Sonnets

Sonnets are a form of poetry

The word sonnet means “little song.”

Sonnets

Each sonnet has 14 lines.

Each sonnet has a rhyme scheme.

Sonnets are written in iambic pentameter.

Characteristics of Sonnets

LoveDeath/MortalityChangeReligious DevotionChangeSelf-Deprecation

Traditional Themes of Sonnets

Sonnets: The HistoryOriginated in Italy during the Italian

Renaissance.

A man name Francis Petrarch (or Francesco Petrarca) is credited with the development of the sonnet.

Dante is also credited with writing Italian Sonnets.

Sonnets with a particular structure are called Italian or Petrarchan Sonnets.

Sonnets: The History

Author Thomas Wyatt traveled to Spain and Italy where he was exposed to the Petrarchan (Italian) Sonnet.

Wyatt began writing sonnets. His focus was on rhyme.

Wyatt’s friend Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey, also began writing sonnets. His focus was on structure.

Surrey is credited with the development of the English Sonnet.

The English sonnet is also known as the Elizabethan Sonnet, or more commonly, the Shakespearian Sonnet.

Meter - a recurring pattern of stressed (accented, or long) and unstressed (unaccented, or short) syllables in lines of a set length.

Foot – a set of syllables

EXAMPLE:Shall I | com PARE | thee TO | a SUM |

mer’s DAY?

What is Meter?

Stress PatternsName Stress # of Syllables

Iamb (Iambic) Unstressed + Stressed 2 Syllables

Trochee (Trochaic) Stressed + Unstressed 2 Syllables

Spondee (Spondaic) Stressed + Stressed 2 Syllables

Anapest (Anapestic)

Unstressed + Unstressed + Stressed 3 Syllables

Dactyl (Dactylic) Stressed + Unstressed + Unstressed 3 Syllables

Pyrrhic Unstressed + Unstressed 2 Syllables

Feet in a LineName Number of Feet per

Line

Monometer One Foot

Dimeter Two Feet

Trimeter Three Feet

Tetrameter Four Feet

Pentameter Five Feet

Hexameter Six Feet

Heptameter Seven Feet

Octameter Eight Feet

The meter is determined by the type of foot and the number of feet per line.

Example 1Four Anapestic feet = anapestic tetrameter

da da DUM | da da DUM | da da DUM | da da DUM

The As SYR|ian came DOWN | like the WOLF | on the FOLD

And his CO|horts were GLEAM|ing in PUR|ple and GOLD

And the SHEEN | of their SPEARS | was like STARS | on the SEA

(from “The Destruction of Sennacherib” by George Gordon Lord Byron)

Determining the Meter

Example 2Four Trochaic feet = Trochaic tetrameterDUM da | DUM da | DUM da | DUM da

TYger | TYger | BURNning | BRIGHT IN the | FORests | OF the | NIGHT

(from “The Tyger” by William Blake)

Determining the Meter

Example 3Sonnets are written in iambic pentameter.

Five Iambic feet = Iambic PentameterDa DUM | Da DUM | Da DUM |Da DUM |Da DUM

When I | con SID|er HOW | my LIFE | is SPENT

Ere HALF | my DAYS | is THIS | dark WORLD |and WIDE

(from “On His Blindness” by John Milton)

Determining the Meter

2 Lines = Couplet

4 Lines = Quatrain

6 Lines = Sestet

8 Lines = Octave

Counting Lines

Italian/Petrarchan Sonnets

Quatrain 4Quatrain 4Sestet 6-----------------TOTAL 14 lines

Quatrain 4Quatrain 4Quatrain 4Couplet 2-----------------TOTAL 14 lines

Counting LinesEnglish/Shakespearian Sonnets & Spenserian Sonnets

Rhyme scheme simply refers to the pattern of rhyme used in a poem.

Letters are used to represent the rhymes.

Italian/Petrarchan sonnets, English/Shakespearian sonnets, and Spenserian sonnets all use different rhyme schemes.

Rhyme Schemes

What time of year thou mayst in me beholdA

When yellow leaves, or none, or few, do hangB

Upon those boughs which shake against the cold, A

Bare ruined choirs, where late the sweet birds sang. B

Example of Rhyme Scheme

Specific Rhyme SchemesItalian/Petrarchan Sonnet

A B B A (quatrain)

A B B A (quatrain)

C D C D C D (sestet)

English/Shakespearian SonnetA B A B (quatrain)

C D C D (quatrain)

E F E F (quatrain)

G G (couplet)

Spenserian SonnetA B A B (quatrain)

B C B C (quatrain)

C D C D (quatrain)

E E (couplet)

VoltaItalian/Petrarchan sonnets contain a change in

thought or a turn which accompanies the change in rhyme scheme. This called the volta.

EnjambmentNot only in sonnets, but in a variety of poetry, a

thought is carried from one line into the next. This is called enjambment.

Blank VerseWhen no rhyme scheme is present.

Additional Terms