This sonnet is considered by many to be one of the most beautifully written verses in English literature, and it has long been praised because Shakespeare manages to capture the spirit of love so simply in this sonnet. Sonnet 18 is perhaps the most famous of the 154 sonnets. Link to the film Why Shakespeare Loved Iambic Pentameter on the TED webpage It is often easier to understand what this rhythm is like when we hear it explained, so we have included a link to a film about the subject. The meter consists of five iambs, which is an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable. Iambic pentameter is a rhythm that’s pleasing to the ear and closely resembles the rhythm of everyday speech, or a heartbeat.

Meter is a regular pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables that defines the rhythm of some poetry. Shakespeare usually wrote his sonnets in iambic pentameter, which is close to the rhythm of everyday speech. The Shakespearean sonnet has fourteen lines, divided into four stanzas with the rhyme scheme abab, cdcd, efef, gg, in a 4+4+4+2 structure. The writer gets to show off their creativity within these strict rules, and it becomes like a sport for poets who want to excel and show off their craft. A sonnet is a poem that has to comply with a certain system of rhyme and rhythm. This kind of poetry is not for the amateur.

Though Shakespeare was not the first to write a Shakespearean sonnet, he was the most renowned one, and therefore, the sonnet was named after him. The Shakespearean sonnet: abab, cdcd, efef, gg The first three stanzas have four lines each (quatrains), while the last stanza only consist of two lines (a couplet).

The Shakespearean sonnet, on the other hand, has four stanzas.

The Petrachan sonnet has two stanzas: one consisting of eight lines (an octave) and another consisting of six lines (a sestet). There are two main types of sonnets: the Petrarchan (or Italian) sonnet and the Shakespearean (or English) sonnet.īoth types have 14 lines in total, but the lines are structured differently. People of the well-to-do classes, especially the nobility, would write and send each other sonnets. Sonnets originated in Italy, where they were used to impress potential lovers. Show competence goals The origin of the sonnet We know Shakespeare primarily as a celebrated playwright, but he also became a master of this specific type of poetry. During the Renaissance, the sonnet was widely used to describe the love between two people, both erotic love and a more spiritual love.

Shakespeare iambic pentameter sonnets