Sonnet
A fourteen-line poem in iambic pentameter, the great workhorse of English lyric.
About the Sonnet
The sonnet is a fourteen-line poem traditionally written in iambic pentameter, organized around a central argument that turns at a predictable point. More than any other inherited form, the sonnet has stayed in use in English from the 16th century to the present, with a quiet spell in the 18th century before the Romantics revived it.
Structure
Two main traditions. The Italian (Petrarchan) sonnet divides into an eight-line octave (ABBAABBA) and a six-line sestet (CDECDE or CDCDCD), with the turn (volta) at line nine. The English (Shakespearean) sonnet uses three quatrains and a closing couplet (ABABCDCDEFEFGG), with the turn typically before the couplet.
Italian (Petrarchan)
Octave, then sestet
English (Shakespearean)
Three quatrains, then a couplet
A Short History
- 1200sBorn in Sicily, at the court of Frederick II.
- 1300sPetrarch refines it in Italy.
- 1500sWyatt and Surrey bring it into English.
- 1609Shakespeare's Sonnets are published; the English form takes his name.
- TodayModern poets from Frost to Terrance Hayes keep it alive.
Famous Sonnets
- 01"Sonnet 18"William Shakespeare
- 02"Death, be not proud"John Donne
- 03"How do I love thee?"Elizabeth Barrett Browning
- 04"American Sonnet for My Past and Future Assassin" (one of a sequence)Terrance Hayes
Questions About the Sonnet
The things people ask most, answered in a sentence or two.