| Canadian | ed | eration of Poets |
|
Dedicated to uniting people and organizations around the world in the global promotion of poets and poetry |
| members | | | CFPChat | | | contests & awards | | | links and education | | | CFPShop |
|
JOIN THE CFP
ABOUT CFP CONTACT CFP |
 |
|||||||
| SITE MAP |
| |||||||
|
Sonnets Ever since the Italian poet, Francesco Petrarch (1304-1374), first penned his famous his "sonetti" or "little songs" he called "sonetti" in his "Canzoniere", called sonnets in English, the sonnet has been a staple genre in the repertoire of formal, stanzaic poetry. Sonnets are of two main kinds, the Petrarchan and the Shakespearian. 1. The Petrarchan Sonnet: Contrary to popular belief, Francesco Petrarch did not invent the Petrarchan sonnet; he merely perfected it. Like almost all sonnets, Petrarchan sonnets are 14 lines long, divided into an octave of 8 lines and a sestet of 6 verses. The octave is further subdivided into 2 quatrains or stanzas of four lines or verses each. The sestet is divided into 2 tercets or stanzas of 3 lines each. In the sonnet, a verse is equivalent to a line. In every good Petrarchan sonnet, the "volta" or turning point almost always occurs at the beginning of the 9th. verse, i.e. at the outset of the sestet. Without this unexpected or surprising turn, Petrarchan sonnets tend to be ineffective or to put it more colloquially, to fall flat on their face. The rhyme scheme is typically abba, abba (in the octave) and cde cde or cdc dcd in the sestet, although in English Petrarchan sonnets, variations can occur in the rhyme scheme as the result of the poverty of rhymes in English, as compared with many other languages, especially Romance languages such as Italian, Spanish and French, which are rhyme rich. Petrarchan sonnet: standard rhyme scheme summary = abba abba cde cde OR abba abba cdc dcd (4/4/3/3) The original Italian sonnets were not uniformly 10 syllables per verse. Nor were Renaissance French sonnets, which tended to have 12 syllables per verse. This metre is called "Alexandrine". Neither Italian or French sonnets rely much on word stress in their verses. Word stress is far less important in the Romance languages than it is in English. 2. The Shakespearian Sonnet: Because English, with its abundance of consonant terminations in words, is a relatively rhyme poor language, the early English sonneteers of the Renaissance quickly realized that they would have to vary their rhyme scheme considerably, by introducing many more permutations and combinations of rhyme, so that they would a good store of viable rhymes at their disposal. But in so doing, these early sonneteers, most notably William Shakespeare, were obliged to fundamentally alter the sonnet's basic structure to meet the needs of the English language. So Shakespearian or English sonnets sport a rhyme scheme and an internal structure all their own, quite unlike that of sonnets in the Romance languages. The Shakespearian sonnet's rhyme scheme is far more varied, complex and subtle than the Petrarchan's, allowing for greater flexibility in rhyme. It is as follows: abab,cdcd,efef,gg. As with its predecessor, the Petrarchan sonnet, the English sonnet's rhyme scheme dictates its underlying structure. Instead of an octave of two quatrains (4/4) and a sestet of two tercets (3/3), we have an octave of two quatrains with different, not identical rhyme schemes (4/4), followed by a tercet comprised of another quatrain and a final rhyming couplet (4/2). This structure is psychologically and physiologically very different from the Petrarchan sonnet. Shakespearian sonnet: standard rhyme scheme summary = abab cdcd efef gg (4/4/4/2) The second primary characteristic of the English sonnet is its reliance on an implicit, underlying rhythm called iambic pentameter, which is essentially a line or verse of exactly 10 syllables in alternating weak and strong beats, with the weak stress falling on the first syllable and the strong on the second of each foot. Thus, here are usually 5 feet to a single line or verse of an English sonnet. The feet do not necessarily correspond to word endings or placement. For example, in William Shakespeare's famous sonnet XXXIII, "Full many a glorious morning have I seen...", the phrase ''triumphant splendor on" in verse 10 contains 3 iambs spread over 3 words, with the initial and final stress both weak on "triumphant". Here we can plainly see that iambic stress does not necessarily have to correspond to word placement. I just said that iambic pentameter is the underlying metre of the English sonnet. Actually, many critics consider