Sonnets
First, a few poetry terms…
A stanza is like a paragraph of a poem.
A 2-line stanza is called:
A Couplet
A 3-line stanza is called:
A Tercet
A 4-line stanza is called:
A Quatrain
A 5-line stanza is called:
A Cinquain
* Alliteration – the repetition of consonant sounds at
the beginning of words. * This makes you slow
down & focus on the words.
Example – “of cloudless climbs and starry skies”
Underline the words that show alliteration
• “Come live with me and be my love,/
And we will all the pleasures prove”
(Marlowe 1-2).
• “Time drives the flocks from field to fold/
When rivers rage and rocks grow cold,”
(Raleigh 5-6).
The answers…
• “Come live with me and be my love,/
And we will all the pleasures prove”
(Marlowe 1-2).
• “Time drives the flocks from field to fold/
When rivers rage and rocks grow cold,”
(Raleigh 5-6).
Why not…?
• “Come live with me and be my love,/
And we will all the pleasures prove”
(Marlowe 1-2).
• “Time drives the flocks from field to fold/
When rivers rage and rocks grow cold,”
(Raleigh 5-6).
Definition of a Sonnet
• A 14-line lyric poem with a
complicated rhyme scheme and a
defined structure.
• Comes from the Italian word for
“little song”
Volta
• The volta (or “the turn”) in a
sonnet is important. The volta is
the point where the poet takes a
“turn” or changes what he’s
talking about (often when the
rhyme group changes or with
words like “But” “Yet” etc.)
Ex: ABBAABBA (volta) CDCDCD
• Not every sonnet has a volta.
Italian Sonnet
• Also called the Petrarchan
Sonnet in honor of
Francesco Petrarch, the
Italian poet who perfected it
• He thought it was the
perfect style to convey
emotions, esp. love
• He wrote 365 sonnets (*one
per day) to a beautiful lady
named Laura.
Form & Rhyme Scheme
• Two-part structure:
octave (first eight lines)
ABBAABBA (rhyme scheme)
sestet (last six lines)
CDCDCD or CDECDE
(*occasionally CDDCDD)
Petrarchan cont.
• Octave: usually sets up/explains
the speaker’s situation
• Sestet: resolves, draws
conclusions about or expresses a
reaction to that situation
• The volta usually occurs between
the octave & sestet
ABBAABBA volta CDCDCD
Sonnet 1 by Petrarch
Here's Sonnet 1 in the original:
Voi ch'ascoltate in rime sparse il suono
Di quei sospiri ond'io nudriva 'l core
In sul mio primo giovenile errore,
Quand'era in parte altr'uom da quel ch' i' sono,
Del vario stile in ch'io piango e ragiono
Fra le vane speranze e 'l van dolore,
Ove sia chi per prova intenda amore,
Spero trovar pieta, non che perdono.
Ma ben veggio or si come al popol tutto
Favola fui gran tempo, onde sovente
Di me medesmo meco mi vergogno;
E del mio vaneggiar vergogna e 'l frutto,
E 'l pentersi, e 'l conoscer chiaramente
Che quanto piace al mondo e breve sogno
Rhyme scheme: ABBAABBACDECDE
Rhyme scheme gone wrong?
• No; Petrarchan sonnets we read
are TRANSLATIONS from the
original Italian.
• Translators try to create a
similar rhyme scheme.
The English changed it
• English is considered a “rhyme
poor” language.
• Petrarchan sonnets only used 4-5
rhymes per sonnet.
• English poets made the rhyme
scheme more complex.
Edmund Spenser’s Sonnets
• The rhyme scheme overlaps
to bring more unity to the
poems.
• Rhyme scheme:
ABAB BCBC CDCD EE
● The volta/turn tends to occur
at line 9 or the rhyming couplet
at the end.
Spenser’s Sonnets
• Like Shakespeare’s, his consist of 3
quatrains and a rhyming couplet.
• Amoretti – his collection of sonnets
– were published in 1595
• “intimate little tokens of love”
• Many written when courting his 2nd
wife, Elizabeth Boyle (likely
autobiographical in part)
Shakespeare’s Sonnets
• William Shakespeare
wrote 154 sonnets.
• Topics: love, beauty,
politics, & mortality.
• Some don’t believe he
wrote them.
• The sonnets refer to a fair
young man, a dark lady,
and a rival poet.
The Rules
• 14 lines long
• Rhyme scheme:
ABAB CDCD EFEF GG
• Ten syllables per line
• Written in iambic pentameter
• Usually about love (but not
always)
What’s iambic pentameter?
Iambic foot = unstressed syllable
followed by a stressed syllable (a foot
with 2 syllables)
ex. trapeze (tra-PEZE) not TRA-peze
Pentameter = five feet
Iambic pentameter = (2 x 5=10)
10 syllables per line
‘
/
‘
/
‘ /
‘
/
‘
/
My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun
Shakespearean Form
• Three quatrains (3 sets of 4 lines
each) + one rhyming couplet (2 lines
that rhyme) = 14 lines
• The volta often occurs in the third
quatrain (lines 9-12) or in the
rhyming couplet (lines 13-14).
• Shakespearean sonnets include a
“resolution” (an answer, ending
thought, or summarizing comment)
in the rhyming couplet.
Sonnet 138
When my love swears that she is made of truth
A
I do believe her, though I know she lies,
B
That she might think me some untutor'd youth,
A
Unlearned in the world's false subtleties.
B
Thus vainly thinking that she thinks me young,
C
Although she knows my days are past the best,
D
Simply I credit her false speaking tongue:
C
On both sides thus is simple truth suppress'd.
D
But wherefore says she not she is unjust?
E
And wherefore say not I that I am old?
F
O, love's best habit is in seeming trust,
E
And age in love loves not to have years told:
F
Therefore I lie with her and she with me,
G
And in our faults by lies we flatter'd be.
G
She is
soooo
lying!
You have
such a
nice
smile!