The sonnet is a lyrical poem of a single stanza consisting of fourteen lines. There are two types of rhymes in sonnets. They are Italian or Petrarchan sonnets and English sonnets or Shakespearean sonnets. This article will help you understand the rhythmic pattern formation and development of sonnets and the rise of sonnet sequences.
1. Petrarchan sonnet:
The Italian or Petrarchan sonnets are divided into two main parts; an octave and a sextet. Octave consists of eight lines that rhyme abbaabba, while sestet consists of six lines that rhyme cdecde or cdccdc. Also, the rhyme pattern involves the expression or statement of a problem or situation in the octave and a resolution in the sextet.
It was Sir Thomas Wyatt who was the first to imitate this sonnet form in the early 16th century.
2. Shakespeare Sonnets or English Sonnets:
The Earl of Surrey was the main motive behind the introduction and development of this English sonnet. It consists of three quatrains and a final couplet with rhyme abab cdcd efef gg. It often features repetition of statements in each of the three quatrains, and the final couplet imposes an epigrammatic turn at the end.
John Donne covered a variety of religious themes in his “Holy Sonnets” in the 17th century. Milton later composed sonnets with more serious themes. In the 19th century, Wordsworth, Keats, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Christina Rossetti, DG Rossetti wrote sonnets.
Inspired by Petrarch, several Elizabethan authors arranged the sonnets into groups that were often called sonnet sequences. Shakespeare arranged the sonnets by him in a sequence. from sydney Astrohel and Stella (1580) is such a famous sequence of sonnets that you should read to experience the true spirit of poetry.
