Sonnets
Creative Writing – Fall
Use this as a guide to learn
about and create your own
sonnet!
What is a Sonnet?
It is:
a 14 line lyric poem
Lyric poem: short, personal poem that expresses the
thoughts and feelings of the speaker
Traditionally, a love poem.
Written in iambic pentameter
Iambic refers to the name of the foot, which is
composed of a weaker syllable followed by an
accented syllable. Pentameter refers to the number
of feet in a line, in this case five. There are variations
possible, but the basic line of a sonnet reads: Da dum
da dum da dum da dum da dum with "da" being the
weaker syllable and "dum" the accented syllable.
Origins
Originated among Sicilian court poets in
13th century
Influenced by love poetry of Provencal
troubadours (singers)
Spread to Tuscany region of Italy
Reached its highest expression in Petrarch's
"Canzonieri," a sequence of love poems
addressed to "Laura," his idealized beloved.
The best known styles of Sonnets are
Petrarchan (Italian) and Shakespearean
(English)
Petrarchan Sonnets
Consists of:
An Octave (8 line stanza) rhyming abbaabba
The octave presents an idea or poses a problem
A sestet (six line stanza) rhyming cdcdcd or
cdecde
The sestet answers the problem; it may start with a
“volta” – which means turning point
The Italian sonnet form is commony called the Petrarchan
sonnet, because Petrarch's "Canzonieri," a sequence of
poems including 317 sonnets, established the sonnet as a
major form in European poetry.
Petrarchan Sample:
When I consider how my light is spent (a) First 8 lines=octet
Ere half my days, in this dark world and wide, (b) Follow abbaabba
And that one talent which is death to hide, (b) rhyme scheme
Lodged with me useless, though my soul more bent (a)
To serve therewith my Maker, and present (a) The octet presents a
My true account, lest he returning chide; (b) problem or question
"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) Last 6 lines=sestet
Either man's work or his own gifts; who best (d) Follow cdecde rhyme
Bear his mild yoke, they serve him best. His state (e) scheme in this case (may
Is Kingly. Thousands at his bidding speed (c) follow cdcdcd in others)
And post o'er land and ocean without rest; (d) The sestet resolves
They also serve who only stand and wait." (e) the problem or
question
Volta: (line 9) turn from problem to
solution
NOTE: Shakespeare did not invent the English sonnet form, but he is recognized as
its greatest practitioner; therefore, the English sonnet is commonly called the
Shakespearean sonnet.
Shakespearean Sonnets
Consists of:
3 quatrains and a couplet
A quatrain is simply a four line stanza
Alternate rhyme scheme per quatrain; abab cdcd efef
A couplet is a two line stanza
Same rhyme scheme for couplet: gg
Here, content is allied to form, with each stanza
introducing a separate idea, extending, playing
off, or arguing with what went before, the turn
often coming between the final quatrain and the
couplet.
Sample Shakespearean
Sonnet
In sonnet 18, the first few lines reflect on the theme of his
writings, and the last two lines bring the sonnet to a conclusion.
Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? A
Thou art more lovely and more temperate. B First quatrain (abab)
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 sometime declines, C Second quatrain (cdcd)
By chance, or nature's changing course, untrimmed; D
But thy eternal summer shall not fade,
E
Nor lose possession of that fair thou owest, F Third quatrain (efef)
Nor shall death brag thou wanderest in his shade, E
When in eternal lines to time thou growest F Couplet (gg)
So long as men can breathe or eyes can see G
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee. G
Sonnet 18 – Theme
Structure
Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? AFirst quatrain: Shakespeare establishes the theme of
Thou art more lovely and more temperate. Bcomparing "thou" (or "you") to a summer's day, and
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May, A why to do so is a bad idea. The metaphor is made by
And summer's lease hath all too short a date. B comparing his beloved to summer itself.
Second quatrain: Shakespeare extends theme;
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines, C explains why even the sun, supposed to be so great,
And often is his gold complexion dimmed; D gets obscured sometimes… why everything that's
And every fair from fair sometime declines, C beautiful decays sooner or later. He shifts the
By chance, or nature's changing course, untrimmed; D metaphor: In the first quatrain, it was "summer" in
general, and now he's comparing the sun and "every
fair," every beautiful thing, to his beloved.
But thy eternal summer shall not fade, E
Nor lose possession of that fair thou owest, F Third quatrain: Here the argument takes a left turn
with "But." Shakespeare says he won't compare his
Nor shall death brag thou wanderest in his shade, E beloved to summer because summer dies — but she
When in eternal lines to time thou growest F won't. He refers to the first two quatrains — her "eternal
summer" won't fade, and she won't "lose possession" of
So long as men can breathe or eyes can see G the "fair" (the beauty) she possesses. So he keeps the
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee. G metaphors going, but in a different direction. For good
measure, he throws in a negative version of all the
Couplet: How is his beloved going to escape death? sunshine in this poem — the "shade" of death, which,
Answer- poem will keep her alive forever. This gives closure evidently, his beloved won't have to worry about.
to the whole argument — it's a surprise.
Now, you write a
sonnet
You will follow it’s physical
structure and its theme
structure
OK- Write your own sonnet!
Directions Follow either Petrarchan or
It must be 14 lines Shakespearean rhyme
Written in iambic scheme
Shakes Petrarchan
pentameter (duh-DUH-
duh-DUH-duh-DUH-duh- A A
DUH-duh-DUH). B B
A B
B A
C A
D B
C B
More on structure on D A
next slide! E C
F D
E E
F C Or
G D CDCDCD
G E
Shakespearean
Petrarchan
First quatrain: An
Petrarchan structure is
exposition of the main simpler
theme and main metaphor. First, the octave, which
Second quatrain: Theme describe a problem
and metaphor extended or followed by a sestet, which
complicated; often, some gives the resolution to it.
imaginative example is Typically, the ninth line
given. creates a "turn" or volta
Third quatrain: Peripeteia which signals the move
from proposition to
(a twist or conflict), often resolution.
introduced by a "but" (very
often leading off the ninth
line).
Couplet: Summarizes and
leaves the reader with a
new, concluding image.
After Studying Sonnet
Structure
Begin to write.
Must be 14 lines
Follow rhyme and thematic structure of either
Shakespeare or Petrarchan type describe din earlier
slides
If it’s easier for you, write a PARODY of a sonnet
WHAT IS A PARODY? A work created to mock or poke fun
at an original work, its subject, or author, by means of
humorous or satiric imitation.
You follow the structure and rhyme style, but use humorous
content
Sample Sonnet Parody
Sonnet #18 (a parody)
Shall I compare thee to a bale of hay?
Thou art more dusty and far less neat.
Rough winds do toss thy mop about, I'd say,
Which looks far worse than hay a horse would eat.
Sometime thy squinty eye looks into mine
Through stringy, greasy hair that needs be trimm'd,
And ne'er a horse had such a stench as thine,
As though in stagnant sewers thou hast swimm'd.
Thy disgusting image shall not fade;
This my tortured mind and soul doth know.
O, I should love to hit thee with a spade;
And with that blow I hope that thou wouldst go.
So long as I can breathe, my eyes can see,
And I can run, I'll stay away from thee...
