Further Poetry: Forms of Sonnets

As discussed in my previous post, there are a variety of poetry forms that I still haven't explored (and those I have covered haven't been given an in-depth analysis as of yet) and included in this are the various forms of sonnet. This website, composed by Nelson Miller, describes a few of the varying forms. In English, all sonnet forms are composed of iambic pentameter, or tetrameter or occasionally hexameter. This fact is thusly present (and addressed if otherwise) and doesn't need mentioning in the following descriptions. I also looked at this website for further forms that weren't discussed in the initial site.

Petrarchan/Italian Sonnet

• Divided into two sections: octave and a setset, by different rhyming schemes.
• The octave has eight lines and the rhyme is: abbaabba
• The setset is six lines and can have the rhymes: cdcdcd or cddcdc or cdecde or cdeced or cdcedc

Shakespearean/English Sonnet

• Has three quatrains of alternating rhyme and a couplet
• abab cdcd efef gg
• It can be considered one of the simplest couplet forms
• The volta is typically placed in line nine.

Spenserian Sonet

• It is an outgrowth of the stanza pattern used in The Faerie Queene (ababbcbcc)
• Has the rhyme scheme: ababbcbccdcdee
• The three quatrains share similar ideas, while other forms of poetry typically discuss different ideas in their differing quatrains.

Curtal Sonnet

• 10 lines, two stanzas
• Often recognised as a more "masterful" form or the Petrarchan sonnet.

Miltonic Sonnet

• Eight line/Six line sonnet
• Simplified rhyme scheme of abbaabba-cdcdcd

Terza Rima Sonnet

• Four quatrains and a rhyming couplet
• Has the Terza Rima rhyme scheme of aba/bcb/cdc/ded

I feel that after looking at these varied types of poems by form, I should begin looking at ones previous composed, from archaic to contemporary poets. However, I still have an interest in investigating other poetry forms, as I wish to draw from the widest variety I can.