🖋️ SONNET: Not Just a Song, It's Poetry

SONNET: You'll probably need to read at least one in English Lit.

Sonnets can actually be fun to read.

sonnet

sonnet is a type of poem. Let's learn about them.

ℹ️ Part of speech

sonnet is a NOUN.

🗣️ Pronunciation

sonnet is pronounced /ˈsɑ.nɪt/ or SAH-nit.

📚️ Definition

sonnet refers to a fourteen-line poem written in iambic pentameter, often with a specific rhyme scheme. For example: Shakespeare wrote many famous sonnets.

📰 Examples

Here are some examples of sonnet in usage:

• "Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?" begins one of Shakespeare's most famous sonnets.

• Petrarch's sonnets, written in the 14th century, are still read and studied today.

• A modern poet decided to experiment by writing a sonnet without using any punctuation.

• The teacher assigned us to write our own sonnets, and I chose love as my theme.

🖋️ Example of a sonnet

This is one of the most famous English sonnets. It was written by William Shakespeare and published in 1609. NB: Shakespeare is arguably the best-known writer in English.

Read it and let me know what you think!

Sonnet 130

My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun; 
Coral is far more red than her lips’ red; 
If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun; 
If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head. 
I have seen roses damasked, red and white, 
But no such roses see I in her cheeks; 
And in some perfumes is there more delight 
Than in the breath that from my mistress reeks. 
I love to hear her speak, yet well I know 
That music hath a far more pleasing sound; 
I grant I never saw a goddess go; 
My mistress, when she walks, treads on the ground. 
  And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare 
  As any she belied with false compare.

For me, this sonnet is very funny, as some of the descriptions are humorously exaggerated. But it's also touching--the speaker seems to truly love his "mistress," despite her flaws.

🧠 Quick vocab quiz

Test yourself!

sonnet most nearly means

(A) metaphor
(B) song
(C) speech
(D) poem
(E) drama

And one more:

In which of the following scenarios would you most likely encounter a sonnet?

(A) Reading a science textbook.
(B) Studying a map.
(C) In a music concert.
(D) In an English literature class.
(E) Watching a basketball game.

Scroll down for the answer/s.

💁🏼 Tips!

A famous type of sonnet is the Shakespearean sonnet, named for William Shakespeare who wrote 154 sonnets. This type has a specific rhyme scheme: ABAB CDCD EFEF GG.

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✅ Quiz answer/s

Answers:

• D, poem.

• D, In an English literature class.