THE SONNET
CREATION Originally created in Italy in the 1200s by the poet Lentino. In English poetry, the poet Petrarch made it popular.
DEFINITION A sonnet is a poem of 14 lines of iambic pentameter. The subjects of sonnets is usually love.
RHYME PATTERNS Rhymes in a number of different patterns, 2 of which are: Italian (also called Petrarchan) English (also called Shakespearean)
RHYME SCHEME The pattern of end rhyme in a stanza or poem. Generally denoted with small-case letters, with each letter assigned a different ending sound.
EXAMPLE Sing a song of sixpence, a A pocket full of rye, b Four and twenty blackbirds,c Baked in a pie. b When the pie was opened,d The birds began to sing. e Was this not a dainty dish f To set before the king? e
ITALIAN (PETRARCHAN) SONNET
Italian (Petrarchan) The original form of a sonnet. Consists of an octet (a group of 8 lines) and a sestet (group of 6 lines).
Italian (Petrarchan) Petrarch’s sonnets were usually about love and were written to a girl named Laura.
Italian (Petrarchan) There are 3 possible rhyme schemes: abbaabba ccddee abbaabba cdecde abbaabba cdcdee
ENGLISH (SHAKESPEAREAN) SONNET
English (Shakespearean) The most common in English. He wrote about many subjects, including his good friend, aging, immortality of poetry, a woman, and emotional problems.
English (Shakespearean) Consists of 3 quatrains (4-line stanzas) and a couplet (2 lines that rhyme). The rhyme scheme is: abab cdcd efef gg