Lecture Notes: The Sonnet Form

Introduction to Sonnets

• Sonnets are a subgenre of poetry.
• They have evolved over time, with many poets referencing other sonnets, showing the importance of intertextuality.

Traditional Form

• Typically consist of 14 lines with a set rhyme scheme.
• Usually written in iambic pentameter (unstressed-stressed, five times per line).
• Italian and French sonnets influenced the English form:
  • Italian: 11 syllables per line.
  • French: 12 syllables per line (Alexandrian).
• Origin of the term "sonnet" is Italian, meaning "a little song." This suggests they were originally meant to be sung.

Themes and Tropes

• Courtly Love: A common theme in early sonnets.
  • Arranged marriages led to emotional dissatisfaction, leading women to adultery.
  • Poets used sonnets to woo married women through eloquent persuasion.
  • Poetry became a tool for courtship, often unreciprocated love.

Historical Development

• Petrarch (1304-1374): Considered the first modern poet to perfect the sonnet form.

  • Structure: Octave (8 lines) presents a problem; sestet (6 lines) provides a resolution.
  • Rhyme: Octave (abba abba); Sestet (cde cde or cdc cdc).
  • Themes often include idealized love and beauty.

• Key Figures and Contributions:

  • Thomas Wyatt: Translated Petrarch’s works, introduced the English sonnet form with a couplet.
  • Edmund Spenser: Known for the "Spenserian sonnet" with three quatrains and a couplet.
  • William Shakespeare: Developed the "Shakespearean sonnet," distinguished by different rhyme schemes per quatrain and a gg couplet.
  • John Donne: Combined religious themes with secular sonnet themes.
  • John Milton: Continued the tradition, contributing to the sonnet form.

Common Tropes

• Ideal feminine features: fair skin, blue eyes, blonde hair.
• Metaphors and hyperboles: blonde hair likened to gold, blushing cheeks to roses.
• Poets used hyperbole, such as comparing sighs to winds and tears to floods.

Evolution and Intertextuality

• Poets engaged with each other's work by modifying form and content.
• Shakespeare's "Dark Lady" sonnets contrasted typical Petrarchan beauty.
• Changes in rhyme schemes and form were ways poets acknowledged each other and evolved the genre.

Conclusion

• Sonnets have persisted from Petrarch’s time to the present, adapting both in form and thematic content.
• They have been a source of entertainment and a vital part of literary culture, especially in the 1500s and 1600s.