Creative Writing

Marrinson
Sonnets
A sonnet can be defined as follows:
A verse form of Italian origin consisting of 14 lines in iambic pentameter with
rhymes arranged according to a fixed scheme, usually divided either into octave and
sestet or, in the English form, into three quatrains and a couplet!
Or
A lyric poem of fourteen lines, often about love, that follows one of several strict
conventional patterns of rhyme! Eli"abeth #arrett #rowning, $ohn %eats, and
&illiam 'ha(espeare are poets (nown for their sonnets!
The primary meter of all sonnet poems in English poetry is iambic pentameter although
there have been a few tetrameter and even heameter sonnets! as well"
The term )sonnet) is derived from the Occitan word sonet and the #talian word sonetto!
meaning $little song$ or $little sound"$ #t evolved into a poem consisting of %& lines by
the thirteenth century! following a strict rhyming scheme and specific structure"
After reading the information below! choose one of the four ma'or forms of sonnets and
write your own" Turn it in via Edmodo and be ready to share your poem net wee("
#asic *orms and +ypes of 'onnet
Italian or ,etrarchan 'onnet
+he Italian or ,etrarchan sonnet is one of the oldest sonnet forms in the world of
literature" This sonnet is further composed of two types of stan)a forms" The group of
first * lines is called the Octave with the rhyming structure abba abba"
The remaining + lines is called the Sestet and can have either two or three rhyming
sounds! arranged in a variety of ways"
A common rhyming pattern for a sestet is abcabc or abccba!
Example of Italian-,etrarchan 'onnet ,oem
Milton, thou shouldst be living at this hour:
England hath need of thee: she is a fen
Of stagnant waters: altar! sword! and pen!
-ireside! the heroic wealth of hall and bower!
.ave forfeited their ancient English dower
Of inward happiness" We are selfish men/
Oh, raise us up! return to us again/
And give us manners! virtue! freedom! power"
Thy soul was li(e a Star! and dwelt apart/
Thou hadst a voice whose sound was li(e the sea:
0ure as the na(ed heavens! ma'estic! free!
So didst thou travel on life1s common way!
#n cheerful godliness/ and yet thy heart
The lowliest duties on herself did lay"
2London! by Wordsworth
'penserian 'onnet
The Spenserian sonnet! invented by Edmund Spenser is an outgrowth of the stan)a
pattern! used in his famous wor( The Faerie Queene 3a b a b b c b c c4! has the pattern:
*ormat of a 'penserian sonnet follows an abab pattern! consisting of independent &2
line groups! each containing a specific concept" The first %5 lines consist of lines with an
overlapping abcd rhyming scheme! divided into 6 separate 7uatrains while the last 5 lines
consist of a rhyming couplet"
The first 6 7uatrains contain separate but loosely related idea while the last couplet
professes an entirely different idea"
Example of 'penserian 'onnet ,oem
What guile is this! that those her golden tresses
She doth attire under a net of gold/
And with sly s(ill so cunningly them dresses!
That which is gold or hair! may scarce be told8
#s it that men1s frail eyes! which ga)e too bold!
She may entangle in that golden snare/
And being caught may craftily enfold
Their wea(er hearts! which are not yet well aware8
Ta(e heed therefore! mine eyes! how ye do stare
.enceforth too rashly on that guileful net!
#n which if ever ye entrapped are!
Out of her bands ye by no means shall get"
-olly it were for any being free!
To covet fetters! though they golden be"
2Amoretti by Edmund Spenser 3c" %9952%9::4
English or 'ha(espearian 'onnet
An English or Sha(espearean is one of the simplest forms in all sonnet poems and
consists of %& lines where each line contains ten syllables and is written in iambic
pentameter"
+he format of a 'ha(espearian sonnet has a pattern of an unstressed syllable followed
by a stressed syllable which is repeated five times" The English sonnet is composed of 6
7uatrains of alternating rhyme while the last two lines are a rhyming couplet"
The rhyming scheme in a Sha(espearean sonnet is abab, cdcd, efef, gg!
Each 7uatrain in the English sonnet forms a specific concept which is closely related or
follows the concept of the other 7uatrains"
Example of English-'ha(espearian 'onnet ,oem
;et me not to the marriage of true minds
Admit impediments" ;ove is not love
Which alters when it alteration finds!
Or bends with the remover to remove:
O no, it is an ever2fied mar(
That loo(s on tempests and is never sha(en/
#t is the star to every wandering bar(!
Whose worth1s un(nown! although his height be ta(en"
;ove1s not Time1s fool! though rosy lips and chee(s
Within his bending sic(le1s compass come:
;ove alters not with his brief hours and wee(s!
<ut bears it out even to the edge of doom"
#f this be error and upon me proved!
# never writ! nor no man ever loved"
2Shakespearian Sonnet 116
Indefinable 'onnet
An indefinable sonnet is the one which does not fit any particular pattern yet contains all
the basic elements of a sonnet"
$O)ymandias$ by Shelley is a famous eample of indefinable sonnet poem which uses
the rhyming pattern ababacdcedefef!
Example of Indefinable 'onnet ,oem.
# met a traveler from an anti7ue land
Who said: Two vast and trun(less legs of stone
Stand in the desert " " " =ear them! on the sand!
.alf sun(! a shattered visage lies! whose frown!
And wrin(led lip! and sneer of cold command
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive! 3stamped on these lifeless things!4
The hand that moc(ed them and the heart that fed:
And on the pedestal these words appear:
My name is O)ymandias! (ing of (ings:
;oo( on my wor(s! ye Mighty! and despair,$
=othing beside remains" >ound the decay
Of that colossal wrec(! boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away"