What Is a Sonnet in Poetry? | Definition & Examples
A sonnet is a tightly structured 14-line poem, traditionally written in iambic pentameter and adhering to specific rhyme schemes. The two most common sonnet variations are the Italian sonnet (also called a Petrarchan sonnet) and the English sonnet (also called a Shakespearean sonnet). Sonnets were primarily focused on unrequited love, but also explored other themes, such as the passage of time and human nature.
Thou art more lovely and more temperate:
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer’s lease hath all too short a date;
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is his gold complexion dimm’d;
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance or nature’s changing course untrimm’d;
But thy eternal summer shall not fade,
Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow’st;
Nor shall death brag thou wander’st in his shade,
When in eternal lines to time thou grow’st:
So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.
—“Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?” (Sonnet 18) by William Shakespeare
Because sonnets rely heavily on precise wording, rhythm, and rhyme, writers often revise their drafts multiple times to capture the perfect balance of form and feeling. Tools like QuillBot’s Paraphraser can help refine your wording while keeping your original meaning intact— ideal for polishing the compact, expressive language sonnets demand.
Sonnet definition and origins
The word “sonnet” comes from the Italian word “sonetto,” which means “little sound” or “little song.” This points to the sonnet’s musical qualities and its compact, song-like nature. A sonnet is a fixed poetic form with its own “rules” and following particular themes. Traditionally, sonnets were associated with love; however, poets have used this form to explore a range of other subjects, like patriotism, religion, and poetry itself.
Sonnets began their journey in 13th-century Sicily, Italy, where a poet named Giacomo da Lentini first created them as a way for wealthy, educated people to express romantic love. The form really took off in the 14th century thanks to Francesco Petrarca (also called Petrarch). By the 16th century, English poets had brought sonnets across the Alps to England.
Poets like Edmund Spenser and William Shakespeare created extensive sonnet sequences that told entire stories; Shakespeare’s collection alone contains 154 sonnets. Shakespeare was so enchanted by the form that he embedded sonnets directly into his dramatic dialogue, a technique that was innovative for its time. When Romeo and Juliet first speak to each other, their entire conversation creates a perfect 14-line sonnet.
Today, the sonnet remains one of poetry’s most popular forms. Although it started with strict rules and mostly focused on love, modern poets keep adapting it to new styles and subjects.
What makes a poem a sonnet?
Traditional sonnets follow the same basic rules:
- Fourteen lines: A sonnet always has exactly 14 lines. This fixed length challenges poets to be concise and focused.
- Organized structure: Sonnets are usually divided into sections, like groups of four or six lines, which help organize thoughts and ideas clearly.
- Rhyme scheme: Sonnets follow a regular pattern of rhymes, which adds rhythm and helps guide the flow of ideas.
- Iambic pentameter: Each line has ten syllables, alternating between unstressed and stressed beats (da-DUM da-DUM). This rhythm mimics natural speech while maintaining musical flow
- A central theme: A sonnet typically explores a single idea or feeling. Apart from love, sonnets may focus on time, mortality, beauty, poetry, and more specific emotional states like jealousy or betrayal.
- A turn or volta: Most sonnets include a shift in tone or perspective. This “turn” helps develop or resolve the poem’s main idea.
These features make the sonnet a blend of strict structure and creative expression, giving poets a way to explore deep ideas with clarity and impact. If you’re looking for some inspiration to get you started on your sonnet, use QuillBot’s AI Poem Generator for free!
Types of sonnets
Two sonnet forms serve as models for all other sonnets: the Petrarchan and the Shakespearean.
Petrarchan sonnet
The Petrarchan or Italian sonnet consists of two distinct parts or stanzas:
- An octave (the first eight lines) with rhyme scheme ABBA ABBA
- A sestet (the final six lines) with rhyme scheme CDECDE or CDCDCD.
The octave usually introduces a problem, question, or observation, while the sestet provides the solution, response, or counterargument. The shift between these two sections (line 9), known as the volta (Italian for “turn”), often marks a change in tone or perspective. Words like “But,” “Yet,” or “And yet” frequently signal this turning point.
In the following example, notice how the octave aligns with the Petrarchan tradition (ABBA ABBA rhyme scheme), whereas the sestet deviates from it. This reflects the challenge of translating from Italian while preserving not just the meaning but the original mood and rhythm of the poem.
