English 10 / Unit 5: Poetry: Form, Sound and Meaning
5.3 The Sonnet in Depth
Notes
A sonnet is a 14-line poem, usually in iambic pentameter, built around a problem and a turn (volta).
| Type | Structure | Rhyme scheme | Usual volta |
|---|---|---|---|
| Petrarchan (Italian) | octave (8) + sestet (6) | ABBAABBA CDECDE (or CDCDCD) | line 9 |
| Shakespearean (English) | three quatrains + a couplet | ABAB CDCD EFEF GG | line 13, sometimes line 9 |
- The octave or quatrains often present a problem; the sestet or couplet responds.
- Shakespeare's Sonnet 130, "My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun," mocks the exaggerated praise common in love sonnets, then insists in the couplet that his love is real.
Practice
How many lines are in the octave of a Petrarchan sonnet?
The octave is the first 8 lines; the sestet is the last 6.
In a Shakespearean sonnet, the final two lines are a:
The sonnet ends with a rhyming couplet, GG.
Sonnet 130 begins "My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun." What is Shakespeare doing?
He mocks clichés, then affirms that his love is "rare" without false comparisons.
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