SONNETSEverything you need to know summarized

by yours truly

ABOUT THE SONNET

C

omes from the Italian word “sonnetto” which means “little

song”

I

nvented in the 12th century in Italy

F

amous sonnet writers: Wordsworth, Shakespeare,

Elizabeth Barrett Browning

THEMES OF SONNETS

L

ove-written usually in a male’s perspective

P

raises a woman’s beauty then criticizes her for not loving

him back

C

ompares his beloved to a star or other celestial body

(courtly love).

TWO TYPES OF SONNETS

I

talian Sonnets and English Sonnets

B

oth are 14 lines and written in iambic pentameter

I

amb: rhythm of poem; short unstressed syllable followed by a long stressed

syllable

E

ach iamb equals one foot

E

xample: unCLEAR

I GOT THE “IAMB” PART, BUT WHAT’S “PENTAMETER”?

M

eter=number of feet in a single line

P

ENTA= five

P

entameter= 5 feet (beats per line)

-

/ -/ -/ -/ -/

L

et’s practice. Read the following line and mark it with iambic pentameter:

My mistress eyes are

nothing like the sun

How many syllables

in all?

ANSWER:

- / - / - / - / - /

M

y mistress eyes are nothing like the

sun

ITALIAN SONNET

Italian

(Petrarchan) Sonnet: 2 parts

1

Octave (group of 8 lines) followed by

1

Sestet (group of 6 lines)

Rhyme

Scheme:

abbaabba cdccdc

ENGLISH SONNET

E

nglish (Shakespearean Sonnet)

4

parts:• 3 quatrains (3 groups of 4 lines)• 1 rhyming couplet (2 lines that rhyme)Rhyme Scheme:

abab cdcd efef gg