Sonnet
Topic outline
Introduction
Background
Structures / Pattern
Examples
What is
Sonnet?
Sonnet
It is one of the most popular and
respected forms of poetry in world
literature.
The word sonnet comes from the
Italian word sonetto, which means
“little song.”
It has been used by many great
poets to express deep feelings
about love, time, death, nature, and
even social issues.
Background
The sonnet first appeared in Italy during the 13th
century.
Giacomo da Lentini is said to be the earliest writer of
sonnets, but it was Francesco Petrarca (or Petrarch)
who made it truly famous.
However, it was William Shakespeare who perfected
and popularized the English sonnet in the 16th century.
His 154 sonnets are still read, studied, and admired
around the world today.
In the Philippines, poetry has always been a part
of culture—from oral traditions to written forms
during the Spanish and American periods.
Filipino poets tried the sonnet form in both
English and Filipino languages, combining Western
structure with local themes.
Instead of writing only about romance, Filipino
sonnets often speak about the nation, struggles for
freedom, and love for the motherland.
Sonnet Structure
highly structured poems of 14 lines.
Usually written in iambic pentameter (each
line has 10 syllables, with an unstressed-
stressed pattern).
Often explores themes like love, time,
nature, beauty, or mortality.
Iambic Pentameter pattern example:
da-DUM da-DUM da-DUM da-DUM da-DUM
Types of Sonnet
The best known styles of Sonnets are Petrarchan (Italian) and
Shakespearean (English).
Petrarchan Sonnet Shakespearean Sonnet
- Consists of: - Consists of:
An octave (8 line stanza) rhyming 3 Quatrains and a couplet
ABBAABBA A quatrain is simply a four line stanza
- The octave presents an idea or poses - Alternate rhyme scheme per
a problem. quatrain: ABAB CDCD EFEF
A sestet (six line stanza) rhyming A couplet is a two line stanza
CDCDCD or CDECDE - Same rhyme scheme for couplet: GG
- The sestet answers the problem; it Each quatrain develops an idea or
may start with a "volta" - which means argument.
turning point. The final couplet gives a conclusion,
twist, or resolution.
Petrarchan Sample:
When I consider how my light is spent (A)
Ere half my days, in this dark world and wide, (B)
And that one talent which is death to hide, (B)
Lodged with me useless, though my soul more bent (A)
To serve therewith my Maker, and present (A)
My true account, lest he returning chide; (B)
“Doth God exact day-labor, light denied?” (B)
I fondly ask; but Patience to prevent (A)
That murmur, soon replies, “God doth not need (C)
Either man’s work or his own gifts; who best. (D)
Bear his mild yoke, they serve him best. His state (E)
Is Kingly. Thousands at his bidding speed (C)
And post o’er land and ocean without rest; (D)
They also serve who only stand and wait. “ (E)
Shakespearean Sample:
Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day? (A)
Thou art more lovely and more temperate. (B)
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May, (A)
And summer’s lease hath all too short a date. (B)
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines, (C)
And often is his gold complexion dimmed; (D)
And every fair from fair sometimes declines, (C)
By chance, or nature’s changing course, untrimmed; (D)
But he eternal summer shall not fade, (E)
Nor lose possession of that fair thou owest, (F)
Nor shall death brag thou wanderest in his shade, (E)
When in eternal lines to time thou growest (F)
So long as men can breathe or eyes can see (G)
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee. (G)
it’s your
turn!
