How to Write a Sonnet - Types of Poems Subscribe How to Write a Sonnet This page talks about how to write a sonnet and offers some poem starters for writing your own. This is just one of many pages on this website about poetry types and techniques. At the bottom of this page, you'll find links to other CWN poetry resources. What's a sonnet? Sonnets are a kind of rhymed poem written in iambic pentameter. That's a rhythm that sounds like this: bah-BAH bah-BAH bah-BAH bah-BAH bah-BAH. An iamb is a rhythmic unit that includes an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed one. It has the rhythm bah-BAH, as in the words "about," or "predict," or "parade." Iambic pentameter is a line of poetry consisting of five iambs. Here are two sentences in iambic pentameter: The book explained another way to write. I think I'll take a walk around the block. Hear it? bah-BAH bah-BAH bah-BAH bah-BAH bah-BAH.

There are different kinds of sonnets, but I'm going to talk about the Shakespearian sonnet, also called the English sonnet. The Shakespearian sonnet has fourteen lines in iambic pentameter that are divided into three groups of four lines and one group of two lines. The rhyme scheme looks like this: abab cdcd efef gg. I'll explain. When a rhyme scheme is written in this way, each of the letters stands for one line. An "a" line rhymes with another "a" line, a "d" line rhymes with another "d" line, etc. So in a Shakespearian sonnet, the first line (a) rhymes with the third line (also called "a"). The second line (b) rhymes with the fourth line (also called "b"). The final two lines of the poem (gg) rhyme with each other. Here's an example of a sonnet by Shakespeare written in this form.

I'll mark each end rhyme with a letter: Not from the stars do I my judgement pluck, (a) And yet methinks I have astronomy, (b) But not to tell of good, or evil luck, (a) Of plagues, of dearths, or seasons' quality,(b) Nor can I fortune to brief minutes tell; (c) Pointing to each his thunder, rain and wind, (d) Or say with princes if it shall go well (c) By oft predict that I in heaven find. (d) But from thine eyes my knowledge I derive, (e) And constant stars in them I read such art (f) As truth and beauty shall together thrive (e) If from thy self, to store thou wouldst convert: (f) Or else of thee this I prognosticate, (g) Thy end is truth's and beauty's doom and date. (g) You may notice that some of the rhymes are not exact. For example, "art" and "convert" have the same final sound, but the vowel sounds ("a" in art and "e" in convert) are different.

This is an example of what is called off-rhyme, or slant-rhyme. You can read more about different kinds of rhymes here . Advertisement: How to write a sonnet - poetry prompts Now that you know how to write a sonnet, ready to try one of your own? Below are some six sentences in iambic pentameter. If you want, use them as starting points for your own poetry. For example, you could use one as the first line of a sonnet. You might even find a way to combine several of them in the same poem. The night was icy but I didn't mind. Your fingerprints were all around the room. My father never tells me what he thinks. There's something hiding underneath my bed. You changed your name but couldn't change your face. I couldn't think of anything to say. How to write a sonnet - keep writing Choose one of the links below. 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. How to Write A Sonnet Poem in 7 Steps How to Write a Sonnet Poem in 7 Steps April 14, 2014 by Michelle Hassler The word comes from Italian for “little song.” This is a fitting title — as a sonnet possesses many musical qualities. In general, sonnets are written in iambic pentameter, are fourteen lines long, possess a set rhyme scheme, and have a recognizable turn or “volta. Many poets gravitate toward free verse simply because it seems easier to compose. However, close attention to a text of fourteen lines draws attention to the power of individual words and patterns of sound. If you want to gain a deeper understanding and appreciation of the different types of sonnets, check out this course offered by Udemy. Write a Sonnet in Seven Steps 1. Choose a Theme or Problem Sonnets usually explore universal elements of human life to which many people can relate. Themes such as love, war, mortality, change, and hardship are some common topics featured in the sonnet. Sometimes the poet is trying to answer a larger question about life or provide commentary on a social issue.

