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[NERD ALERT - Sonnet thread]
I think I will continue my sonneteering but I'm not sure if my next one will be an English (Shakespearean) sonnet or a Spenserian sonnet.
I'm not yet brave enough to do an Italian (Petrarchan sonnet).
I think I will continue my sonneteering but I'm not sure if my next one will be an English (Shakespearean) sonnet or a Spenserian sonnet.
I'm not yet brave enough to do an Italian (Petrarchan sonnet).
(2/7)
For those unfamiliar with sonnet lingo, all sonnets have fourteen lines. The difference lies in the ending rhymes and structure.
Italian sonnet has two stanza. An octet and a sestet. The octet has rhyme scheme ABBAABBA and the sestet has rhyme scheme CDECDE or CDCCDC.
For those unfamiliar with sonnet lingo, all sonnets have fourteen lines. The difference lies in the ending rhymes and structure.
Italian sonnet has two stanza. An octet and a sestet. The octet has rhyme scheme ABBAABBA and the sestet has rhyme scheme CDECDE or CDCCDC.
(3/7)
The first stanza contains the "problem" and then the second stanza contains the resolution.
In English, the sonnet is usually done in three quatrains (four-line stanzas) and an ending couplet. The resolution or "turn" comes in the couplet.
The first stanza contains the "problem" and then the second stanza contains the resolution.
In English, the sonnet is usually done in three quatrains (four-line stanzas) and an ending couplet. The resolution or "turn" comes in the couplet.
(4/7)
The English sonnet (also called the Shakespearean sonnet) was not developed by Shakespeare but he is the most famous poet to write in that form.
It uses rhyme scheme ABAB CDCD EFEF GG
A variant is the Spenserian sonnet which has the pattern ABAB BCBC CDCD EE
The English sonnet (also called the Shakespearean sonnet) was not developed by Shakespeare but he is the most famous poet to write in that form.
It uses rhyme scheme ABAB CDCD EFEF GG
A variant is the Spenserian sonnet which has the pattern ABAB BCBC CDCD EE
(5/7)
If you're thinking a Spenserian sonnet looks a bit like Dante's Divine Comedy, you would be correct. Dante uses terza rima - ABA BCB CDC DED which is a form of chain rhyme.
The Elizabethans were heavily influenced by the Italians so it's likely this was deliberate.
If you're thinking a Spenserian sonnet looks a bit like Dante's Divine Comedy, you would be correct. Dante uses terza rima - ABA BCB CDC DED which is a form of chain rhyme.
The Elizabethans were heavily influenced by the Italians so it's likely this was deliberate.
(6/7)
Most famous English sonneteers:
William Shakespeare (154 sonnets. HIGHLY recommended)
Edmund Spenser (Amoretti)
Sir William Sidney (Astrophel and Stella)
Most famous English sonneteers:
William Shakespeare (154 sonnets. HIGHLY recommended)
Edmund Spenser (Amoretti)
Sir William Sidney (Astrophel and Stella)
(7/7)
Final note:
There are other variants on the sonnet form but in English, these are the three most famous and influential forms that you will encounter. It's fun to try to write them although I try to stay close to iambic pentameter and that's really tricky.
Final note:
There are other variants on the sonnet form but in English, these are the three most famous and influential forms that you will encounter. It's fun to try to write them although I try to stay close to iambic pentameter and that's really tricky.
