A Sonnet is More Than Just Shakespeare

Sonnets are the most versatile type of poetry. Sonnets are square. They are fourteen lines long and usually written in iambic pentameter. Most lines have ten syllables and that is about as long as fourteen lines are high, leading to its square appearance. Most sonnets have two different units of meaning that are closely related with a shift taking place. The separate units correspond with the parts into which the form breaks. Most sonnets have two parts: one of eight lines and one of six. Petrarchan sonnets use rhyme to tie the first eight lines together then another rhyme scheme to tie the last six together. A Shakespearian sonnet usually divides up by fours. Here, the first two groups of four have a unity in meaning, as do the third four and the last two lines. Not all sonnets follow such form. Those without rhyme are called “blank”.

Shakespeare wrote many sonnets and he also incorporated them into his longer writings. For example, the prologue of “Romeo and Juliet” is a sonnet. It is divided like most Shakespearian sonnets. The rhyme scheme is ABAB CDCD EFEF GG. This also divides the meaning of the sonnet. The first quatrain gives basic introductory information including the setting and some foreshadowing about what is to come. The second gives more details about what is to come with the “star-cross'd lovers” and builds on the first quatrain.  The third quatrain introduces the conflicts and shifts in the story. The couplet at the end acts as a conclusion for the sonnet and a nice transition into the plot.

I actually really like sonnets and I am not the type of person who typically reads or writes poetry. Poetry can easily become overwhelming or just boring. The sonnet contains the poem into a very manageable length. It is a nice medium between haiku’s, containing only three lines, and classic poetry which can be as long as the author desires. At fourteen lines, it is a good length to convey a simple thought, feeling, emotion, or story. My favorite sonnet is one by Robert Frost simply titled “Acquainted With the Night”.  Frost does a really well job of making the situation feel realistic. Almost everybody can relate to his observations of the city night. 

“I have been one acquainted with the night.
I have walked out in rain—and back in rain.
I have outwalked the furthest city light.
 I have looked down the saddest city lane.
I have passed by the watchman on his beat
And dropped my eyes, unwilling to explain.
 I have stood still and stopped the sound of feet
When far away an interrupted cry
Came over houses from another street,
 But not to call me back or say good-by;
And further still at an unearthly height,
One luminary clock against the sky
 Proclaimed the time was neither wrong nor right.
I have been one acquainted with the night.”

So, while Shakespeare may be most commonly known for his sonnets, and rightly so as he wrote hundreds, he is not the only author who created great sonnets.