The Sonnet

The Sonnet

A sonnet. . .   

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is a 14 line poem is usually written in iambic pentameter an iamb consists of a soft sound and a stressed sound (‫ ں‬/ ) can be written in either a Shakespearean (English) or Petrarchan (Italian) form.

Let’s look at them side by side. . . Shakespearean  Has three quatrains (4 lines) and a closing couplet (2 rhyming lines)  Rhyme scheme: abab cdcd efef gg (there may be slight variations to this scheme)  1st quatrain – poses the problem or concern  2nd quatrain – gives more information about the problem or concern  3rd quatrain – may offer a resolution to the problem  Couplet – often an epigram that sums up the problem or concern.

Petrarchan  Has one octave (8 lines) and one sextet (6 lines)  Usually contains two ideas with a change in attitude between the octave and sestet.  Rhyme scheme – abba abba cde cde ( or the alternate cdc dcd)

Shakespeare and the sonnet. . . 

William Shakespeare composed 154 sonnets in his lifetime. After his first two years in London, Shakespeare started writing in the English sonnet form. According to some scholars, the English sonnet was made for a language less beautiful in rhymes than Italian.

An example of a Shakespearean sonnet Let me not to the marriage of true minds Admit impediments. Love is not love Which alters when it alteration finds, Or bends with the remover to remove. O no, it is an ever-fixèd mark That looks on tempests and is never shaken; It is the star to every wand'ring bark, Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken. Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks Within his bending sickle's compass come; Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks, But bears it out even to the edge of doom. If this be error and upon me proved, I never writ, nor no man ever loved.

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Rhyme scheme: abab cdcd efef gg Iambic pentameter 1st quatrain presents the topic or thesis statement mostly through negative inference 2nd quatrain presents love through positive inference (metaphor) 3rd quatrain serves a conclusion Time is personified (classical element) Rhyming couplet – an epigram Notice: Shakespeare uses enjambment to create flow Each quatrain in this particular poem consists of one sentence – this isn’t always the case

A closer look at the first quatrain. . . Let me not to the marriage of true minds Admit impediments. Love is not love Which alters when it alteration finds, Or bends with the remover to remove.

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In the first quatrain, the speaker of Shakespeare sonnet refers to love as “the marriage of true minds,” and alludes to the biblical injunction from Matthew 19:6 heard at wedding ceremonies, “What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.” The speaker claims that love is ever steadfast and does not change even though some might think they see a reason for change. The use of repetition “Love is not love,” “alters when it alteration finds,” and “bends with the remover to remove,” reinforces the idea of constancy on which the speaker is focusing throughout the sonnet.

A closer look at the second quatrain. . . O no, it is an ever-fixèd mark That looks on tempests and is never shaken; It is the star to every wand'ring bark, Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken.

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In the second quatrain, the speaker metaphorically likens love to a polestar or the North Star, “an ever-fixed mark,” which serves as a guide for ships. This polestar is “an ever-fixed mark,” because even if the seas become rough and the ships are tossed about, the star itself remains unshaken, still capable of guiding the ship. And even though the distance of the polestar may not be calculated by man, its value can never be determined.

A closer look at the third quatrain . . . 

Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks Within his bending sickle's compass come; Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks, But bears it out even to the edge of doom.

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In the third quatrain, the speaker addresses the issue of love regarding the passage of time. The speaker declares that time cannot undermine love, because “Love’s not Time’s fool.” Even though the body comes under time’s power to change, love is not changed by anything time can do: “Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks, / But bears it out even to the edge of doom.” Even though the “rosy lips and cheeks” change and whither with age, love remains until death for those who have a “marriage of true minds.”

The conclusion . . . If this be error and upon me proved, I never writ, nor no man ever loved.

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In the couplet, the speaker implies that he is so sure of what he has just dramatized about the nature of true love, that if anyone can prove him wrong, then he never wrote and no one ever loved. This assertion places his potential adversary in a very difficult position, for the reader knows he has written and also that others have loved.

An example of a Petrarchan Sonnet – “Sonnet 32”– Elizabeth Barrett One of the sonnets found from Browning Sonnets of the Poruguese 

The first time that the sun rose on thine oath To love me, I looked forward to the moon To slacken all those bonds which seemed too soon And quickly tied to make a lasting troth. Quick-loving hearts, I thought, may quickly loathe; And, looking on myself, I seemed not one For such man's love!—more like an out-of-tune Worn viol, a good singer would be wroth To spoil his song with, and which, snatched in haste, Is laid down at the first ill-sounding note. I did not wrong myself so, but I placed A wrong on thee. For perfect strains may float 'Neath master-hands, from instruments defaced,— And great souls, at one stroke, may do and doat.

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Rhyme scheme: abba abba cec ece Poetry of the Romantic period – spoke in the language of the heart – sonnet a popular form at the time. Sonnet 32 does not adhere strictly to the Petrarchan sonnet because the volta or change occurs in line 10. The tone of the first 10 lines is one of skepticism and the tone of the last three lines is one of confidence, the 11th line is the transitional line.

A closer look at the first 10 lines . . . The first time that the sun rose on thine oath To love me, I looked forward to the moon To slacken all those bonds which seemed too soon And quickly tied to make a lasting troth. Quick-loving hearts, I thought, may quickly loathe; And, looking on myself, I seemed not one For such man's love!—more like an outof-tune Worn viol, a good singer would be wroth To spoil his song with, and which, snatched in haste, Is laid down at the first ill-sounding note.

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Contrast establishes the disparity between the speaker’s view of herself and her lover’s view of her. Examples of contrast include: (a) the constant sun vs. the inconstant moon (lines 1-2); (b) “thine oath/To love me” vs. “slacken bonds of love” (lines 1-3); (c) “quick-loving hearts” vs. “quickly loathe” (line 5); (d) “out-of-tune/Worn viol” vs. “good singer” (lines 7-8); (e) “snatched in haste” vs. “laid down at the first ill-sounding note’ (lines 9-10). Extended metaphor: Barrett uses the simile of an out-of-tune viol to describe herself and her relationship to Browning, whom she describes metaphorically as “a good singer.” The extended metaphor built on these figures of speech symbolizes the details of her view of their relationship. An example of this is that the singer would “spoil his song’ with the “out-oftune/Worn viol” (lines 7-9)

A closer look at the last four lines. . . Is laid down at the first ill-sounding note. I did not wrong myself so, but I placed A wrong on thee. For perfect strains may float 'Neath master-hands, from instruments defaced,— And great souls, at one stroke, may do and doat.

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Transition: line 11 marks the end of the contrast as the speaker accepts her lover’s point of view. Her changed attitude is the climax of the poem.