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What' is a sonnet

Updated: 7/25/2022
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9y ago

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There are three traditional forms of sonnets, rather there are two and a variant that makes the third and has commonly come to be accepted as a third form.

First it is important to point out that a Sonnet is a lyric poem with a topic that is of a more romantic bent. The form of a sonnet is in its name which is derived from Italian, sonetto, and Occitan, sonet, both meaning literally little song.

The earliest form of Sonnet is the Italian or Petrarchan. An Italian sonnet is comprised of fourteen lines, arranged in two parts: the octave, eight lines composed in an a-b-a-b a-b-a-b or a-b-b-a a-b-b-a rhyme scheme; and, the sestet (six lines) composed in a c-d-c-c-d-c, c-d-e-c-d-e, or c-d-c-d-c-d rhyme scheme. The octave describes a problem, while the sestet provides a solution. Example by English poet John Milton demonstrates the form:When I consider how my light is spent,

Ere half my days in this dark world and wide,

And that one talent which is death to hide

Lodged with me useless, though my soul more bent

To serve therewith my Maker, and present

My true account, lest He returning chide;

"Doth God exact day-labor, light denied?"

I fondly ask. But Patience, to prevent

That murmur, soon replies, "God doth not need

Either man's work or His own gifts. Who best

Bear His mild yoke, they serve Him best. His state

Is kingly: thousands at His bidding speed,

And post o'er land and ocean without rest;

They also serve who only stand and wait."

The second form, the English or Shakespearean sonnet is also a fourteen line lyric poem, concerned primarily with a romantic theme. The English sonnet is constructed differently. Each of the fourteen lines of an English sonnet is composed in ten syllables of iambic pentameter (a pair of syllables, an unstressed followed by a stressed syllable). The lines are arranged in three quatrains (four lines of verse) and a couplet (two lines of verse), with a traditional rhyme scheme of a-b-a-b c-d-c-d e-f-e-f g-g. English sonnets do not typically present the problem/solution format of Italian sonnets. An example of an English sonnet is Sonnet 109 ("O never say that I was false of heart") by William ShakespeareO, never say that I was false of heart,

Though absence seemed my flame to qualify.

As easy might I from my self depart

As from my soul which in thy breast doth lie.

That is my home of love; if I have ranged,

Like him that travels I return again,

Just to the time, not with the time exchanged,

So that myself bring water for my stain.

Never believe though in my nature reigned

All frailties that besiege all kinds of blood,

That it could so preposterously be stained

To leave for nothing all thy sum of good;

For nothing this wide universe I call

Save thou, my rose, in it thou art my all.

While the Italian sonnet presents a problem and a solution, the English sonnet deals primarily with the love of a man for a woman. Although, there are variations on this theme--primarily the sonnets of John Donne and John Milton which present more religious themes and meditative contemplation.

The third form is a variant on the English sonnet, but has come to be accepted as a separate form in its own right. The Spencerian sonnet is named for English author Edmund Spencer. It is composed much like an English sonnet in three quatrains and a couplet, but mimics the Italian terza rima form by using a chain-linked rhyme scheme. The rhyme scheme of a Spencerian sonnet appears as follows: a-b-a-b, b-c-b-c, c-d-c-d, e-e. Also like the Shakespearean form, it does not present the problem/solution format as does the Italian, and it deals primarily with a romantic theme in the love of a man for a woman, but may do so with more allusions to nature and natural settings.

There are modern forms of the sonnet, offered by such notable poets as Edna St. Vincent-Milay, Robert Frost, and ee cummings. However, modern forms that do not follow the traditional formats cannot truly be categorized as true sonnets, and may represent new forms unique to the poets who offer them. More typically, modern verse that claims to be a sonnet but does not follow the fourteen line construction would more accurately be a form of free verse.

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6y ago

There are three traditional forms of sonnets, rather there are two and a variant that makes the third and has commonly come to be accepted as a third form.

First it is important to point out that a sonnet is a lyric poem with a topic that is of a more romantic bent. The form of a sonnet is in its name which is derived from Italian, sonetto, and Occitan, sonet, both meaning literally little song.

