The S onnet

S tresses
In E nglish, and most E uropean
languages, words of more than one syllable
alternate stressed and unstressed syllables.
F or example, the word imagination is
pronounced with stresses on the second and
fourth syllables (stressed syllables are
capitalized): i-MA-gi-NA-tion.
 Iambic M eter
This pattern of alternating unstressed
and stressed syllables is the most common
in E nglish poetry. It is called iambic meter.
A n iamb is a metric foot (one unit of meter
or rhythm in a poem) that includes an
unstressed syllable (represented by an x)
followed by a stressed syllable (represented
by a /), as in the word aLONE.
 B asic Poetic Feet
There are four basic feet used in E nglish
poetry:
FOOT PATTERN EXAMPLE
iamb x/ aLONE
trochee /x ONly
anapest xx/ in a DREAM
dactyl /xx MEMories
 A dditional Poetic Feet
The following feet, which obviously
cannot be used alone in a poem, are often
substituted for one of the basic feet:

FOOT PATTERN EXAMPLE

pyrrhic xx of the
spondee // OLD LOVES
tribrach xxx of a re-
molossos /// MOTE LOST
LAND
 S till M ore Poetic Feet
Other feet of three or four syllables exist
for every possible combination of stressed
and unstressed syllables, but they are
seldom used.
 Iambic Pentameter
The most common line of poetry in
E nglish is iambic pentameter, like these
lines from S hakespeare’s S onnet 130:
I L OV E to HE A R her S PE A K , yet WE L L I K NOW
That M US ic HA TH a F A R more PL E A S ing S OUND
 M eter
A line of poetry may have from one to eight
metric feet. Each of these forms has a name:
– M onometer—one foot per line
– Dimeter—two feet per line
– Trimeter—three feet per line
– Tetrameter—four feet per line
– Pentameter—five feet per line
– Hexameter—six feet per line
– Heptameter—seven feet per line
– Octameter—eight feet per line
 Rhyme
In poetry, sounds and entire words are
repeated to tie words together or emphasize
certain ideas.
Rhyme is the repetition of a stressed
vowel and the consonants that follow it.
The consonants before the vowel are
different. The following words rhyme:
trick, quick, lick, pick.
 M arking a Poem’s Rhyme
S cheme
Lowercase letters are used to indicate the
rhyme scheme in a poem.
My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun; a
Coral is far more red than her lips’ red; b
If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun; a
If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head. b

The a rhyme is –un in sun and dun, and the

b rhyme is –ed in red and head.
 S onnet
The sonnet, probably the poetic form
most commonly used in E nglish, is fourteen
lines of rhymed iambic pentameter (five
iambs per line). There are two common
rhyming patterns for sonnets: Italian or
Petrarchan and E nglish or S hakespearian.
 Italian S onnets
The rhyme scheme for the Italian sonnet
is abbaabba cdecde (or cdcdcd). The first
eight lines are the octave, in which a
problem or situation is presented. In the
sestet, or last six lines, that problem is
resolved. The best known Italian sonnet in
E nglish is “ How Do I L ove Thee? ” by
E lizabeth B arrett B rowning.
 E nglish S onnets
The rhyme scheme for the E nglish
sonnet is abab cdcd efef gg, with three
quatrains (a set of four lines) and a final
couplet (two lines). Notice that there are
more rhymes in the E nglish sonnet.
B ecause so many Italian words end in
vowels, it is easier to find four words that
rhyme in that language than it is in E nglish.
 S ample S onnets
• M y lady’s presence makes the roses red
• M y mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun
• “ On the S onnet”
• How do I love thee? L et me count the ways
• “ To S hakespeare, K eats, and Hopkins”
My lady’s presence makes the roses red
by Henry Constable (1562-1613)
M y lady’s presence makes the roses red
B ecause to see her lips they blush for shame.
The lily’s leaves, for envy, pale became,
A nd her white hands in them this envy bred.
The marigold the leaves abroad doth spread
B ecause the sun’s and her power is the same.
The violet of purple color came,
Dyed in the blood she made my heart to shed.
In brief, all flowers from her their virtue take;
F rom her sweet breath their sweet smells do proceed;
The living heat which her eyebeams doth make
Warmeth the ground and quickeneth the seed.
The rain wherewith she watereth the flowers
F alls from mine eyes, which she dissolves in showers.
My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun
by William S hakespeare (1564-1616)
M y mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun;
Coral is far more red than her lips’ red;
If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun;
If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head.
I have seen roses damasked * red and white, *
variegated
B ut no such roses see I in her cheeks;
A nd in some perfumes is there more delight
Than in the breath that from my mistress reeks.
I love to hear her speak, yet well I know
That music hath a far more pleasing sound;
I grant I never saw a goddess go;
M y mistress, when she walks, treads on the ground.
A nd yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare
A s any she belied with false compare.
 “ On the S onnet”
by John Keats (1795-1821)
If by dull rhymes our E nglish must be chained,
A nd, like A ndromeda, the S onnet sweet
F ettered, in spite of painéd loveliness;
L et us find out, if we must be constrained,
S andals more interwoven and complete
To fit the naked foot of poesy;
L et us inspect the lyre, and weigh the stress
Of every chord, and see what may be gained
B y ear industrious, and attention meet;
M isers of sound and syllable, no less
Than M idas of his coinage, let us be
Jealous of dead leaves in the bay-wreath crown;
S o, if we may not let the M use be free,
S he will be bound with garlands of her own.
How do I love thee? L et me count the ways
by Elizabeth B arrett B rowning (1806-1861)
How do I love thee? L et me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
M y soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
F or the ends of B eing and ideal Grace.
I love thee to the level of everyday's
M ost quiet need, by sun and candle-light.
I love thee freely, as men strive for Right;
I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise.
I love thee with a passion put to use
In my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith.
I love thee with a love I seemed to lose
With my lost saints, --- I love thee with the breath,
S miles, tears, of all my life! --- and, if God choose,
I shall but love thee better after death.
 “ To S hakespeare, Keats, A nd Hopkins”
by Elizabeth Clark (1956- )
Unnumbered verses, artless, without measure,
debased, deformed, demeaning each word’s worth,
prospective chart not yielding promised treasure,
unhallowed hollow creed but prompting mirth,
not faith or works (A lisping infant’s curse,
with far more definition, so unhitches
all sense from sound.)—inharmony! or worse—
unruly, pouring forth in fevered pitches,
delude, deluge the world with reigning passion
incensed, in fondness penned by anyone
but, worshipful of idle, awful fashion,
without content. Why will they not have done?
With reason will your feats become the norm
again: true poetry in ideal form.