The Sonnets

The Sonnets a lyric poem that highlights a particular emotion or feeling in poetic form

Ø The form was developed during the Renaissance in Italy, the most famous writer was Petrarch who wrote a love story through his poetry.
Ø The sonnet was brought to England by Surrey and Wyatt.
Ø Although it suited Italian well, the form had to be altered to properly fit the English language.
Ø One adaptation, among many, was the Shakespearian Sonnet (also known as the English Sonnet).

Formula:
Ø 14 lines with 140 syllables
Ø three Quatrains and one couplet
Ø Unlike Shakespeare’s plays which primarily use blank verse (unrhymed iambic pentameter), the sonnets use a rhyme scheme of ABAB CDCD EFEF GG (referring to the end sound of each line).
Ø the first octave (ABABCDCD) lays out a situation or poses a problem
Ø Between the second and third quatrain is a shift of ideas called a volta. (line 9)
Ø the sestet (EFEFGG) resolves the situation
Ø Between the third quatrain and the couplet is a turn from building the case to the conclusion summarized in the last two lines which either summarize or provide a surprise ending.

Iambic pentameter:

Iambic means that the stress is on the second syllable (good-bye)
Pentameter means that each line has five feet (clusters of two syllables)

Ex: Away and mock the time with fair est show;
False face must hide what the false heart doth know.

The Story of Shakespeare’s Sonnets:
Shakespeare’s sonnets tell a story of an author. Most of his poems speak to a handsome young lord (1-126), but the last several are about the poet’s mistress (127-154), who also seems to have become the young lord’s mistress. Though they deal with events that may have happened, there is no conclusive evidence that the sonnets are autobiographical.

The series begins with poems that encourage the lord to settle down and have children so that his beauty will live beyond his years. Many praise the young man and show love and adoration for him – the love of true friendship, not of a sexual nature.

The story then turns when the lord steals the poet’s mistress, or she seduces him. The poet does contend for her, but in the end acquiesces to the lord. Another problem arises when the young man becomes the patron of a rival poet. However, in the end, they reconcile.

Shakespeare concludes with sonnets of his mistress, known as the “dark lady” which means that she was not one of the fair women viewed as the epitome of beauty.