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Poetics

Tom Spencer

The English Sonnet

Although there are a few types of sonnets, I have chosen to discuss the structure of the English sonnet. I will reveal its structure as I know and understand it. If I were to choose the perfect form of poetic expression it would be the English sonnet.

The English sonnet has been around since the sixteenth century. Many poets have written sonnets through the years. My favorite is a gentleman by the name of Sir Phillip Sidney. He wrote a few sonnets, quite a few. They are worth reading if you have the wherewithal to struggle through the Elizabethan English and its lexicon of the sixteenth century. I imagine they have been translated to a more modern English; however I feel a revised version of anyone’s work loses the full intent of the original author.

The English sonnet is fourteen lines of verse containing ten syllables per verse. This gives the poet (composer) 180 syllables to tell a story. The most common arrangement of the verse is in groups of four, forming three stanzas (known as quatrains) leaving two verse to form a couplet.

One of the endearing qualities of the sonnet (derived from Italian, meaning "a song") is its end rhyme. The rhyme scheme is varied in the many sonnets I have read. Usually the first and third verse rhyme, and the second and fourth verse rhyme. There is a repeat of the rhyme scheme in the next quatrain and the last quatrain. The couplet, in the English sonnet, always has the last word of each verse rhyme. Variation of the rhyme scheme could be: first-second rhyme, third-fourth rhyme, each quatrain ending with the couplet rhyme. I have seen the odd-number verse of the first twelve verses rhyme and the even-number verse rhyme, with the couplet having a different rhyme. The rhyme scheme is important; however it can vary in its structure. I derive this from the many sonnets I have read. If anyone knows a valid, verifiable rule that applies to the rhyme scheme of the English sonnet, please let me know the source.

The English sonnet is usually written in pentameter. For clarification’s sake, five metric feet. That means ten syllables per verse or ten beats, as in a metronome’s swing, composing a grand total of 180 beats to the complete sonnet. The meter does not give the complete rhythm to the sonnet. It has partial responsibility only. The meter provides the structure for the rhythm. Though some may disagree with me, my observation has lead me to call the meter the external structure of the rhythm, therefore leaving an internal structure to define.

Now to discuss the iamb. Most people link the two as if they were a single device of the sonnet. The iambic foot is separate from the pentameter, although five iambic feet compose one line of pentameter. The iambic foot is a means of describing the internal rhythm of the verse; the iamb is two beats (two syllables) or one foot (one iamb). Therefore in one verse of ten syllables you have five iambic feet. The Iambic foot is composed as two beats: a heel toe sound, the heel being a soft (syllable) sound and the toe being a hard (syllable) sound. This could also be described as a tic-tock sound, the tic being soft and the tock being a harsh or hard sound. There are other feet that can be used, giving a different internal rhythm. A metrical foot called the spondee could be placed in the pentameter line. The spondee has two hard sounds to its syllable foot, however for simplicity’s sake, I will not go into the different metric feet in this article.

Now that we know the mechanical structure of the English sonnet let us investigate the literary structure.

Most surface students will tell you an English sonnet has a love theme. Whether it has been the evolutionary result of poetic license or not, I have found this idea of a sonnet being a love theme not always to be true.

I believe that a sonnet tells a story. My thoughts on the English sonnet are: the first quatrain introduces the protagonist or subject, the second quatrain establishes a setting or stage, the third quatrain presents a result of protagonist and scene working together. The couplet makes an observation of something that was learned from the exposition or an observation expressed in a conceit (exaggerated metaphor).

Due to the limited words and syllables that can be used, quite often one part of the three-part exposition takes more verses to reveal its message. I have seen all verses run together without stanza breaks, thus allowing verse content manipulating for balancing internal themes. You may manipulate the syntax, the rhyme scheme, the stanza construction and the theme of an English Sonnet; however it must be fourteen-verse, end rhyme, and in pentameter.

As civilization has evolved, so has the sonnet. Many forms of the sonnet can be found today; however there is a beauty to the rigid form of the English Sonnet when written well. The discipline developed to write the English Sonnet is a sound base for learning the art of composing most all forms of poetry.

Lost Love Most often in the fading light of day When becalmed the lake, like glass it be Your image deep within my soul will stay A ghostly moon creates a dream of thee My mind will reel in distant reveries Of life and youth of love, indecision Aspirations then, now but memories Of foolish youth and grandiose visions While in this depth of idle thought, I stand Clear the winter’s air, sharp the bite of frost Alone upon this fallow barren land I think of you, reviewing what is lost Love of you, so very deep entrenched From life, from me, tragic death, has wrenched.

I welcome your comments.
Tom Spencer