Definition

1. Noun:
   • A specific poetic form: An "Elizabethan sonnet" is a type of sonnet consisting of three quatrains (four-line stanzas) and a final rhyming couplet (two-line stanza). It is written in iambic pentameter and follows a specific rhyme scheme: abab cdcd efef gg. This form is also commonly known as the English or Shakespearean sonnet.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • Shakespeare's "Sonnet 18" ("Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?") is a famous example of an Elizabethan sonnet.
  • The poet chose the structure of an Elizabethan sonnet to explore the theme of love and time.

Advanced Usage

• As a formal term in literary analysis: The term is used to distinguish this 14-line structure from other sonnet forms, such as the Italian (Petrarchan) sonnet.
  • Her thesis compared the thematic resolution in the final couplet of an Elizabethan sonnet to the volta in a Petrarchan sonnet.

Variants and Related Words

• English sonnet (n): A synonym for "Elizabethan sonnet."
• Shakespearean sonnet (n): Another common synonym, named after William Shakespeare, its most famous practitioner.
• Sonnet (n): The general term for a 14-line poem in iambic pentameter, of which the Elizabethan sonnet is one type.

Synonyms

• English sonnet
• Shakespearean sonnet

Related Terms and Concepts

• Quatrain (n): A stanza of four lines, often with a rhyme scheme. The Elizabethan sonnet uses three of these.
• Couplet (n): Two consecutive lines of poetry that rhyme. The Elizabethan sonnet concludes with a rhyming couplet.
• Iambic pentameter (n): A metrical pattern in poetry consisting of five iambic feet per line (an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable).
• Rhyme scheme (n): The ordered pattern of rhymes at the ends of the lines of a poem.

Noun

1. a sonnet consisting three quatrains and a concluding couplet in iambic pentameter with the rhyme pattern abab cdcd efef gg