What is a Sonnet?
A 14-line poem with a specific rhyme scheme.
Unlocking the Mystery of the 14-Line Poem: A Guide to Sonnets
A sonnet is a 14-line poem that follows a strict rhyme scheme and typically employs iambic pentameter. The most common rhyme scheme for sonnets is ABAB CDCD EFEF GG, which means that the first and third lines of each stanza rhyme with each other, as do the second and fourth. The final two lines are called the couplet and are designed to provide a resolution or summary of the preceding lines.
The sonnet is one of the oldest and most enduring forms of poetry, with roots stretching back to the Italian Renaissance. The first sonnets were love poems addressed to an unattainable beloved, but over time the form has been used to explore a wide range of emotions and themes, from politics and religion to nature, beauty, and mortality.
Learning to write a sonnet can be a rewarding challenge for poets of all levels. The strict structure may seem confining at first, but it actually forces writers to be more inventive with language and form. By mastering the rules of the sonnet, writers can create works that are both beautiful and intellectually satisfying.
Shakespeare's "Sonnet 18" begins with the iconic line, "Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?" The speaker goes on to compare his beloved to various aspects of nature before concluding that his praise will outlast the fleeting beauty of the natural world. The poem's final couplet reads:
So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.
The Italian poet Petrarch is credited with popularizing the sonnet in the 14th century, and his work remains a touchstone for poets to this day. His "Sonnet 292," translated from the Italian, begins:
Now that the rays of light have turned to gold
the heaven, once all azure, glows in fire,
and at sweet sound of birds, and sound of lyre,
the world's wild cares are amply made untold.