The Sonnet

What Is a Sonnet?
A sonnet is a fourteen-line lyric poem, usually written in
iambic pentameter, that has one of several rhyme
schemes.
An iamb is a metrical foot that consists of an unstressed
syllable followed by a stressed onedaDUM.
Penta- means five.
Meter refers to a regular rhythmic pattern in poetry.
So iambic pentameter is a kind of rhythmic pattern that
consists of five iambs per line, almost like five heartbeats:
daDUM daDUM daDUM daDUM daDUM.
Ex: Shakespeare's Twelfth Night:
If music be the food of love, play on.
 Poetic foot
A foot is a combination of stressed and
unstressed syllables.
Iamb: daDUM
Trochee: DUMda
Spondee: DUMDUM
Anapest: dadaDUM
Dactyl: DUMdada
Amphibrach: daDUMda
Pyrrhic: dada
 The Sonnet
The two most common types of
sonnets are:
Petrarchan, or Italian, sonnets
Shakespearean, or English, sonnets
 Petrarchan Sonnets
The Petrarchan, or Italian, sonnet is named
after the fourteenth-century Italian poet
Petrarch.
Two parts tructure:
an eight-line section (octave) abbaabba
a six-line section (sestet) cdecde, cdcdcd, or
cdedce
 Petrarchan sonnets
Organization :
The octave presents a problem, question, or
idea.
The sestet resolves the problem, answers the
question, or emphasizes the idea.
The turn or voltaa shift in focus or thought
usually occurs between the octave and sestet
(often in line 9) and acts as the transition
between the two sections.
 English Sonnet
The sonnet was introduced in England by Wyatt
and Surrey who adapted the Italian model to
the English language.
The English or Shakesperean sonnet has four
parts
three 4-line stanzas (quatrains) abab cdcd efef
one 2-line section (couplet) gg
 English Sonnet
Organization:
The three quatrains express related ideas and
examples or present a question and tentative
answers.
The couplet sums up the speakers conclusion
or message.
 Petrarchan Sonnet
Milton, When I consider how my light is spent
When I consider how my light is spent, a
Ere half my days in this dark world and wide, b
And that one talent which is death to hide b
Lodged with me useless, though my soul more bent a
To serve therewith my Maker, and present a
My true account, lest He returning chide; b
Doth God exact day-labor, light denied? b
I fondly ask. But Patience, to prevent a
That murmur, soon replies, God doth not need c
Either mans work or His own gifts. Who best d
Bear His mild yoke, they serve Him best. His state e
Is kingly: thousands at His bidding speed, c
And post oer land and ocean without rest; d
They also serve who only stand and wait. e
 English Sonnet
Romeo and Juliet. William Shakespeare
Two households, both alike in dignity, a
In fair Verona, where we lay our scene, b
From ancient grudge break to new mutiny, a
Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean. b
From forth the fatal loins of these two foes c
A pair of star-crossd lovers take their life; d
Whose misadventured piteous overthrows c
Do with their death bury their parents strife. d
The fearful passage of their death-markd love, e
And the continuance of their parents rage, f
Which, but their childrens end, nought could remove,e
Is now the two hours traffic of our stage; f
The which if you with patient ears attend, g
What here shall miss, our toil shall strive to mend. g