1. Sonnet Types
Renaissance Poetry

2. English/Shakespearean
Sonnet Types
Italian/Petrarchan
English/Shakespearean
Spenserian

3. Italian/Petrarchan Sonnet
This sonnet type is named after the Italian poet, Francesco Petrarch.
Many of his sonnets are about unrequited love, a common topic for sonnets that follow this form.

4. Italian/Petrarchan Sonnet
14 lines
Iambic pentameter
Organized into two parts:
octave (8) and sestet (6)
Rhyme scheme is abba abba cde cde
Octave: presents a problem or situation
Sestet: problem is resolved or intensified
Turn (volta) is usually at line 9
A volta is a shift in focus or thought
(the switch from problem to resolution)

5. English/Shakespearean Sonnet
Shakespeare was the master of this sonnet form.
The English form allows for a more detailed development of the question or problem with a quick summary and solution attached to the end.

6. English/Shakespearean Sonnet
14 lines
Iambic pentameter
Organized into three quatrains (4 lines) and a couplet (2 lines)
Rhyme scheme is abab cdcd efef gg
Volta (turn) is usually at line 9 or 13

7. Spenserian Sonnet Created by Edmund Spenser
Similar to Shakespeare’s version
Interlocking rhyme scheme is the only difference
Final couplet is used to make a key point or comment

8. Spenserian Sonnet 14 lines Iambic pentameter
Organized into three quatrains (4 lines) and a couplet (2 lines)
Rhyme scheme is abab bcbc cdcd ee
**Notice how the rhyme is interlocking**