Choose a theme that appeals to you and you would like to explore on a deeper level. You can also think of a problem that you would like to solve as many sonnets present a problem and then provide an answer near the end of the poem. In his collections of poetry, William Blake focused on the theme of human perception. This course provides a comprehensive study of Blake’s poetry through lectures and analysis. 2. Pick a Type of Sonnet There are two main types of sonnets: English and Italian. English sonnets are also knows as Shakespearean sonnets and Italian sonnets are also referred to as Petrarchan sonnets. The poets, Shakespeare and Petrarch, were the most famous sonnet writers of their time within their respective poetic forms. Though both types of sonnets are comprised of fourteen lines, the structuring of the lines and rhyme schemes are different. To be able to write a sonnet, (whether English or Italian) you must follow a specific form. 3. Write in Iambic Pentameter Sonnets are written in a rhythm called iambic pentameter. An iamb is represented by two syllables and is an example of a metrical foot in a poem.

The first syllable of an iamb is unstressed, and the second syllable is stressed or emphasized. When spoken aloud, the syllables sound like a fall and rise. The term pentameter refers the act of repeating the iamb five times. Iambs do not need to be perfectly built into two-syllable words. This unstressed, stressed pattern can stretch out across separate words or even repeat within a single word provided that the stresses still work. Pentameter means that there are five metrical feet per line (10 total syllables). For an example, look at the first two lines of Shakespeare’s Sonnet 18. Each iamb is separated by the slashes and the stressed syllables are shown in bold. /Shall I /compare /thee to /a Sum/mer’s day?/ /Thou art/ more love/ly and/ more temp/er/ate/ 4. Organize Stanzas A stanza is a group of lines in a poem. The following types of stanzas are found within sonnets. Quatrain: Four line stanza of a poem. Sestet: Six line stanza. Octave: Eight line stanza.

Rhyming couplet: Two consecutive lines that must rhyme. The terms quatrain, sestet, and octet can also refer to an entire poem that is comprised of the according number of lines. Sonnets are fourteen lines long. An English sonnet is comprised of three quatrains and ends with a couplet. The resolution or volta does not come until the final rhymed couplet making a powerful ending statement. The Italian sonnet is composed of an octave and then a sestet. Generally, the first eight lines introduce a problem and the last six lines provide resolution. 5. Follow a Rhyme Scheme A rhyme is made up of matching sounds at the end of lines. In poetry, letters are used to identify rhyme schemes or patterns of rhyme within a poem. Starting at the beginning of the alphabet, letters represent different rhyme patterns. Need some help with rhyming? Read this article for examples of end rhyme . The Italian/ Petrarchan sonnet has a tight rhyme scheme: abba abba cdcdcd The poem, “My Letters! all dead paper…”(Sonnet 28) by Elizabeth Barrett Browning is an example of an Italian sonnet.

The rhyming words are shown in bold, and the rhyme scheme is represented in the letters at the end of each line. My letters! all dead paper, mute and white! (a) And yet they seem alive and quivering (b) Against my tremulous hands which loose the string (b) And let them drop down on my knee tonight. (a) This said he wished to have me in his sight (a) Once, as a friend: this fixed a day in spring (b) To come and touch my hand. . . a simple thing, (b) Yes I wept for itï¿½this . . . the paper’s light. . .(a) Said, Dear, I love thee; and I sank and quailed (c) As if God’s future thundered on my past. (d) This said, I am thineï¿½and so its ink has paled (c) With lying at my heart that beat too fast. (d) And this . . .

0 Love, thy words have ill availed (c) If, what this said, I dared repeat at last!.”(d) The English /Shakespearean sonnet has the following, looser rhyme scheme: abab efef gg Let’s look at a Shakespeare’s “Sonnet 18.” Once again, the rhyming words are shown in bold, and the rhyme scheme is reflected in the letters at the end of each line. Shall I compare thee to a Summer’s day?

