The Sonnet

1
The Sonnet

• A 14-line poem about romantic loveFrom 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)
• 4 lines (quatrain)
• 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 ABBAABBA CDFCDF
  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.