Pour such impartial music or in phrases
Darkened with imminent winter mourn dead graces
As song dies with the summer that you sing to –
Ah could you guess the bitter bough I cling to,
Your golden grief would find in mine clear traces
Of kinship! In my heart your singing space is;
One song is ours, one measure we both ring to.
And yet who knows? The grief you give a name to
May not endure: some bough she could not leap to,
A bruised wing, maybe, holds the mate you weep to;
Not so my theme, my sweet I pour this flame to:
Death and this bleak day, thoughts my soul must keep to,
Prompt me to call what Death alone has claim to.
— XC. Wherein a grieving bird reminds him of his own heavier anguish, “The Sonnets of Petrarch” (Translated by Joseph Auslander)
Shakespearean sonnet
The Shakespearean or English sonnet is actually a misnomer, as Shakespeare didn’t create the form. It was brought to England by Sir Thomas Wyatt in the 1540s. However, Shakespeare’s mastery of the style gave it enduring fame. These sonnets are structured into three quatrains (groups of four lines) and a final couplet (a group of two lines), following a rhyme scheme of ABAB CDCD EFEF GG.
The volta, or thematic turn, often appears before the final couplet, and Shakespeare approached it with remarkable variety. Sometimes it’s a bold shift; other times, it sneaks in subtly, deepening the poem’s complexity. The final couplet delivers a punch, either driving home the central idea or surprising the reader with a clever twist.
In the following example, Shakespeare turns love poetry on its head, mocking overused clichés with unflattering descriptions of his mistress. But the final couplet, with its sharp volta, changes everything. The rhymed lines “rare” and “compare” stand out, correcting what’s been said previously and revealing a love that’s as rare and genuine as the love described in those exaggerated poems.
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.
— “Sonnet 130” (My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun)
Sonnet examples
Below are examples of how poets across time have used the form to explore themes of love, memory, and modern life.
Famous sonnet poems about love
One of the most common purposes of a sonnet is to praise a beloved person. Let’s examine a couple of love poems and see how they address this theme.
Shakespeare’s Sonnet 116 features a clear volta around line nine, where the poem shifts from defining what love is to affirming its steadfastness against time and change. The sonnet adheres closely to the traditional rhyme scheme and iambic pentameter, and it explores a single, focused theme of love’s enduring nature.
Admit impediments; love is not love
Which alters when it alteration finds,
Or bends with the remover to remove.
O no, it is an ever-fixèd mark
That looks on tempests and is never shaken;
It is the star to every wand’ring bark
Whose worth’s unknown, although his height be taken.
Love’s not time’s fool, though rosy lips and cheeks
Within his bending sickle’s compass come.
Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,
But bears it out even to the edge of doom:
If this be error and upon me proved,
I never writ, nor no man ever loved.
Browning’s Sonnet 43 follows the Italian (Petrarchan) sonnet structure, with an ABBAABBA CDCDCD rhyme scheme. It gradually builds through different expressions of love before reaching a subtle but significant turn that deepens into a spiritual and eternal love. While the volta is less dramatic, it still marks an important shift in the poem’s tone.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of being and ideal grace.
I love thee to the level of every day’s
Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light.
I love thee freely, as men strive for right.
I love thee purely, as they turn from praise.
I love thee with the passion put to use
In my old griefs, and with my childhood’s faith.
I love thee with a love I seemed to lose
With my lost saints. I love thee with the breath,
Smiles, tears, of all my life; and, if God choose,
I shall but love thee better after death.
Modern sonnet examples
Modern poets reshape the sonnet, either honoring its rules or breaking them. These examples show how the fourteen-line form continues to inspire fresh themes and bold experiments in language.
In “What lips My lips have kissed, and where, and why”, Edna St. Vincent Millay uses the Petrarchan sonnet form to reflect on the fading of past romances.
At the volta in line nine, marked by the word “Thus,” the poem shifts both in tone and structure. Millay changes the meter from the steady iambic rhythm to a trochee at the start of the line, emphasizing the transition to a metaphor: the speaker compares her emotional state to a tree in winter, standing bare and alone. This shift is reinforced by a subtle change in the rhyme scheme, where the sestet follows CDEDCE instead of the typical CDECDE.
