Development of The Sonnet

Development of the Sonnet
A sonnet is a one-stanza poem of fourteen lines which originated in Italy. The term sonnet derives from the Italian word sonetto, meaning "little song", and by the thirteenth century it signified a poem of fourteen lines that follows a strict rhyme scheme and specific structure. It was developed by Francesco Petrarch and thats why the Italian sonnet came to be known as the "Petrarchan" sonnet. But it wasnt introduced into English poetry until the sixteenth century. From there, Shakespeare made the sonnet famous in England and others followed his lead. Writers of sonnets are sometimes called "sonneteers". Among the best known English sonnet writers are: John Donne, John Milton, William Wordsworth and William Shakespeare, who wrote 154 of them (not including those that appear in his plays). English sonnet-writers almost always used iambic pentameter as their standard metrical pattern in which a pattern of an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable is repeated five times. The sonnet was introduced to England by Sir Thomas Wyatt (1502 - 1542) and Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey (1507 - 1547) in the sixteenth century. Sir Thomas Wyatt introduced the Petrarchan sonnet which consists of an octave and a sestet. While Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey introduced the blank verse and the English sonnet or the Shakespearean sonnet, because Shakespeare was the one who used it most, which consists of three quatrains and a closing couplet. And they have the credit of adjusting the rhyme scheme and the meter to accommodate the English language. This model had a strong influence on many English poets like: Edmund Spencer, Philip Sidney and of course Shakespeare. The Petrarchan sonnet or the Italian sonnet is divided into two parts, the octave and the sestet. The octave is eight lines long and its rhyme scheme is ABBAABBA, while the sestet is six lines long and its rhyme scheme is either CDCDCD or CDECDE. There is usually a pause or break in thought between the octave and sestet called the Volta, or turn. Traditionally, the octave presents the
theme, raises an issue or doubt and the sestet answers the question, resolves the problem, or drives home the poem's point. Its written in iambic pentameter. The first Petrarchan sonnets in English were written by Sir Thomas Wyatt and Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey. Other English poets including John Milton, Thomas Gray and William Wordsworth. The Shakespearean sonnet or the English sonnet is named after Shakespeare, not because he was the first to write in this form but because he became its most famous practitioner. Instead of the octave and the sestet found in the Petrarchan sonnet, The Shakespearean sonnet consists of fourteen lines structured as three quatrains (four lines) and a closing couplet (two lines). The Shakespearean sonnet has the rhyme scheme ABAB CDCD EFEF GG. The problem is usually developed in the first three quatrains, each quatrain with a new idea growing out of the previous one. The Volta or the turn usually comes in the couplet, and usually summarizes the theme of the poem or introduces a fresh new look at the theme. Like the Petrarchan sonnet its written in iambic pentameter. The Spenserian sonnet is named after Edmund Spenser. Like the Shakespearean sonnet, Spensers sonnets generally observe the 3 quatrain plus couplet model in which the rhyme scheme is ABAB, BCBC, CDCD, EE. Unlike the Petrarchan sonnet, the Spenserian sonnet does not appear to require that the initial octave set up a problem that the closing sestet answers. Instead, the form is treated as three quatrains connected by the interlocking rhyme scheme and closed by a couplet. The Modern sonnet With the advent of free verse, the sonnet was seen as somewhat old-fashioned and fell out of use for a time among some schools of poets. However, a number of modern poets continued to use the form. Modern Sonnets do not follow a specific pattern or rhyme scheme. They have the look and feel of free form poetry, but Sonnets do have certain characteristics that classify them in that category.

Development of The Sonnet

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