What is a sonnet?

14 line lyric poem with a rhyme scheme and defined structure

Italian Sonnet
The English Sonnet
The sonnet originated in Italy in the 13th century
It comes from the Italian word sonetto, meaning little song.
The subject of the poem is generally focused on personal feelings and thoughts.
It is written in iambic pentameter lines where there are five metrical units of a
unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable.Because of the technical skill
required to write a sonnet, the form has challenged English poets for almost 500
years ago.

The Italian poet Petrarch (1304-1374) perfected the Italian sonnet, so it is often
referred to as the Petrarchan.

Petrarch felt that the sonnet, with its brevity and musical rhymes, was a perfect
medium for the expression of emotions, especially love.
He wrote over three hundred sonnets detailing his devotion to a beautiful but
unobtainable lady, whom he referred to as Laura.

The Italian Sonnet....

has a two part structure

First, an octave (the first eight lines) with the rhyme scheme...establishes the
speakers the speakers situation Followed by a sestet (the last six lines) with the
rhyme scheme... which resolves, draws conclusions about, or expresses a
reaction to that situation

The English sonnet began with another lovelorn poet, Sir Thomas Wyatt. Wyatt
translated some of Petrachs love sonnets and wrote a few of his own with a slight
modification.

Henry Howard, earl of Surrey continued the modifications started by Wyatt by

modifying the rhyme scheme.

The English form ultimately become known as the Shakespeare sonnet because
William Shakespeare used it with such distinction.

The Spenserian Sonnet

Rhyming in English requires greater skill and finesse, testing a poets
resourcefulness and imagination. Yet Spenser rhymed with the ease of a cook
dicing carrots. Nothing stopped him. His sonnets reflect that capacity differing
from Shakespeares mainly in their rhyme scheme. Just like the English sonnet,
 the Spenseriarn sonnet consists of three quatrains followed by a couplet.

The difference is the Spenserian sonnet has an interlocking rhyme scheme of

abab bcbc cdcd e

To review...

if you come across a sonnet, understanding the organization will help you to
understand the poem.

Follow up Questions:
How does understanding the structure of the sonnet help you understand a one
of the sonnets
other than the one you completed your commentary one.