanza, and the French fixed forms are far more intricate. From The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms. New York: Oxford UP, 1990. Copyright 1990 by Chris Baldick.

Question: What form of poem can be Petrarchan or Elizabethan depending on its structure?
Answer: Sonnet