(a) Thou art more lovely and more temperate (b) Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May, (a) And Summer’s lease hath all too short a date: (b) Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines, (c) And oft’ is his gold complexion dimm’d; (d) And every fair from fair sometime declines, (c) By chance or nature’s changing course untrimm’d: (d) But thy eternal Summer shall not fade (e) Nor lose possession of that fair thou owest; (f) Nor shall Death brag thou wanderest in his shade, (e) When in eternal lines to time thou growest: (f) So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see, (g) So long lives this, and this gives life to thee. (g) 6. Incorporate a Volta Volta is the Italian word for “turn.” A turn could represent various changes in the sonnet. It might refer to a change in the theme, the sound, the emphasis of the message or image of the poem. The purpose of the volta is to indicate that the sonnet is coming to an end.

In the English sonnet, the volta or turn is found in the third quatrain while in the Italian sonnet the volta is often found in the ninth line. In Browning’s sonnet, a change is noticeable in the ninth line. She reads the note which declares a love for her – words that she had been longing to hear that can now be said aloud marking a monumental change in her life. In Shakespeare’s “Sonnet 18,” there is a shift in language with the word “but” at the beginning of the third quatrain. After describing all of the beauty that ultimately fades, the speaker addresses the poem’s ability to preserve the beauty of the beloved forever. 7. Use Poetic Devices To enhance the imagery and message of the poem, incorporate poetic devices or literary devices in poetry . Imagery is particularly important when writing a poem. Imagery can be established through word choice, as well as the use of figurative language such as similes, metaphors, and personification. Alliteration and other sound devices such as assonance and consonance can be used to create a musical quality and symbolism will help to create a deeper message for the audience.

The course, Understanding Romantic Poetry , will introduce poetry from the Romantic Era and instruct how to read and comprehend poetry from the literary period. With a little discipline, creativity, and passion, you can start writing a sonnet of your own in no time. By working your magic with a set of 14 lines, iambic pentameter, a rhyme scheme, and presentation and resolution of a problem, you could be well on your way to mastering the sonnet. Whether you are a seasoned poet or attempting to compose your first poem, attempting to write a sonnet can help to bring out a multitude of ideas and emotions. If you are a poet and are looking to take the next step, t his course shows you how to publish your own poetry through a workshop format. 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 How to Write a Sonnet (with 2 Sample Poems) - wikiHow How to Write a Sonnet Four Methods: Writing a Shakespearean Sonnet Writing a Petrarchan Sonnet Experimenting with Less Common Sonnet Forms Sample Sonnets Community Q&A Though as a general rule, the sonnet is defined as having 14 lines and an iambic pentameter meter, there's a significant difference between the two most common forms of the sonnet: the Shakespearean (aka English) and Petrarchan (aka Italian) sonnets.

This article will explain how to stay true to the spirit of each form, then discuss how to explore the expansive possibilities of the sonnet at large through lesser-known forms. Steps Writing a Shakespearean Sonnet 1 Use the Shakespearean rhyme scheme. The Shakespearean sonnet is a good place to start if you’re a novice sonneteer because it has the most regular and straightforward rhyme scheme and structure. The rhyme scheme of a Shakespearean sonnet always follows this pattern: ABABCDCDEFEFGG [1] These letters represent the sound that appears at the end of each line. So, following this pattern of alternating rhymes, we find that the last words of the first and third lines must rhyme; the second and fourth; the fifth and seventh; the sixth and eighth; and so on, ending in a final rhyming couplet. 2 Write your lines in iambic pentameter. [2] Iambic pentameter is a type of poetic meter, meaning that it’s a way of measuring out the rhythm of a line. Iambic pentameter is a very regular meter and is one of the most common meters in English-language poetry.

