Sonnet

Although less common today, the sonnet is still used as a form of poetry. Typical themes deal with the spiritual or emotional. There are two major forms of the sonnet. They are Italian and Elizabethan. Both forms consist of fourteen lines.

The Italian sonnet is divided into an eight line stanza (named an octave) and a six-line stanza (named a sestet). The first eight lines were used to present a problem. The following six lines are used to present a solution to the problem. The Italian sonnet also has a predictable rhyme scheme. The octave has a rhyme scheme of ABBAABBA. The sestet one of the following rhyme schemes: CDECDE, CDCCDC, or CDEDCE. Each line typically has iambic pentameter meter.

The Elizabethan sonnet is divided into four parts. The first three parts consist of four lines each (called quatrains). The last part consists of two lines (called a rhyming couplet). The rhyming couplet provides the conclusion to the theme presented in the three quatrains. The Elizabethan (also called the Shakespearean sonnet) uses iambic pentameter meter, and it has a rhyme scheme of ABAB CDCD EFEF GG.