The Sonnet

Sonnet comes from the Italian word sonnetto, meaning “a little sound or song”

Structure• 14 lines• One of 3 rhyme schemes (Italian, English,

Spenserian)• Meter = iambic pentameter (5 iambs per line)• 10 syllables per line of unstressed syllable

followed by a stressed syllable.• (my LOVE) (is LIKE) (to ICE) (and I) (to FIRE)

Sonnet Forms• 1. The Italian Sonnet (also called Petrarchan

Sonnet)• First 8 lines = octave• Last 6 lines = sestet • There is a “shift” or “turn” between the octave

and sestet that provides a resolution or answer to the problem presented in the octave.

2. The Italian Sonnet

• Also called the Petrarchan Sonnet

• Structure: – One octave (8 lines) with

their its own scheme– One sestet (two lines)

OCTAVE - 8 lines

SESTET - 6 lines

Sir Thomas Wyatt

• He brought the Italian sonnet form to England, which transformed English poetry.

• He used the Italian sonnet form, but included the concluding rhyming couplet that becomes the trademark of English sonnets.

Italian Sonnet Rhyme Scheme

• Octave: abbaabba

• Sestet: cdecde or cdcdcd

ABBAABBA

CDCDCD

C D E C D E

CDDCEE

Wyatt’s Mod

2. The English Sonnet

• Also called the Shakespearean Sonnet

• Structure: – 3 quatrains (4 lines each)

with their own rhyme schemes

– One rhyming couplet (two lines)

Quatrain (4 lines)

Quatrain (4 lines)

Quatrain

Quatrain

Couplet (2 lines)

Rhyme Scheme of the English Sonnet

• abab cdcd efef gg• More versatile than

Italian form.• Better for English

language which has fewer rhyming words than Italian.

Quatrain (4 lines)

ABABCDCDEFEFGG

3. The Spenserian Sonnet

• Created by Sir Edmund Spenser

• Follows the same structure as the English/Shakespearean sonnet, but has a different rhyme scheme.

Rhyme Scheme of the Spenserian Sonnet

• abab bcbc cdcd ee

• This is called an interlocking rhyme scheme.

Quatrain (4 lines)

ABABBCBCCDCDEE