Definition

1. Noun:

   • A sonnet is a specific type of poem consisting of exactly fourteen lines. It follows a strict, traditional structure, including a fixed pattern of rhyme (rhyme scheme) and often a particular meter, such as iambic pentameter. Sonnets are a major form of European poetry, often exploring themes of love, beauty, politics, and mortality.

2. Verb:

   • To sonnet means to compose a poem in the sonnet form. It can also mean to praise someone or something by writing a sonnet about them.

Usage Examples

• Noun:

  • Shakespeare wrote 154 famous sonnets.
  • The poet chose the sonnet form for its disciplined structure.
  • Her assignment was to analyze the rhyme scheme of a Petrarchan sonnet.

• Verb:

  • The poet sonneted about the beauty of the spring morning. (This usage is less common and can sound literary or archaic.)
  • He was so inspired that he sonneted her virtues.

Advanced Usage

• "To write/publish a sonnet": This is the standard phrasing for creating a sonnet, more common than the verb "to sonnet."
  • She wrote a sonnet for the competition.
• "A sonnet sequence": Refers to a series of sonnets that are thematically linked, often telling a story or exploring a subject in depth.
  • Shakespeare's sonnet sequence is addressed to both a "Fair Youth" and a "Dark Lady."

Variants and Related Words

• Sonneteer (noun): A composer of sonnets. This term is often used, sometimes with a slightly old-fashioned or specialist connotation.
  • The festival featured readings by several modern sonneteers.
• Sonnet-like (adjective): Having qualities reminiscent of a sonnet, such as brevity or a structured argument.
  • The essay had a sonnet-like conciseness.

Synonyms

• Poem: A piece of writing in verse. (This is a general term; a sonnet is a specific type of poem.)
• Verse: Writing arranged with a metrical rhythm. (A broader category that includes sonnets.)
• Fourteen-line poem: A descriptive synonym that specifies the form's length.

Related Phrases

• "Turn" or "Volta": A rhetorical shift or dramatic change in thought that often occurs in a sonnet, typically between the octave and the sestet in a Petrarchan sonnet or before the final couplet in a Shakespearean sonnet.
  • The sonnet's powerful volta changes the poem's entire perspective.
• "Petrarchan/Italian sonnet": A sonnet divided into an octave (8 lines, rhyming ABBAABBA) and a sestet (6 lines, with a variable rhyme scheme like CDECDE or CDCDCD).
• "Shakespearean/English sonnet": A sonnet composed of three quatrains (4-line stanzas, rhyming ABAB CDCD EFEF) and a concluding couplet (2 lines, rhyming GG).

Noun

1. a verse form consisting of 14 lines with a fixed rhyme scheme

Verb

1. compose a sonnet
2. praise in a sonnet