ABABCDCDEFEFGG[1] X Research source These letters represent the sound that appears at the end of each line. So, following this pattern of alternating rhymes, we find that the last words of the first and third lines must rhyme; the second and fourth; the fifth and seventh; the sixth and eighth; and so on, ending in a final rhyming couplet.

“Pentameter” derives from the Greek word pente (meaning five), and thus has five poetic “feet. " Each foot is a unit of two syllables; thus, there are ten syllables in a line of pentameter. “Iambic” means that each foot is an “iamb. ” Iambs are comprised of an unstressed, followed by a stressed syllable, resulting in a “ta-TUM” rhythm. The word “hel-LO” is an example of an iambic foot. So a line of iambic pentameter is a line of five iambic feet, resulting in a 10-syllable rhythm of ta-TUM ta-TUM ta-TUM ta-TUM ta-TUM. An example of a line of iambic pentameter is “Shall I / comPARE/ thee TO / a SUM / mer’s DAY?” (from Shakespeare’s “Sonnet 18”)[3] X Research source

For example, the third line of Shakespeare’s “Sonnet 18” begins with a spondee, meaning two stressed syllables in a row: TUM-TUM After two lines of perfect iambic pentameter, he wrote: “ROUGH WINDS / do SHAKE / the DAR / ling BUDS / of MAY” This both breaks up the rhythm for a little variation and draws attention to the roughness of the rough winds being described.

In a Shakespearean sonnet, the three heroic quatrains are the “ABAB CDCD EFEF” portion of the rhyme scheme The heroic couplet is the “GG” closing. You can separate these stanzas with blank lines, or leave them all together in an unbroken poem, but the sonnet should move as a function of these discrete stanzas.

Quatrain 1 introduces the situation: Sometimes, when I think about the past, I regret the things and people I’ve lost. This quatrain uses legal terminology to get the point across: sessions and summons. Quatrain 2 begins with the transition word “Then,” suggesting that it is connected to Quatrain 1, but moving on to a further development of the idea: when I’m in a nostalgic mood like that, I can cry freely about friends who have passed away or been otherwise lost to me. In this quatrain, he uses the language of commerce to develop the idea: cancelled woe and expenses. Quatrain 3 begins again with the transition word “Then,” and further develops the idea using the language of commerce (accounts, payment): Not only do I cry, but I cry heavily, as though I’ve never mourned this loss before. The closing couplet marks a turn with the word “But,” which suggests that this is not a continuation (like “Then”), but a new thought. There is no resolution to the problem of mourning here, but there is insight into grief and loss: to think of your memory is wonderful enough to make me feel as though I never lost anything. Again, this couplet continues the imagery of commerce (losses).

Note too that because of the top-heavy stanzaic structure of the Shakespearean sonnet, the form does not lend itself well to highly complex or abstract subjects. The turn and resolution must come quickly, in the final two lines, so choose a subject that can be easily resolved with a witty closing couplet. If you have a more contemplative subject, a Petrarchan sonnet may lend itself better to what you want to say.

Use a rhyming dictionary if you have trouble finding rhymes for the ends of your lines.

CDCDCD CDDCDC CDECDE CDECED CDCEDC

The octave progresses through a series of examples of creatures and people who are not bothered by restricted spaces. The progression moves from the most revered element of society to the lowliest: from nuns, to hermits, to scholars, to manual laborers, to insects. The turn in this sonnet actually occurs a line early, at the end of the octave. Although this is not purely traditional, poets throughout history have experimented with the form and manipulated it to their needs. You should feel free to do the same. In Line 8, “In truth” marks the volta or turn; now, Wordsworth will give more insight into the idea of being comfortable in restrained spaces. The sestet suggests that the formal restrictions of the sonnet — with its rhyme scheme, iambic pentameter restriction, and strict octave-sestet structure — is not a prison, but a way for the poet to free himself and “find solace. ” He hopes that the reader, too, shares this feeling. The sestet provides insight that allows us to consider all the people and things in the octave with a deeper understanding.