it to be a fair representation of the natural patterns of English colloquial speech, and to some extent, it is. However, sonnets composed entirely in iambic pentameter alone tend to sound monotonous. The rhythm can even become mind-numbing. This is called "dogtrot" rhythm, and is a pitfall conscientious sonneteers scrupulously avoid. In fact, the best sonneteers often break the standard iambic rhythm with variations. The most common variation is the initial trochee. A trochee is the reverse of an iamb. It is a stressed syllable followed by an unstressed one. Trochees are quite common in English sonnets. Here is one famous example from Shakespeare's sonnets, the first two verses of his sonnet 53: What is your substance, whereof are you made, That millions of strange shadows on you tend? In this remarkably beautiful sonnet, the first verse opens with an emphatic trochee, while the second reverts to fairly standard iambic metre. By introducing this masterful sonnet in this fashion, Shakespeare infuses it with a note of freshness and immediacy. If you would like to familiarize yourself with the subtleties of the Shakespearian sonnet in all its structural complexity, feel free to read my in depth review of this very sonnet in Vallance Review 18, February 2003, "Describe Adonis and... ", Shakespeare's Sonnet 53 Here then is an example of a contemporary Shakespearian sonnet I recently composed, with the rhyme scheme clearly marked, to help familiarize yourself with the form: If Music Be for Rainer Maria Rilke a If music be soul of thoughts, play them tob our world! Why, should the nations listen, where a undertones, tidals, would go? Listen! Who b comes to hear clearest Aphrodite's air? (See that initial trochee?) c How came her air to lean her conch on ears d intent on echoes in her Seven Seas? c No stains save rain's she leaves when she appears d to circle circles waves can spell with ease! e Meanwhile, Orion fairly seems to float f midway between her Moon and languished waves e that lap along our shores in Time to quote f Apollo's cirrussed verse to silvered naves. g Whose lyre sings of his Golden Fleece as well g as choristers who'd weep to break their spell? © by Richard Vallance 2004 Other pitfalls to avoid in contemporary sonnet writing: 1. Initial capitals, yes or no? On a final note, you will no doubt have realized that I do not capitalize the first letter of every line of this sonnet. While the first word of every verse of traditional sonnets was uniformly capitalized until at least the end of the nineteenth century, twentieth century sonneteers began dropping initial capitals. The practice is merely a convention. Modern 21st. century poets and sonneteers tend, by and large, to eschew initial capitalization of verses, as it has the effect of making the reader pause unnaturally on the rhyme at the end of the preceding verse. Rhyme should naturally flow in the framework of a sonnet's intrinsic structure. Contrary to popular belief, it should not draw too much attention to itself, but appear to be a smooth musical adjunct to the sonnet's overall impression of beauty and polish. The ancient poets never used initial capitals, so why should modern poets necessarily have to? All this is not to say that you yourself should not use capitals to begin every line of your own sonnets. If you feel more comfortable using initial capitals, all the more power to you. Still, many well-known gifted contemporary poets do not feel the need for this convention. 2. Archaic language: Contemporary 21st century sonneteers are best off steering clear of such archaisms and anachronisms as "thee", "thou", "thine", "methinks", "alas!" "behold", "lo!", and historical poetic contractions such as "o'er", "e'er" and "ev'ry". These words sound awkward and bizarre to modern readers. Some sonneteers use words like "thee" and "thine" to achieve end rhyme. Such rhyme sounds forced and unnatural today. 3. Inverted sentences: Many poets still use inverted sentence structure, placing the verb last, again to achieve rhyme. Except for special effects, this practice is to be discouraged, if at all possible, in modern sonnet composition. Here is an example of such stilted writing: Lo, when I beheld storm clouds in the sky, I wondered if the birds so soon would fly... Apart from these relatively few restrictions, the sky's pretty much the limit. Like other modern sonneteers, you can feel free to write sonnets on practically any theme, from traditional love, to nature and the environment, irony and humour, and even political commentary and satire. Written by: Richard Vallance |
|||||||
