Sonnet | Literary Term | English Literature | Major English | Plus Two Level
Sonnet
is a distinctive poetic style that uses system or pattern of metrical structure
and verse composition usually consisting of fourteen lines, arranged in a set rhyme scheme
or pattern. There are two main styles of sonnet, the Italian sonnet and the
English sonnet. The Italian or Petrarchan sonnet, named after Petrarch
(1304-1374) a fourteenth century writer and the best known poet to use this
form, was developed by the Italian poet Guittone of Arezzo (1230-1294) in the
thirteenth century. Usually written in iambic pentameter, it consists first of
an octave, or eight lines, which asks a question or states a problem or
proposition and follows the rhyme scheme abba, abba. The sestet, or last six
lines, offers an answer, or a resolution to the proposed problem, and follows
the rhyme scheme cde, cde.
The
English or Shakespearean sonnet was named after William Shakespeare who most
believed to the best writer to use the form. Adapting the Italian form to the
English, the octave and sestet were replaced by three quatrains, each having
its own independent rhyme scheme typically rhyming every other line, and ending
with a rhyme couplet. The ending couplet is often the main thought change of
the poem, and has a concise ending. It follows the rhyme scheme abab, cdcd,
efef, gg.
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