Encyclopedia > Shakespearean Sonnets

Article Content

Shakespearean Sonnets

Also called the Elizabethan or English sonnet. A poem comprising three quatrains and a terminal couplet in iambic pentameter with the rhyme scheme abab cdcd efef gg.

It was derived from the older Petrarchan or Italian sonnet. Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey, created early examples in the 16th century, but the form is strongly associated with William Shakespeare because of his authorship of a famed collection published in 1609.

See: Shakespeare's Sonnets

All Wikipedia text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License

Search Encyclopedia

Search over one million articles, find something about almost anything!

Featured Article

Islandia, New York

... is 36 years. For every 100 females there are 92.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 88.8 males. The median income for a household in the village ...