The earliest form of sonnet is the Italian or Petrarchan. An Italian sonnet is comprised of fourteen lines, arranged in two parts: the octave, eight lines composed in an a-b-a-b a-b-a-b or a-b-b-a a-b-b-a rhyme scheme; and, the sestet (six lines) composed in a c-d-c-c-d-c, c-d-e-c-d-e, or c-d-c-d-c-d rhyme scheme. The octave describes a problem, while the sestet provides a solution. Example by English poet John Milton demonstrates the form:When I consider how my light is spent,

Ere half my days in this dark world and wide,

And that one talent which is death to hide

Lodged with me useless, though my soul more bent

To serve therewith my Maker, and present

My true account, lest He returning chide;

"Doth God exact day-labor, light denied?"

I fondly ask. But Patience, to prevent

That murmur, soon replies, "God doth not need

Either man's work or His own gifts. Who best

Bear His mild yoke, they serve Him best. His state

Is kingly: thousands at His bidding speed,

And post o'er land and ocean without rest;

They also serve who only stand and wait."

The second form, the English or Shakespearean sonnet is also a fourteen line lyric poem, concerned primarily with a romantic theme. The English sonnet is constructed differently. Each of the fourteen lines of an English sonnet is composed in ten syllables of iambic pentameter (a pair of syllables, an unstressed followed by a stressed syllable). The lines are arranged in three quatrains (four lines of verse) and a couplet (two lines of verse), with a traditional rhyme scheme of a-b-a-b c-d-c-d e-f-e-f g-g. English sonnets do not typically present the problem/solution format of Italian sonnets. An example of an English sonnet is Sonnet 109 ("O never say that I was false of heart") by William ShakespeareO, never say that I was false of heart,

Though absence seemed my flame to qualify.

As easy might I from my self depart

As from my soul which in thy breast doth lie.

That is my home of love; if I have ranged,

Like him that travels I return again,

Just to the time, not with the time exchanged,

So that myself bring water for my stain.

Never believe though in my nature reigned

All frailties that besiege all kinds of blood,

That it could so preposterously be stained

To leave for nothing all thy sum of good;

For nothing this wide universe I call

Save thou, my rose, in it thou art my all.

While the Italian sonnet presents a problem and a solution, the English sonnet deals primarily with the love of a man for a woman. Although, there are variations on this theme--primarily the sonnets of John Donne and John Milton which present more religious themes and meditative contemplation.

The third form is a variant on the English sonnet, but has come to be accepted as a separate form in its own right. The Spencerian sonnet is named for English author Edmund Spencer. It is composed much like an English sonnet in three quatrains and a couplet, but mimics the Italian terza rima form by using a chain-linked rhyme scheme. The rhyme scheme of a Spencerian sonnet appears as follows: a-b-a-b, b-c-b-c, c-d-c-d, e-e. Also like the Shakespearean form, it does not present the problem/solution format as does the Italian, and it deals primarily with a romantic theme in the love of a man for a woman, but may do so with more allusions to nature and natural settings.

There are modern forms of the sonnet, offered by such notable poets as Edna St. Vincent-Milay, Robert Frost, and ee cummings. However, modern forms that do not follow the traditional formats cannot truly be categorized as true sonnets, and may represent new forms unique to the poets who offer them. More typically, modern verse that claims to be a sonnet but does not follow the fourteen line construction would more accurately be a form of free verse.

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Sonnet 18 and sonnet 116


The Shakespearean sonnet is also called?

It is also called the English sonnet. The other form is the Italian sonnet, or petrarchan sonnet.


Which sonnet begins My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun and sonnet?

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What are the release dates for The Sonnet Series - 2013 Sonnet 31 The Old Man and the Sonnet 1-8?

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The Italian Sonnet


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It is a petrarchan sonnet, made out of an octave and a sestet.


What are the charictaristics of a sonnet?

sonnet is consisted of fourteen lines,there are two kinds of sonnet-octave and sestet


What type is sonnet 73?

If you mean William Shakespeare's sonnet 73, it is not surprisingly a Shakespearean sonnet.


What type of sonnet is sonnet 130?

Shakespeare's sonnet 130 is a Shakespearean sonnet in terms of rhyme scheme. Its meter is iambic pentameter, and its tone is satirical.


What is a sonnet that has 10 syllables in it called?

A sonnet with 10 syllables in each line is typically referred to as a decasyllabic sonnet. It is a specific form of the sonnet that follows a strict meter and rhyme scheme.


What is the other term for an Shakespearean sonnet?

the English sonnet