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Literature Focus II. The Sonnet
During the 1300s, Italian poet Francesco Petrarch (1304–1374) popularized the sonnet. The form grew in popularity until, by the end of the 16th c., poets throughout much of Europe were writing sonnets. Many of the most recognizable poems in history have been written in sonnet form. The Romantic poet William Wordsworth wrote that the sonnet was the key with which “Shakespeare unlocked his heart.” Petrarch wrote hundreds of poems about a woman named Laura. Later, many other Renaissance poets also wrote sonnet sequences,which, like Petrarch’s, consisted of a series of sonnets focused on a particular theme. English poets Sir Philip Sidney and Sir Edmund Spenser both wrote sonnet sequences examining questions of love. In the 17th c., poets such as John Donne and John Milton began to depart from the sonnet’s common love themes and to explore religion and personal experience in their sonnets. Meter and Rhyme PatternsTraditional sonnets have fourteen lines, each of which is written in iambic pentameter.That is, each line has five metric units, or feet,and each foot consists of an unstressed syllable (marked
My love is like to ice, and I to fire; Sonnets also have set rhyme schemes, based on the last word in each line. To identify the rhyme scheme of a poem, begin with the first line and assign letters, in alphabetical order, to each new sound at the end of the lines. Lines that end in the same sound should be assigned the same letter. In Sidney’s “Sonnet 39,” for example, the rhyme scheme for the first four lines would be abab: Come sleep! O sleep, the certain knot of peace, a The baiting place of wit, the balm of woe, b The poor man’s wealth, the prisoner’s release, a The indifferent judge between the high and low; b Sonnet FormsThere are three major sonnet forms: the Italianor Petrarchan,the Englishor Shakespearean,and the Spenserian.
If my life find strength enough to fight the grievous battle of each passing day, Octave: problem or that I may meet your gaze, years from today, situation is described. lady, when your eyes have lost their light, and when your golden curls have turned to white, and vanished are your wreaths and green array, and when your youthful hue has fled away, whose beauty makes me tremble in its sight, Turn perhaps then Love will overcome my fears enough that I may let my secret rise Sestet: problem or and tell you what I’ve suffered all these years; situation is resolved. and if no flame be kindled in your eyes, at least I may be granted for my tears the comfort of a few belated sighs. The English Sonnet The English sonnet is also called the Shakespearean sonnet, because Shakespeare was the master of this sonnet form. English sonnets are divided into three quatrains(groups of four lines, with each containing its own rhyme scheme) and one couplet(a group of two lines). The rhyme scheme is usually abab cdcd efef gg. The English form allows for a more detailed development of the question or problem in the first three quatrains, but it demands a quick summary and solution in the couplet. The Spenserian Sonnet Sir Edmund Spenser crafted his own version of the sonnet. Like the Shakespearean sonnet, the Spenserian version has three quatrains and a couplet, but it follows the rhyme scheme abab bcbc cdcd ee. This interlocking rhyme scheme “pushes” the sonnet toward the final couplet, in which Spenser typically made a key point or comment. Date: 2016-03-03; view: 1135
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