“Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?” So goes one of William Shakespeare’s famous sonnets. But what exactly is a sonnet? Not exactly a neither song nor prose, a sonnet is something special. Composed of just 14 lines, the sonnet is a poem written in iambic pentameter.
The word ‘sonnet has been derived from the Italian word sonetto, meaning “a little sound or song.” It first appeared in the poetry of Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey, in the 16th Century. Howard translated Italian sonnets into English and composed his own.
Writers often composed sonnets to make a living when theatres were closed due to the plague. Sonnets were considered to be an art form through which artists showed off their talents. Wealthy people paid Shakespeare to write sonnets for them.
Shakespeare’s sonnets are composed of 14 lines, and most are divided into three quatrains and a final, concluding couplet, rhyming ABAB CDCD EFEF GG. This sonnet form and rhyme scheme is known as the English’ sonnet.
Different types of sonnets
Most of us might be familiar with Shakespeare’s sonnets. Known as the English sonnet, it is the most common and simplest type. But did you know there are several other types too? Here’s a look at some of them…
- Petrarchan: The Petrarchan sonnet is named after the Italian poet Francesco Petrarch, a lyrical poet of 14th Century Italy.
- Spensarian: This is a variation of the Shakespearean sonnet with a more challenging rhyme scheme: ABAB BCBC CDCD EE.
- Miltonic: These sonnets examined an internal struggle or conflict and sometimes stretched beyond traditional limits on rhyme or length.
Who created the first sonnet?
Italian poet Giacomo da Lentini is credited with the invention of the sonnet. A notary at the court of the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II, da Lentini composed poetry in the literary Sicilian dialect in the 13th Century.
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