1. The Sonnet
A 14-line poem about romantic love From the Italian word for “little song”

2. A very structured form 14 lines 10 syllables per line
140 syllables total
Written in iambic pentameter
Though this might seem restrictive to us, it was actually quite pleasing to those who lived in the Elizabethan era.
Consider how you like the guidance of how long a paper should be.

3. Two Basic Types of Sonnets
Elizabethan/Shakespearean
Italian/Petrarchan
VS.

4. Elizabethan/Shakespearean
4 lines (quatrain)
2 lines (couplet)
Common rhyme scheme: ABAB CDCD EFEF GG
The couplet generally provides an ironic twist.
Example: The first 12 lines are about how a woman does not conform to conventional standards of beauty; the final 2 lines are about how she is beautiful just the way she is.

5. Italian/Petrarchan 8 lines (octave) 6 lines (sestet)
Common rhyme scheme: ABABCDCD EFGEFG
The sestet usually provides a shift in tone.
Example: The octave might be about events happening in the present, and the sestet might be about events that will happen in the future.

6. The Romeo and Juliet Sonnet
When Romeo and Juliet first meet, they actually speak in sonnet form.
Why would this be an appropriate form for these two characters?
Read and discuss Romeo and Juliet sonnet.
Answer discussion questions.
Complete rhyme scheme graphic organizer.