“Pentameter” derives from the Greek word pente (meaning five), and thus has five poetic "feet." Each foot is a unit of two syllables; thus, there are ten syllables in a line of pentameter. “Iambic” means that each foot is an “iamb.” Iambs are comprised of an unstressed, followed by a stressed syllable, resulting in a “ta-TUM” rhythm. The word “hel-LO” is an example of an iambic foot. So a line of iambic pentameter is a line of five iambic feet, resulting in a 10-syllable rhythm of ta-TUM ta-TUM ta-TUM ta-TUM ta-TUM. An example of a line of iambic pentameter is “Shall I / comPARE/ thee TO / a SUM / mer's DAY?” (from Shakespeare’s “Sonnet 18”) [3] 3 Vary your meter from time to time. Although the majority of the lines in a Shakespearean sonnet should be written in iambic pentameter, the rhythm can get plodding and predictable if you use it exclusively.

By varying the stress pattern slightly at key moments, you can break up the pattern and make the poem more aurally interesting for the reader, and also use the variation to draw attention to key phrases in your poem. For example, the third line of Shakespeare’s “Sonnet 18” begins with a spondee, meaning two stressed syllables in a row: TUM-TUM [4] After two lines of perfect iambic pentameter, he wrote: “ROUGH WINDS / do SHAKE / the DAR / ling BUDS / of MAY” This both breaks up the rhythm for a little variation and draws attention to the roughness of the rough winds being described. 4 Follow the Shakespearean sonnet's stanzaic structure. A Shakespearean sonnet is composed of three heroic quatrains and a heroic couplet. A heroic quatrain is a group of four lines of iambic pentameter in an ABAB rhyme scheme; a heroic couplet is a group of two lines of iambic pentameter in an AA rhyme scheme.

[5] [6] In a Shakespearean sonnet, the three heroic quatrains are the “ABAB CDCD EFEF” portion of the rhyme scheme The heroic couplet is the “GG” closing. You can separate these stanzas with blank lines, or leave them all together in an unbroken poem, but the sonnet should move as a function of these discrete stanzas. 5 Develop your stanzas thoughtfully. Although your poem should have a single focus, each stanza of the sonnet should develop the idea further. Think of each quatrain as a little thought bubble, like a paragraph, in which you explore an element of the subject of your poem. Each quatrain should build toward the final couplet, where you will have a turn, or a volta. The turn, which occurs in the 13th line of the Shakespearean sonnet, offers a resolution or insight into to the problem developed in the first three quatrains. It may help to examine an example, such as Shakespeare’s "Sonnet 30" [7] : Quatrain 1 introduces the situation: Sometimes, when I think about the past, I regret the things and people I’ve lost.

This quatrain uses legal terminology to get the point across: sessions and summons. Quatrain 2 begins with the transition word “Then,” suggesting that it is connected to Quatrain 1, but moving on to a further development of the idea: when I'm in a nostalgic mood like that, I can cry freely about friends who have passed away or been otherwise lost to me. In this quatrain, he uses the language of commerce to develop the idea: cancelled woe and expenses. Quatrain 3 begins again with the transition word “Then,” and further develops the idea using the language of commerce (accounts, payment): Not only do I cry, but I cry heavily, as though I’ve never mourned this loss before. The closing couplet marks a turn with the word “But,” which suggests that this is not a continuation (like “Then”), but a new thought. There is no resolution to the problem of mourning here, but there is insight into grief and loss: to think of your memory is wonderful enough to make me feel as though I never lost anything. Again, this couplet continues the imagery of commerce (losses). 6 Choose your subject matter carefully.

