Response Paper: Sonnets & Shakespeare The word sonnet came from in the Italian word “sonnetto” (Meyer 778) which means “little song”. Sonnets have fourteen lines and are written in iambic pentameter. There are two types of sonnets: Italian, and English sonnet.
The Italian version is also known as the Petrarchan. It breaks into two parts and the first part is the octave which is the first eight lines and they rhyme “abbaabba” (Meyer 778). Then the second half and final six lines is the sestet which has varying rhyme schemes but commonly “cdecde, cdcdcd, and cdccdc” (Meyer 778). The octave of the poem sets the mood and situation while the sestet resolves it.
An English sonnet is organized into three quatrains and a couplet. The English sonnet
The Italian version is also known as the Petrarchan. It breaks into two parts and the first part is the octave which is the first eight lines and they rhyme “abbaabba” (Meyer 778). Then the second half and final six lines is the sestet which has varying rhyme schemes but commonly “cdecde, cdcdcd, and cdccdc” (Meyer 778). The octave of the poem sets the mood and situation while the sestet resolves it.
An English sonnet is organized into three quatrains and a couplet. The English sonnet