The sonnet form originated and developed in Italy during the 12th and 13th Centuries. A sonnet is, on a very basic level, a structured love poem with fourteen lines. It is structured in a way that presents two contrasting ideas, emotions, states of mind, beliefs, events, images or actions and juxtaposes them until usually a resolution is reached, but this is not always the case. Most sonnet forms use the rhythmic meter of iambic pentameter, but trochaic may also be used.
The Petrarchan sonnet and the Shakespearean sonnet are the two major forms of sonnet, although there are others less commonly used.
Origin of the Petrarchan (Italian) Sonnet Form
Francesco Petrarch developed on the emerging sonnet form in Italy. He adapted it by using the theme of secular love, and solidifying the structure of the sonnet. Thomas Wyatt, an English poet, in the early 16th century brought back these features that Petrarch had developed and it became known as the Petrarchan sonnet.
Structure of the Petrarchan (Italian) Sonnet Form
The Petrarchan sonnet is made up of fourteen lines which are divided into eight lines, an octave, and six lines, a sestet. The relationship between the octave and the sestet may be question and answer, conflict and resolution, a presentation of two juxtaposing ideas or just a portrayal and development of an idea.
The rhyming structure of the octave in the Petrarchan sonnet is divided into two quatrains, and often follows an a, b, b, a, a, b, b, a rhyme. The rhyming structure of the sestet tends to be more flexible, but will often follow a c, d, c, d, c, d rhyme.
Example and Analysis of the Petrarchan (Italian) Sonnet Form (the soldier by Rupert Brooke)
An example of a Petrarchan (Italian) sonnet is “The Soldier” by Rupert Brooke, written in 1914:
If I should die, think only this of me:
That there's some corner of a foreign field
That is forever England. There shall be
In that rich earth a richer dust concealed;
A dust whom England bore, shaped, made aware,
Gave, once, her flowers to love, her ways to roam,
A body of England's, breathing English air,
Washed by the rivers, blest by the suns of home.
And think, this heart, all evil shed away,
A pulse in the eternal mind, no less
Gives somewhere back the thoughts by England given;
Her sights and sounds; dreams happy as her day;
And laughter, learnt of friends; and gentleness,
In hearts at peace, under an English heaven.
The structure of the Petrarchan sonnet is obviously apparent in this poem; the octave and sestet are defined clearly. Although the rhyming structure is not the usual expected rhyme, it still is considered to be a Petrarchan sonnet due to the fourteen lines and division of lines into an octave and sestet.
The effect of this poem being in the form of a Petrarchan sonnet is that the love Brooke has for his country becomes emphasised to a substantial degree. The idea of patriotism and devotion to one’s country is a central idea within the poem, which is explored and developed throughout the structure of the sonnet.
Origin of the Shakespearean (English) Sonnet Form
The Earl of Surrey, Henry Howard, developed on the Petrarchan sonnet which Wyatt had brought to England. He gave it the rhyming meter and the structural division into quatrains, which now characterises the English sonnet. It is otherwise named the Shakespearean sonnet because William Shakespeare became most famous for using the form.
Structure of the Shakespearean (English) Sonnet Form
The Shakespearean sonnet is also made up of fourteen lines, but the structure is divided in a different way to the Petrarchan sonnet. The Shakespearean sonnet is separated into three quatrains, which follow the rhyming pattern of: a, b, a, b, c, d, c, d, e, f, e, f. The most distinctive feature of the Shakespearean sonnet is that it always concluded with a rhyming couplet.
In a lot of English sonnets, especially apparent in Shakespeare’s sonnets, a turning point is made clear which defines a change or development of ideas.
Example and Analysis of the Shakespearean (English) Form (to Ianthe, Percy Bysshe Shelley)
An example of a Shakespearean (English) sonnet is “To Ianthe” by Percy Bysshe Shelley, written in 1813:
I love thee, Baby! for thine own sweet sake;
Those azure eyes, that faintly dimpled cheek,
Thy tender frame, so eloquently weak,
Love in the sternest heart of hate might wake;
But more when o'er thy fitful slumber bending
Thy mother folds thee to her wakeful heart,
Whilst love and pity, in her glances blending,
All that thy passive eyes can feel impart:
More, when some feeble lineaments of her,
Who bore thy weight beneath her spotless bosom,
As with deep love I read thy face, recur, -
More dear art thou, O fair and fragile blossom;
Dearest when most thy tender traits express
The image of thy mother's loveliness.
Shelley’s sonnet is an obvious example of a Shakespearean sonnet. His sonnet is divided into three quatrains, and although the first quatrain does not follow the expected rhyming structure of the Shakespearean sonnet, the two remaining quatrains do. There is also a concluding rhyming couplet which, in this case, draws the sonnet to a delicate finish by encapsulating the central message.
At the beginning of the fourth line the rhythm alters from iambic to trochaic, which highlights the word “Love”; another way Shelley uses the form of the Shakespearean sonnet to highlight the love and affection he feels for his wife and child.
Although the Petrarchan sonnet and the Shakespearean sonnet are structurally dissimilar, both are equally open to variation and are forms poets use to present and juxtapose ideas, most commonly around the theme of love.
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