Although you can write a Shakespearean sonnet about anything, they are traditionally love poems; you might keep this in mind if you want to write a purely traditional sonnet. Note too that because of the top-heavy stanzaic structure of the Shakespearean sonnet, the form does not lend itself well to highly complex or abstract subjects. The turn and resolution must come quickly, in the final two lines, so choose a subject that can be easily resolved with a witty closing couplet. If you have a more contemplative subject, a Petrarchan sonnet may lend itself better to what you want to say. 7 Write your Shakespearean sonnet. Remember to follow the rhyme scheme, to write in iambic pentameter while inserting metrical variation from time to time, and to develop the subject matter through each of the three heroic quatrains, before offering a turn and resolution/insight in the closing heroic couplet. Use a rhyming dictionary if you have trouble finding rhymes for the ends of your lines. [8] Method Writing a Petrarchan Sonnet 1 Use the Petrarchan sonnet's rhyme scheme.

While the Shakespearean sonnet always has the exact same rhyme scheme, the Petrarchan sonnet does not have a single pattern. Though the first eight lines (the octave) always follow a rhyme scheme of ABBAABBA, the closing six lines (the sestet) have some variation. There are five patterns, though, that are most common in the tradition of the Petrarchan sonnet [9] : CDCDCD CDCEDC 2 Use the same iambic pentameter meter as the Shakesperean sonnet. All lines should follow the “ta-TUM ta-TUM ta-TUM ta-TUM ta-TUM” pattern, but remember to insert metrical variation from time to time to enliven the rhythm and draw attention to key phrases. 3 Develop content as the Petrarchan stanzaic structure demands. Whereas the Shakespearean sonnet has a top-heavy structure of 3 quatrains and a couplet, the Petrarchan sonnet is a little more balanced, using an eight-line octave and a six-line sestet to develop the poem’s subject.

As such, it’s well-suited to complex issues that require a lot of room to resolve, rather than the easy, witty resolution of a Shakespearean sonnet’s closing couplet. The octave introduces and presents a problem. The turn, or volta, occurs at the beginning of the sestet (Line 9); the sestet offers new insight into the dilemma presented in the octave. Consider William Wordsworth’s “Nuns Fret Not at Their Convent’s Narrow Room” as an example for analysis [10] : The octave progresses through a series of examples of creatures and people who are not bothered by restricted spaces. The progression moves from the most revered element of society to the lowliest: from nuns, to hermits, to scholars, to manual laborers, to insects. The turn in this sonnet actually occurs a line early, at the end of the octave. Although this is not purely traditional, poets throughout history have experimented with the form and manipulated it to their needs. You should feel free to do the same. In Line 8, “In truth” marks the volta or turn; now, Wordsworth will give more insight into the idea of being comfortable in restrained spaces.

The sestet suggests that the formal restrictions of the sonnet — with its rhyme scheme, iambic pentameter restriction, and strict octave-sestet structure — is not a prison, but a way for the poet to free himself and “find solace.” He hopes that the reader, too, shares this feeling. The sestet provides insight that allows us to consider all the people and things in the octave with a deeper understanding. 4 Write your Petrarchan sonnet. Just as you did with the Shakesperean sonnet, keep in mind the Petrarchan rhyme scheme and stanza structure, and remember to write in iambic pentameter with occasional metrical variation. Note that, just as Wordsworth did in "Nuns Fret Not at Their Convent's Narrow Cell" by moving the volta up from the traditional ninth line to the eighth, you can manipulate the form to meet the needs of the poem you're trying to write. The sonnet has changed in many ways throughout history, so make it work for you. An example of a Petrarchan sonnet that beautifully manipulates the form to make a point is Edna St.

Vincent Millay's "I Will Put Chaos into Fourteen Lines," which is a sonnet about writing a sonnet. [11] Millay employees the Petrarchan rhyme scheme and meter, but interrupts her lines with enjambments (splitting the line in the middle of a sentence or clause) and occasional disruptions of the meter to emphasize her struggle with the sonnet form itself. Method Experimenting with Less Common Sonnet Forms 1 Explore proportion through the curtal sonnet. [12] This form was developed by Gerard Manley Hopkins, and takes its name from the “curtailed” nature of its manipulation of the Petrarchan sonnet form. Mathematically, the curtal sonnet is precisely 3/4 of a Petrarchan sonnet, shrunk proportionally. By experimenting with this form, you can explore how the ratio of the Petrarchan sonnet works within a more concise space. Consider whether or not you think anything changes in the relationship between the two halves of the poem when you transition from the full Petrarchan structure to the condensed curtal structure.

