An iambic pentameter sonnet is a 14-line poem with a rhythmic system of unstressed and stressed syllables. It can use various rhyme systems and cover any theme. It was popularized in England by Sir Thomas Wyatt and personified by William Shakespeare. Pentameter has five feet, and iambic employs an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable. The sonnet can use different rhyme systems, including Shakespearean and Petrarchan. The iambic pentameter sonnet is the dominant sonnet form in English and has been used by poets such as Wordsworth, Yeats, and Frost.
An iambic pentameter sonnet is a 14-line poem that uses the rhythmic system of iambic pentameter. Such poems may use one of many rhyme systems and may use Petrarch’s ideas on octaves and sextets or follow Milton’s ideas on blending the two. It can also cover any theme the poet wishes to write about. The distinguishing feature of this type of poem, therefore, is the rhythm used within the verse and nothing else.
The sonnet was first imported into England in the early 16th century by Sir Thomas Wyatt, but originally gained popularity in the Italian states thanks to Francesco Petrarca, better known as Petrarch in English. The format gained popularity over the century and was personified by William Shakespeare, who bequeathed to the world a large collection of 16 sonnets, each an iambic pentametric sonnet.
Pentameter means that the meter of a poem line has five feet. A foot is a basic unit of rhythm, which can contain two to four syllables. Italian and Latin tend to use dactylic feet, which contain three syllables. An alternative to pentameter is the hexameter, which naturally employs six poetic feet.
Iambic is one of several types of two-syllable feet. It is distinguished by the fact that it employs an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable. This pattern is repeated five times per line for each line in the iambic pentametric sonnet. It is possible for some iambic feet to reverse the solicitation pattern on rare occasions, but normal service resumes on the next foot. The idea of stressed and unstressed syllables harks back to Old English, which relied on alliteration of stressed syllables for rhythm.
The iambic pentameter sonnet is flexible enough to use whatever rhyme system is used for the sonnet. The most common types are Shakespearean and Petrarchan. The Shakespearean system employs three quatrains with a form ABAB, CDCD, EFEF and a final rhyming couplet. The Petrarchan sonnet, on the other hand, uses a system of rhymes ABBA, ABBA, CDE, CDE.
Even poets, such as the metaphysical poets, and John Milton who blended the octave and sextet together, maintained the same rhythmic system used by the early sonnetists. The iambic pentameter sonnet grew to become the dominant sonnet form in English. It has been used by poets such as William Wordsworth, William Butler Yeats and Robert Frost. In most English language schools, it is the first form of sonnet that students will learn in class.
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