What Is a Sonnet?
The sonnet is one of the oldest and most versatile forms in poetry. Originating in 13th-century Italy, it arrived in England in the 16th century and has never left. From Shakespeare and Sidney to Seamus Heaney and Carol Ann Duffy, poets have returned to the sonnet's compact architecture again and again — to argue, to grieve, to seduce, to philosophise.
At its most basic, a sonnet is a 14-line poem, usually written in iambic pentameter. But within that framework lies extraordinary freedom.
The Two Main Types of Sonnet
The Petrarchan (Italian) Sonnet
Named after the Italian poet Petrarch, this form divides the 14 lines into an octave (8 lines, rhyme scheme ABBAABBA) and a sestet (6 lines, various rhyme schemes). The octave typically presents a problem, question, or situation. The sestet then responds, resolves, or complicates it. The shift between these two sections is called the volta — Italian for "turn."
The Shakespearean (English) Sonnet
Shakespeare's preferred form divides the 14 lines into three quatrains (four-line stanzas, rhyme scheme ABAB CDCD EFEF) followed by a closing couplet (GG). The argument typically develops through the three quatrains, with the couplet delivering a pithy summary, twist, or conclusion. The volta often falls just before the final couplet.
Understanding Iambic Pentameter
Iambic pentameter is the heartbeat of the English sonnet. An iamb is a two-syllable unit with the stress on the second syllable: da-DUM. Pentameter means five of these units per line. So a line of iambic pentameter has ten syllables: da-DUM da-DUM da-DUM da-DUM da-DUM.
Here's Shakespeare's famous opening:
Shall I com-PARE thee TO a SUM-mer's DAY?
Ten syllables, five stresses. You don't need to be rigid about this — skilled poets break the pattern intentionally for effect — but it helps to begin with an understanding of the underlying rhythm.
The Volta: The Sonnet's Secret Engine
The volta is what makes a sonnet more than a pretty piece of rhyming. It is the moment of turn — where the poem shifts direction, complicates its own argument, or reveals something unexpected. Without the volta, you have fourteen lines. With it, you have a small drama.
Look for the volta by asking: where does the poem change its mind? Where does it say "but" or "yet" or "however"? That moment of reversal or complication is where the real energy lives.
Writing Your Own Sonnet: A Step-by-Step Approach
- Choose a subject. Sonnets work well with a single, focused subject — a person, a feeling, a question. The form rewards compression.
- Decide on your form. Shakespearean is often easier for beginners due to its more flexible rhyme scheme. Petrarchan demands more of the rhyming, but offers a clean two-part structure.
- Draft freely first. Write what you want to say without worrying about meter or rhyme. Get the ideas down.
- Find your volta. Where does your thinking shift? Build your structure around that moment.
- Impose the meter — loosely. Begin shaping your lines toward iambic pentameter. You don't need perfection; you need a sense of underlying rhythm.
- Work on the rhymes last. Force rhymes at the start and they'll make your language stilted. Find your meaning first; rhyme will follow more naturally than you expect.
Contemporary Sonnets Worth Reading
- Carol Ann Duffy's Rapture — a whole collection in sonnet form
- Seamus Heaney's "The Forge" — compact and muscular
- Terrance Hayes's American Sonnets for My Past and Future Assassin — wildly expansive
- Gwendolyn Brooks's "First Fight. Then Fiddle." — political and precise
The sonnet's longevity is no accident. Its limits are generative — the constraint of 14 lines forces precision, and precision, in poetry, is where power lives.