The curtal sonnet is composed of a sestet with a rhyme scheme of ABCABC and a quintet (five line stanza) of a rhyme scheme of either DCBDC or DBCDC. Though it appears to be 11 lines, which is a little more than 3/4 of the normal 14-line Petrarchan sonnet, it is actually 10.5 lines; this is because the final line of the curtal sonnet is half a line of iambic pentameter — sometimes even less. Other than the last line, the curtal sonnet is still written in iambic pentameter. Hopkins’ “Pied Beauty” is a famous example of a curtal sonnet. [13] Note that the final line, “Praise him” truncates the 11th line to the 3/4 proportion intended by Hopkins. 2 Play with line breaks and fluidity using the Miltonic sonnet. This form, developed by John Milton, also takes the Petrarchan sonnet as its basis, and is almost identical in form to it.

However, the Petrarchan sonnet treats the octave and sestet as two discrete sections separated by a turn; Milton wanted to explore what happened to the Petrarchan sonnet when you rid the poem of all separations. A Miltonic sonnet has a Petrarchan rhyme scheme of ABBAABBACDECDE, and is written in iambic pentameter. However, it omits the turn/volta at the beginning of the sestet, and instead emphasizes “enjambment.” When you break a line or a stanza somewhere that is not a logical syntactic end (somewhere where you’d normally find a period, comma, or semicolon), that line or stanza is said to be enjambed. [14] An example of an enjambed line is: “God doth not need / Either man’s works or his own gifts: who best / Bear his mild yolk, / they serve him best” (Milton, “On His Blindness”). See Milton’s “On His Blindness” for an example of a Miltonic sonnet.

[15] Note how it makes use of enjambment both in individual lines and in the melding together of the octave and sestet. 3 Explore a different type of rhyme pattern using the Spenserian sonnet. Whereas the curtal and Miltonic sonnets took the Petrarchan sonnet as their basis, the Spenserian sonnet, developed by Edmund Spenser, is modeled after the Shakespearean sonnet. However, it explores an interlocking rhyme scheme. It is composed of three heroic quatrains and a heroic couplet, just like the Shakespearean sonnet. Furthermore, it is also written in iambic pentameter. However, the rhyme scheme differs from the Shakespearean sonnet in that it is interlocking: The second rhyme sound from each quatrain becomes the first rhyme sound of the subsequent quatrain. This results in a rhyme scheme of ABAB BCBC CDCD EE. Contrast that against the rhyme scheme of the Shakespearean sonnet: ABAB CDCD EFEF GG.

The interlocking rhyme scheme results in the three quatrains being closely linked aurally by the repeated rhyme sounds, especially in the transition between quatrains, when the second rhyme of one stanza is immediately repeated as the first rhyme of the next. Just as the Miltonic stanza explores the relationship between parts of the Petrarchan sonnet by using line breaks and enjambments, the Spenserian sonnet explores the relationship between parts of the Shakespearean sonnet by using interlocking rhyme patterns. 4 Explore shorter stanzas and different rhyme schemes using the terza rima sonnet. With the exception of the curtal sonnets, all of the sonnet forms we’ve looked at thus far make use of quatrains in their first section. The terza rima sonnet, though, is written using interlocking tercets, or stanzas of three lines. [16] It is still written using iambic pentameter, and still has 14 lines. However, it has a rhyme scheme of ABA BCB CDC DAD AA.