An example of a Petrarchan sonnet that beautifully manipulates the form to make a point is Edna St. Vincent Millay’s “I Will Put Chaos into Fourteen Lines,” which is a sonnet about writing a sonnet. Millay employees the Petrarchan rhyme scheme and meter, but interrupts her lines with enjambments (splitting the line in the middle of a sentence or clause) and occasional disruptions of the meter to emphasize her struggle with the sonnet form itself.

The curtal sonnet is composed of a sestet with a rhyme scheme of ABCABC and a quintet (five line stanza) of a rhyme scheme of either DCBDC or DBCDC. Though it appears to be 11 lines, which is a little more than 3/4 of the normal 14-line Petrarchan sonnet, it is actually 10. 5 lines; this is because the final line of the curtal sonnet is half a line of iambic pentameter — sometimes even less. Other than the last line, the curtal sonnet is still written in iambic pentameter. Hopkins’ “Pied Beauty” is a famous example of a curtal sonnet. [7] X Research source Note that the final line, “Praise him” truncates the 11th line to the 3/4 proportion intended by Hopkins.

A Miltonic sonnet has a Petrarchan rhyme scheme of ABBAABBACDECDE, and is written in iambic pentameter. However, it omits the turn/volta at the beginning of the sestet, and instead emphasizes “enjambment. ” When you break a line or a stanza somewhere that is not a logical syntactic end (somewhere where you’d normally find a period, comma, or semicolon), that line or stanza is said to be enjambed. [9] X Research source An example of an enjambed line is: “God doth not need / Either man’s works or his own gifts: who best / Bear his mild yolk, / they serve him best” (Milton, “On His Blindness”). See Milton’s “On His Blindness” for an example of a Miltonic sonnet. [10] X Research source Note how it makes use of enjambment both in individual lines and in the melding together of the octave and sestet.

It is composed of three heroic quatrains and a heroic couplet, just like the Shakespearean sonnet. Furthermore, it is also written in iambic pentameter. However, the rhyme scheme differs from the Shakespearean sonnet in that it is interlocking: The second rhyme sound from each quatrain becomes the first rhyme sound of the subsequent quatrain. This results in a rhyme scheme of ABAB BCBC CDCD EE. Contrast that against the rhyme scheme of the Shakespearean sonnet: ABAB CDCD EFEF GG. The interlocking rhyme scheme results in the three quatrains being closely linked aurally by the repeated rhyme sounds, especially in the transition between quatrains, when the second rhyme of one stanza is immediately repeated as the first rhyme of the next. Just as the Miltonic stanza explores the relationship between parts of the Petrarchan sonnet by using line breaks and enjambments, the Spenserian sonnet explores the relationship between parts of the Shakespearean sonnet by using interlocking rhyme patterns.

It is still written using iambic pentameter, and still has 14 lines. However, it has a rhyme scheme of ABA BCB CDC DAD AA. Note that the “A” rhyme from the opening tercet is repeated in the sandwiched ending of the fourth tercet, and also in the rhyme of the closing heroic couplet. Even more than the Spenserian sonnet, the terza rima sonnet asks you to consider the relationship between the stanzas in the poem, as developed not only through subject, but through sound. By splitting the first part of the poem into groups of three rather than four lines, it asks you to develop the ideas in each stanza more quickly and concisely. An example of a terza rima sonnet is Robert Frost’s “Acquainted with the Night. ”[12] X Research source

Line length — what changes when you write a sonnet in iambic tetrameter (four iambic feet: ta-TUM ta-TUM ta-TUM ta-TUM) instead of iambic pentameter? Meter — what happens when you abandon the ta-TUM rhythm of iambic meter entirely? Consider Gerard Manley Hopkins’ “Carrion Comfort,” which follows all rules of the Petrarchan sonnet except for its iambic pentameter meter. [13] X Research source Rhyme scheme — what happens when you write the octave of a Petrarchan sonnet in heroic couplets (AA BB CC DD) instead of repeated Italian quatrains (ABBAABBA)? Does a sonnet need to rhyme at all? Many contemporary sonnets do not. Consider Dawn Lundy’s “[When the bed is empty…]” as an example. [14] X Research source