I have forgotten, and what arms have lain
Under my head till morning; but the rain
Is full of ghosts tonight, that tap and sigh
Upon the glass and listen for reply,
And in my heart there stirs a quiet pain
For unremembered lads that not again
Will turn to me at midnight with a cry.
Thus in the winter stands the lonely tree,
Nor knows what birds have vanished one by one,
Yet knows its boughs more silent than before:
I cannot say what loves have come and gone,
I only know that summer sang in me
A little while, that in me sings no more.
In “Incandescent War Poem Sonnet,” Bernadette Mayer uses the sonnet form to play with expectations. Instead of the traditional volta and a neat final couplet, she creates a chaotic, open-ended poem. Through humor and unexpected observations, Mayer shows that a sonnet doesn’t have to follow the old rules; it can be messy, modern, and reflect the uncertainty of real life.
I’m coming up, I’m coming, Shakespeare only stuck
To one subject but I’ll mention nobody said
You have to get young Americans some ice cream
In the artificial light in which she woke
How to write a sonnet poem
Whether you feel inspired to write your own sonnet or you’re working on one for an assignment, following these steps can help:
- Choose a theme. Select a theme that resonates with you. This could be a universal topic, like love, war, or life changes. Sometimes, a personal observation about a social issue, like how hard it is to make friends as an adult, can be a good starting point.
- Pick a type of sonnet. All sonnets are 14 lines long, but the structuring of the lines, the placement of the volta, and the rhyme scheme are different in the Italian and English sonnet traditions. Decide which style you prefer.
- Write in iambic pentameter. Aim to follow a pattern of 10 syllables, alternating between an unstressed and a stressed one. Iambic pentameter has a natural rhythm, resembling a heartbeat when read aloud: da DUM da DUM da DUM da DUM da DUM. For example, “So foul and fair a day I have not seen”(Macbeth, Act 1, scene 3).
- Embrace the sonnet’s structure. Divide your sonnet into quatrains and a couplet (if following the English style) or an octave and sestet (if choosing the Italian form). Let the volta naturally shift the poem’s tone or argument. At the same time, don’t be afraid to break the rules; many modern poets adjust the form to better express their unique voice or theme.
- Refine your work. Once your draft is complete, read it aloud to catch any awkward phrasing or breaks in rhythm. Revising is crucial to ensure that your sonnet flows naturally and fits within its structured form. Tools like QuillBot’s Grammar Checker can help identify errors and smooth out your language, ensuring your sonnet reads as beautifully as it sounds.
Frequently asked questions about sonnets
- Is a 14-line poem always a sonnet?
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Not always. While sonnets do comprise 14 lines, they adhere to other rules too, like specific rhyme and meter. There are 14-line poems that don’t follow these rules and can’t be classified as traditional sonnets. These are, for example, quatorzains and modern sonnets.
If you’ve written a 14-line poem and want to ensure it fits the sonnet form, use QuillBot’s Grammar Checker to refine your poem’s flow, grammar, and overall structure.
- What is an example of a sonnet?
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The poem “The World Is Too Much with Us” by William Wordsworth is an example of a sonnet. It follows the Petrarchan sonnet form and consists of an octave and a sestet with an ABBA ABBA CDCDCD rhyme scheme. In the first eight lines (the octave), the poet laments about humanity’s disconnection from nature due to materialism. The final six lines (the sestet) present his “solution”: he’d rather believe in pagan gods and feel closer to nature than experience this spiritual alienation.
If you’re working on a sonnet and want to fine-tune your phrasing while keeping your original meaning, QuillBot’s Paraphraser is the perfect tool to help you express yourself with precision.
- What are the three rules of sonnet?
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The three key rules of a sonnet are:
- Fourteen lines: A sonnet always has exactly 14 lines
- Specific rhyme scheme: It must follow an established rhyme pattern, such as ABAB CDCD EFEF GG (Shakespearean/English) or ABBA ABBA CDECDE/CDCDCD (Petrarchan/Italian).
- Iambic Pentameter: Each line typically has ten syllables with an unstressed-stressed pattern.
Modern sonnets sometimes vary from these traditional conventions while maintaining the essential sonnet structure. Need help brainstorming or perfecting your poem? Use QuillBot’s AI Chat to get tips, feedback, or even inspiration tailored to your writing goals.