Note that the “A” rhyme from the opening tercet is repeated in the sandwiched ending of the fourth tercet, and also in the rhyme of the closing heroic couplet. Even more than the Spenserian sonnet, the terza rima sonnet asks you to consider the relationship between the stanzas in the poem, as developed not only through subject, but through sound. By splitting the first part of the poem into groups of three rather than four lines, it asks you to develop the ideas in each stanza more quickly and concisely. An example of a terza rima sonnet is Robert Frost’s “Acquainted with the Night.” [17] 5 Experiment with the sonnet form on your own. As you can see from the variety of sonnet forms presented thus far, poets have taken liberties with the sonnet throughout its history. Though the form came to prominence with Petrarch, after whom the Petrarchan sonnet is named, it evolved greatly in the hands of British poets like Sir Thomas Wyatt, Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey, and, of course, Shakespeare, who brought the form to its greatest popularity.

However, Hopkins, Milton, and Spenser felt free to change the rules of the two more established sonnet forms, and so should you. Some things you can explore might include: Line length — what changes when you write a sonnet in iambic tetrameter (four iambic feet: ta-TUM ta-TUM ta-TUM ta-TUM) instead of iambic pentameter? Meter — what happens when you abandon the ta-TUM rhythm of iambic meter entirely? Consider Gerard Manley Hopkins’ “Carrion Comfort,” which follows all rules of the Petrarchan sonnet except for its iambic pentameter meter. [18] Rhyme scheme — what happens when you write the octave of a Petrarchan sonnet in heroic couplets (AA BB CC DD) instead of repeated Italian quatrains (ABBAABBA)? Does a sonnet need to rhyme at all? Many contemporary sonnets do not. Consider Dawn Lundy’s “[When the bed is empty…]” as an example. [19] Sample Sonnets I need a sonnet for "forever there." Any advice?

wikiHow Contributor Sonnet | poetryarchive.org Glossary Term: Sonnet A sonnet, in English poetry, is a poem of fourteen lines, usually in iambic pentameter, that has one of two regular rhyme schemes - although there are a couple of exceptions, and years of experimentation that have loosened this definition. One of these schemes is known as the Petrarchan, after the Italian poet Petrarch; it consists of a group of eight lines, rhymed abbaabba, followed by a group of six lines with different rhymes. The distribution of these rhymes can vary, including cdcede, cdecde, cdedce, or even cdcdcd. Often, at the point where the eight-line section, known as the octave, turns into the six-line section, or sestet, there is a volta, from the Italian for 'turn' - this is a shift in the poem's tone, subject or logic that gains power from (or demands?) the matching shift in its structure.

The Shakespearean sonnet breaks into three quatrains, followed by a couplet, rhymed abab cdcd efef gg - as the name suggests, this is the form Shakespeare used for his sonnets, although he did not invent it. In Shakespeare's usage, the three quatrains tend to make an argument in three stages, which the couplet will sum up or comment on. The main exceptions are the curtal sonnet, a form invented by Gerard Manley Hopkins that roughly maintains the 8:6 ratio over a ten-and-a-half line poem, and the Meredithian sonnet of 16 lines. The fact that these are still referred to as a curtal and a Meredithian sonnet, however, shows that they are not (yet?) considered sonnets per se. There are also innumerable individual exceptions to the form - a poet may refer to a poem as a sonnet because it meets some of the descriptions above, or even just because s/he says so. This means that calling a poem a sonnet is not necessarily to define it strictly, but to say that it stands in relation to the long tradition of sonnets.

Kit Wright's 'Sonnet for Dick' is in the Shakespearean scheme, but once the grief is admitted at the end of the first four lines, the following sentences overflow the shifts in the rhyme scheme, as grief does into life. Mimi Khalvati's 'Overblown Roses' begins with a Shakespearean scheme for its opening eight lines, then performs a volta by turning from the flower itself to what it says about mortality in a Petrarchan sestet. Brendan Kennelly's 'The Happy Grass' and J.D. McClatchy's 'My Mammogram' make similar blends of the two definitions, as does Peter Dale's 'Window', which further adapts the form by moving the second rhyme in each pair a syllable or two back into the line, muting the music of it gently. How to use this term Billy Collins' 'Sonnet' is a poem that insists it is a sonnet, while it tries to discard some - but not all - of the rules that have traditionally defined a sonnet. Pick a Letter... Create your own poetry lessons and share them with colleagues.

