In the late 16th century, the sonnet flourished. Henry Howard himself developed the rhyme scheme of what later became the English sonnet. That Wyatt’s fears in his sonnet were grounded in reality has been shown by historical events, since Anne Boleyn and another early 16th century sonneteer, Henry Howard, both lost their lives to Henry VIII’s jealousy. There is written her fair neck round about,Īnd wild for to hold, though I seem tame.'” Who list her hunt, I put him out of doubt,Īs well as I, may spend his time in vain.Īnd graven with diamonds in letters plain,
The vain travail hath wearied me so sore,ĭraw from the deer, but as she fleeth aforeįainting I follow I leave off therefore, “Whoso list to hunt, I know where is an hind, I have also typed the sonnets flush to the left line without indentations.) (For ease of reading, some spellings and an occasional word, here and there, have been altered, though only slightly. An example of his work, the following sonnet on Wyatt’s appreciation of the beauty of Anne Boleyn and his exasperation on ever achieving it, has a rhyme scheme which follows the Italian sonnet, but with a final couplet which foreshadows the ending the English sonnet will take. The tradition of sonnet writing in English begins in the 16th century with Thomas Wyatt. In addition, because of time and space constraints, I will limit this essay to thirty-one sonnets written in English. In addition, because sonnet writers from around the world are so numerous, I would be surprised if any individual has read even a quarter of them all and so, in light of that, I can only speak to those poets and poems I am familiar with. And there are other varieties as well, as, for example, what I have called the American sonnet with an ababcdecdefgfg rhyme scheme, with a tripartite division. In the Russian sonnet, the rhyme scheme is typically ababccddeffegg. The French sonnet frequently begins with an Italian octave, but at the volta, the turn into the sestet, commonly starts with a couplet and ends with a quatrain ccdede. The English sonnet is more likely to break into quatrains, an ababcdcd octave and an efefgg sestet. Two sestet possibilities include cdecde and cdcdcd. In the Italian sonnet, the octave usually has a rhyme scheme of abbaabba. Rhyme is predominantly used throughout the poem. The most common division is between the octave, the first eight lines, and the sestet, the last six the first part of the sonnet presents its thesis or argument and the latter augments or counters it. The word sonnet derives from a word meaning little song and through its enduring popularity has shown itself to be an excellent vehicle for human expression.Īlthough there are many variants of the sonnet, for each individual likes to put his or her own individual stamp upon it, its basic form is fourteen lines usually in iambic pentameter with ten, eleven, or twelve syllables. The sonnet is a poetic form developed in medieval Italy and since that time and place, it has spread around the globe and traveled throughout the centuries. In Charon’s palm it pay the toll to Death.” It serve or, ‘mid the dark wharf’s cavernous breath, Of Life, or dower in Love’s high retinue, Whether for tribute to the august appeals The soul-its converse, to what Power ’tis due: