3 Forms of Sonnet Distinguished on the Basis of Rhyming Patterns
What is a sonnet?
Sonnet is a short poem of total 14 lines that follows some strict rhyming patterns and iambic pentameter. The sonnet was initially originated in Italy and became very popular within a short period of time. For those who are not familiar with “iambic pentameter”, let me tell you it is nothing but a pattern in which an unstressed syllable is usually followed by a stressed syllable. You can find such pattern of 5 in every line of the sonnet. Iambic pentameter and strict rhyming patterns are very important in all forms of the sonnet.
What are the different forms of a sonnet?
On the basis of rhyming patterns, a sonnet can be divided into 3 forms, those are:-
1. Petrarchan Sonnet: Petrarchan sonnet is also known as Italian sonnet. It was introduced first in Italy. In the subsequent time, it was also named after one of the most popular sonneteers, Francesco Petrarch. If you observe the Petrarchan sonnet, you can see it always starts with an octave and then one sestet. What is an octave and what is a sestet? When a stanza in a poem contains 8 lines, that’s an octave. Similarly, when a stanza in a poem contains 6 lines, it is known as sestet. Hence, you have to write total 14 lines (8+6) in this form of sonnet. Sonneteers always want to write about some issue or desire or some specific situation in those first 8 lines (octave). In the sestet , they write about a solution to the above problem. The first line of sestet is also known as volta or turn.
The rhyming pattern for octave: abbaabba
The rhyming pattern for sestet: cdcdcd or cdecde
This sonnet was written in Petrarchan sonnet format. The ending words “ incline”, “divine”, “ mine” and “design” have similar ending sound and thus, these are marked as “a”. Words “ sigh”, “minstrelsy”, “ high” and “die” have almost same ending sound and these are marked as “b”. “ sound”- “wound”, “ heaven” — “given” and “well” — “dwell” are marked as c, d and e respectively.
2. Shakespearean sonnet: After receiving immense popularity in Italy, in the subsequent time sonnet was also introduced in Britain. These are also called as English sonnets, but those early sonnets were only the translated versions of Italian sonnets. according to the name of the most famous sonneteer Shakespeare, these sonnets are named as Shakespearean sonnets. Shakespearean sonnets are different from the initial Petrarchan sonnets because of the new rhyming patterns. If you will observe English sonnets, you can find 3 quatrains and 1 couplet. What is a quatrain and what is a couplet? When a stanza in a poem contains 4 lines, that’s a quatrain. Similarly, when a stanza in a poem contains 2 lines, it is known as a couplet. This couplet contains the solution to the problem or desire or a specific situation given in the former part of the sonnet. Therefore, you have to write total 14 lines (4+4+4+2) in this form of sonnet.
The rhyming pattern for quatrains: abab cdcd efef
The rhyming pattern for couplet: gg
Let us consider an example of a sonnet written by Shakespeare
The above sonnet was written in English sonnet format. You can analyse this by observing the rhyming pattern which is completely different from the two patterns of the Italian sonnets. All the ending words that are marked as “ a” have a similar ending sound. Similarly, all the ending words marked as “b” have a similar ending sound. “Hope” — “scope”, “ possessed” — “least”, “despising” — “arising”, “ state” — “gate”, “ brings” — “kings” have almost same ending sound and marked as c, d, e, f and g respectively. The above sonnet follows the exact rhyming pattern of English sonnet that is abab cdcd efef gg.
3. Spenserian Sonnet: This form of the sonnet was introduced by Edmund Spenser. So, it was named on his name. It is almost similar to English sonnet, but it has only one variation. Spenserian sonnet follows the same rules of Shakespearean sonnets’ structure which is 3 quatrains followed by a couplet (4+4+4+2=14). In this form of a sonnet, you can see the quatrains are interconnected with each other.
The rhyming pattern for quatrains: abab bcbc cdcd
The rhyming pattern for couplet: ee
In this sonnet, the ending words “Strand” — “hand” have similar ending sounds and are marked as “a”. “ Away” — “prey” — “assay” — “decay” have the same ending sound and are marked as “b”. Similarly, “ immortalize” — “likewise” — “devise” — “eternize” are marked as “c”. The words “ flame” — “name” and “subdue” — “renew” are marked as “d” and “e” respectively. The complete rhyming pattern of this sonnet is abab bcbc cdcd ee.
If you are planning to write your first sonnet, first go through the rhyming patterns of each form and make sure to stick to one form.
Thanks for reading.
