The Sonnet Form

History of the Sonnet form Originated in Italy circa 13th century Petrarch credited with perfecting the form Sir Thomas Wyatt and Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey bring it to England in 1500’s after traveling in Italy. Wyatt and Surrey modify the form In late 16th century popularized by Sir Philip Sidney, Edmund Spenser, William Shakespeare, John Donne and others. Spenser modifies the form creating a 3rd form. Revived in the Romantic period (1790-1830) by Wordsworth Dante Gabriel and Christina Rossetti use the form in the 19th century.

Famous writers of Sonnets Francesco Petrarch 1304-1374 Sir Thomas Wyatt 1503-1542 Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey 1517-1547 Edmund Spenser 1552-1599 William Shakespeare 1564-1616 John Donne 1572-1631 William Wordsworth 1770-1850 Elizabeth Barrett Browning 1806-1861 And many, many others

Two major forms, one minor Shakespearean (English, Elizabethan) Petrarchan (Italian) Spenserian All sonnets must have: 14 lines Traditionally iambic pentameter A rhyme scheme

Petrarchan or Italian Sonnet An octave (8 lines) and a sestet (6 lines) Rhyme scheme: ABABCDCD for octave CDCDCD or CDECDE or other variations for sestet Distinct break between octave and sestet, sometimes called a turn. Octave presents a subject and the sestet reflects on it, or a proposal and response or a problem and resolution.

Shakespearean, English, Elizabethan 3 quatrains and a rhyming couplet ABABCDCDEFEFGG First quatrain introduces the subject Second and third quatrains develop the subject or introduce a conflict Couplet resolves or offers a comment or summary statement First quatrain introduces the subject Second and third quatrains develop the subject or introduce a conflict Couplet resolves or offers a comment or summary statement Or each quatrain could contain a point to an argument which is resolved in the couplet.

Spenserian Sonnet Rhyme scheme: ABAB,BCBC,CDCD,EE

METER 2 syllable feet are: Iamb: unaccented/accented (destroy) Trochee: accented/unaccented (topsy) 3 syllable feet are: Anapest: unaccented/unaccented/accented (intervene) Dactyl: accented/unaccented/unaccented (merrily) Foot is the basic unit of measurement in poetry. A food consists of two or more accented and unaccented syllables. Special feet: Spondee: accented/accented (hum-drum)

Line length One foot: Monometer Two feet: Dimeter Three feet: Trimeter Four feet: Tetrameter Five feet: Pentameter Six feet: Hexameter Seven feet: Heptameter Eight feet: Octameter

Composed Upon Westminster Bridge -William Wordsworth Earth has not anything to show more fair: Dull would he be of soul who could pass by A sight so touching in its majesty: This City now doth, like a garment, wear The beauty of the morning; silent, bare, Ships, towers, domes, theatres, and temples lie Open unto the fields, and to the sky; All bright and glittering in the smokeless air. Never did sun more beautifully steep In his first splendour, valley, rock, or hill; Ne’er saw I, never felt, a calm so deep! The river glideth at his own sweet will: Dear God! the very houses seem asleep; And all that mighty heart is lying still!

Dawn in New York Claude McKay The Dawn! The Dawn! The crimson-tinted, comes Out of the low still skies, over the hills, Manhattan's roofs and spires and cheerless domes! The Dawn! My spirit to its spirit thrills. Almost the mighty city is asleep, No pushing crowd, no tramping, tramping feet. But here and there a few cars groaning creep Along, above, and underneath the street, Bearing their strangely-ghostly burdens by, The women and the men of garish nights, Their eyes wine-weakened and their clothes awry, Grotesques beneath the strong electric lights. The shadows wane. The Dawn comes to New York. And I go darkly-rebel to my work.