John Milton created the Miltonic sonnet, a variant of the Petrarchan sonnet, which retains the length and pattern of Petrarch’s rhymes but eliminates the interruption of the stanza between the octave and the sextet. The Shakespearean sonnet is the most common form of sonnet in English, while the Petrarchan sonnet was introduced into English by poets such as Sir Thomas Wyatt. Milton’s variation on Petrarch’s sonnet inspired other sonnetists such as William Wordsworth and Percy Shelley. Milton kept the distinction between octave and sextet in terms of function but merged them into a single 16-line stanza.
John Milton created the Miltonic sonnet as a variant of the then very popular Petrarchan sonnet. Miltonia’s sonnet retains the length and pattern of Petrarch’s rhymes, but eliminates the interruption of the stanza between the octave and the sextet. Otherwise, Miltonic’s sonnet is an ordinary sonnet with its own form and where the subject and theme of the poem is to the poet.
A sonnet is a 14-line poem originating in medieval Italy. The typical sonnet uses iambic pentameter in English. The most common form of sonnet found in English is the form popularized by William Shakespeare in the late 16th century. The Shakespearean sonnet has the familiar ababcdcdefefgg rhyme scheme with alternating rhymes ending in a rhyming couplet.
There can be great variety in the rhyme scheme of a sonnet. Petrarch popularized a form created by Guittone of Arezzo in the 14th century. The rhyming patterns of the octave and sextet are different to produce the following sequence: abbaabba and cdecde. The Petrarchan sonnet was introduced into English by poets such as Sir Thomas Wyatt.
Petrarch divided the poem into two unequal parts. The octave was an eight-line opening stanza that posed a problem. The sextet was a closing six lines commenting on the problem.
John Milton was a 16th century thinker and poet. His first poems were published anonymously and his most famous work is “Paradise Lost”. His variation on Petrarch’s sonnet inspired poems by other sonnetists such as William Wordsworth and Percy Shelley. Milton kept the distinction between octave and sextet in terms of function, but merged them into a single 16-line stanza. An example used to demonstrate Miltonic’s sonnet is “On His Blindness,” which reads like this:
“WHEN I consider how my light is consumed,
Before half my days in this dark and vast world,
And that one talent that is death to hide
Stayed with me useless, although my soul is more bent
Serve my Creator with it and submit
My true account, lest returning to rebuke,
“Does God require daytime work, light denied?”
I ask affectionately. But be patient, to prevent
That murmur, he soon replies, “God has no need”
Either the man’s work or his talents. Who better?
Bear his meek yoke, they serve him best. his state
He’s regal: thousands at his bidding speed,
And placed on land and ocean without ceasing;
They also serve those who just stand and wait.’”
In this poem, the octave rhyming pattern is represented by spent-broad-hide-bent-present-reprove-deny-prevent. The sestet rhyming scheme is shown using need-best-state-speed-rest-wait. The eighth considers the concept of being blind, something that plagued Milton in his later years. The sestet then relates blindness to the will of God.
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