Introduction to Sonnet Origin: Italy; from the Italian word sonetto Inventor: Giacomo de Lentini Definition: A lyric poem consisting of a single stanza of 14 iambic pentameter lines linked by an intricate rhyme scheme. Generally deal with the expression of emotion, especially love.

Types Two main types of Sonnets Italian or Petrarchan sonnet: named after the 14th century Italian humanist Francesco Petrarca, commonly anglicized as Petrarch. English or Shakespearean sonnet: named after the famous English poet and dramatist William Shakespeare.

Petrarchan Sonnet Divided into two parts: first part octave, 2nd part sestet Octave consists of first 8 lines rhyming abbaabba Sestet consists of last 6 lines rhyming cdecde or some variant such as cdccdc Typically the 9th line initiates what is called the “turn” or “volta”. It signals the move from proposition to resolution

Shakespearean sonnet Divided into three quatrains and a concluding couplet. Rhyme scheme: abab cdcd efef gg Shakespeare has written 154 sonnets

Shakespeare’s Sonnets - Structure Often, 1st quatrain introduces situation 2nd & 3rd quatrains explore situation Often a turn or shift in thought occurs at the 3rd quatrain or at the couplet. Couplet resolves the situation (punch line)

Sonnet 18 as specimen by Shakespeare 1st Quatrain: Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate: Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May, And summer’s lease hath all too short a date: 2nd Quatrain Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines, And often is his gold complexion dimmed, And every fair from fair sometime declines, By chance, or nature’s changing course untrimmed: 3rd Quatrain But thy eternal summer shall not fade, Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow’st, Nor shall death rag thou wand’rest in his shade, When in eternal lines to time thou grow’st, Concluding couplet: So long as men can breathe or eyes can see, So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.

Thank you Tomorrow we will be discussing about Shakespeare’s sonnet No. 13. Prepared by Mukhtar Ahmad Dar Assistant Professor (English) GDC Tral