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A sonnet is a 14-line poem in iambic pentameter with three traditional forms: Petrarchan, Shakespearean, and Spenserian. Petrarchan sonnets have an abbaabba rhyme scheme and a turn between the octave and sextet. Shakespearean sonnets have an abab cdcd efef gg rhyme scheme and a turn between the final quatrain and couplet. Spenserian sonnets have an abab bcbc cdcd ee rhyme scheme and connect the sounds of consecutive quatrains. Other variations exist with different line numbers, meters, and rhyme schemes.
A sonnet is a 14-line poem written in iambic pentameter. The term “iambic” refers to the type of foot, or unit of rhythm, which in this case is composed of a weaker syllable followed by a stressed syllable. “Pentameter” refers to the number of feet in a line, which in this case is five. Thus, each line in iambic pentameter consists of five two-syllable rhythm units – essentially “Da dum da dum da dum da dum da dum” in most cases, where “da” is the weakest syllable and “dum” is the stressed syllable. The three traditional forms of sonnets are Italian or Petrarchan sonnets, English or Shakespearean sonnets, and Spenserian sonnets.
Petrarchan Sonnets
Italian sonnets are commonly called Petrarchan sonnets, after Francesco Petrarca, a 14th-century Italian poet also known as Petrarch. A Petrarchan sonnet consists of a strophe of eight lines, called the octave, followed by a strophe of six lines, called the sextet. This type of sonnet is built with a change of thought or turn between the octave and the sextet, although their content and form are aligned. For example, the octave might talk about a conflict, with the sextet talking about resolution.
The rhyming pattern of a patriarch sonnet is always abbaabba. In other words, the ends of the fourth, fifth and eighth line rhyme with the end of the first line, and the ends of the third, sixth and seventh line rhyme with the end of the second. The rhyme scheme of the sextet can vary, but the last two lines do not rhyme. Most sextets in Petrarchan sonnets use a cdecde or cdcdcd rhyme scheme, but other combinations, such as cddece, are possible.
Shakespearean sonnets
English sonnets are usually called Shakespearean sonnets, after the famous poet and playwright William Shakespeare, who lived in England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. This type of sonnet has three four-line stanzas, called quatrains, followed by one two-line stanza, called a couplet. The rhyming scheme is abab cdcd efef gg. Each verse introduces a separate idea, extending, playing with, or arguing with what came before. The turning point often occurs between the final quatrain and the couplet.
Spenserian sonnets
Spenserian sonnets, named after the 16th-century English poet Edmund Spenser, are variations on Shakespearean sonnets. Like a Shakespearean sonnet, it contains three quatrains followed by a couplet. Spenserian sonnets differ, however, in that their rhyming pattern connects the sounds of consecutive quatrains: abab bcbc cdcd ee. The interconnection of the three quatrains might encourage a different kind of connection between them than Shakespeare’s sonnets. For example, in a sonnet by Spenser himself, each stanza is a further step in a dialogue between the speaker and the sea.
Other forms of sonnets
There are many sonnet forms that are variations on the traditional forms. These forms might have a different number of lines, use a different rhythmic meter, or use a different rhyme scheme. For example, short sonnets are proportionally shorter, a caudate sonnet has extra lines at the end, and Pushkin’s sonnets have different meters and rhyme schemes. Occitan sonnets have two quatrains and a sextet, with the rhyming scheme being abab abab cdcdcd.
