These sonnets all seem to be addressed to a young male friend of the speaker. Although there are various complex categories and sub-categories, the sonnets can generally be divided into two main groups One of the most basic arguments about the poems revolves around who they’re about, and, following on from this, how they should be arranged and classified. This is only the first of many controversies which surround Shakespeare’s sonnets, and part of their continuing appeal is just how mystery-shrouded they remain. The sonnets first came to light in a folio published in 1609 by Thomas Thorpe – some people think Thorpe may have done this without Shakespeare’s permission… Some of the phrases from Shakespeare’s sonnets are so well known that most people will immediately recognise them, even if they can’t put their finger on where they’re from! “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day” and “My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun”, for example, are probably the lines most likely to ring a few bells with even the most fanatical Shakespeare shunners.ġ54 of Shakespeare’s sonnets were published in total, and it’s thought that he composed most of these over a period of several years between 15, when he would have been in his early thirties. The Chandos portrait of William Shakespeare, associated with John Taylor The volta happens at the start of the sestet – leaving more time to respond to the initial problem.The second then answers or proposes a solution to the first.The first stanza lays out a problem, question or situation.
Followed by one six-line stanza (sestet) with the rhyme scheme efef gg.One eight-line stanza (or octave) following the rhyme scheme abba cdcd.This is opposed to the other main sonnet tradition – the Petrachan sonnet – which normally goes like this: The change in thought or argument between the quatrains and the final couplet is referred to as the volta, or turn.The rhyming couplet then answers or proposes a solution to the quatrains.The three quatrains lay out a problem question or situation.Followed by one rhyming two-line stanza (or couplet) gg.Three four-line stanzas (or quatrains) following the rhyme scheme abab cdcd efef.Shakespeare was an acknowledged master of the form, to the extent that the English sonnet (whose structure differs from the Italian or ‘Petrarchan’ sonnet, above) is more often called a ‘Shakespearean sonnet’ in recognition of his influence.Ī Shakespearean sonnet usually (but not always!) includes the following elements: The popularity of the sonnet soon spread, and several Elizabethan poets, including Philip Sidney, Thomas Wyatt and Edmund Spenser, were quick to jump onto the sonnet bandwagon. The Italian poet Francesco Petrarch (1304-1374) is credited with originating the form, whose strict, fourteen-line structure he used to express his feelings for his beloved muse, Laura. The word ‘sonnet’ itself comes from the Italian sonnetto, meaning ‘little song’. The sonnet was already a well-established poetic form in England when Shakespeare began writing his own. It’s thought Shakespeare first turned his attention seriously to poetry when plague hit London in the early 1590s and theatres were shut down to help prevent the spread of disease – poetry was a way of earning his keep! Shakespeare’s name may be synonymous with some of the world’s greatest dramatic works, but he also wrote a considerable amount of poetry – in addition to the 154 published sonnets, Shakespeare also produced the poems ‘Venus and Adonis’, ‘The Rape of Lucrece’, ‘The Phoenix and the Turtle’, ‘The Passionate Pilgrim’, and ‘A Lover’s Complaint’. Explore the controversies surrounding this extraordinary collection of poems, and trace the legacy of Shakespeare’s sonnets right up to the present day. To commemorate the 400 th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death, Young Poets Network is taking a closer look at some of his most famous poetic works – the sonnets.
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