Create collections for your lessons Add notes and descriptions How to Scan a Poem: 11 Steps (with Pictures) - wikiHow How to Scan a Poem If you need to indicate the stressed and unstressed syllables in a poem, you don't need to have a naturally musical ear. By going through a basic process step-by-step, you can probably scan a poem with relative certainty. Steps 1 Determine whether your poem is a sonnet: if it has fourteen lines and some recognizable rhyme scheme. Assume it is iambic pentameter, and then do these steps with that mindset. If it's not, it still may very well be in iambic meter, which is the most popular meter for closed-form poems. 2 Read the poem out loud and see if you notice a particular rhythm in your first reading. 3 Count the number of syllables in each line, and write that number at the end of the line. Do you see a pattern in the number of syllables? 4 Put an accent mark (/) over any syllables that absolutely have to be stressed. The way you can figure this out is by trying to say the word several times, each time exaggerating a different syllable.

("AR-tist" or "ar-TIST") (One way will sound much better). You can look words up in the dictionary if you need to. 5 Put a "u" over the unstressed syllables. 6 See if the poem is iambic (u/), or sets of one unstressed syllable with one stressed ("ta-DAH!"). If it is, see if you can put in all of the other stress and unstress marks. 7 Once you see a pattern (for example, unstressed, unstressed, stressed; unstressed, unstressed, stressed . . . ), mark a vertical line between each unit of the pattern. Those are your "feet." 8 Read the poem aloud again, this time really accentuating the words you have marked as "stressed." Does it sound right?

9 Once you're finished with that, see whether each foot in the the poem is a(n): iamb (unstressed-stressed u/), trochee (stressed-unstressed /u), anapest (unstressed-unstressed-stressed uu/), dactyl (stressed-unstressed-unstressed /uu), spondee (stressed-stressed //) or pyrrhic (unstressed-unstressed uu). 10 Count how many feet each line has. It will probably be one of these: Monometer (one foot), Dimeter (two feet), Trimeter (three feet), Tetrameter (four feet), Pentameter (five feet), or Hexameter (six feet). 11 Put the foot name as an adjective first and the number of feet as a noun second, and there you go! ("iambic pentameter," "dactylic hexameter," "trochaic tetrameter," etc.) Community Q&A Which words are required to be stressed and why? wikiHow Contributor Usually words aren't required to be stressed, syllables are.

It can depend on the way the poet wants to make the poem flow or on the type of poem or meter used. How can I know which syllables are stressed? Only by reading out loud? wikiHow Contributor Pretty much. Also, just out of a familiarity with English (and if you don't know how to pronounce a word, you can always look it up). For instance, you know that "poem" is PO-em and not po-EM. Sometimes in older stuff (like Shakespeare) stuff was pronounced a little differently (we pronounce "stressed" like "stress'd," they would've pronounced it like "stress-ed" unless they wrote it with the apostrophe), but generally it's pretty straightforward. If this question (or a similar one) is answered twice in this section, please click here to let us know. Video Tips Most poems written in couplets (with two rhyming words in a row) will end with a stressed syllable. Some words, like "rebellion" will sometimes be three syllables and sometimes four. Most two-syllable words in English stress the first syllable.

Most iambic poems have monosyllabic words at the beginning of the lines (especially articles like "the" "an" and "a"). Warnings Don't second guess yourself over and over! The first foot of the poem might be reversed, to put emphasis on the initial syllable. Beware of the first words in a line: the metrical pattern can sometimes differ from the rest of the line.

Question: How many lines of poetry are in a sonnet?
Answer: 14