Petrarchan Sonnet

History of the Petrarchan Sonnet

The Petrarchan sonnet (sometimes referred to as the Italian sonnet) is the oldest form of the sonnet and was created in Italy. The form was created by Giacomo di Lentini; however, it is named after the Italian poet Francesco Petrarca who popularised this type of poem. Petrarchan sonnets were traditionally written in the Sicilian dialect, which was popular in the thirteenth century.

Fig. 1 - The Petrachan sonnet is named after Petrarca, who was an Italian poet from the 14th century.

In the sixteenth century, the Petrarchan sonnet was introduced to English literature through the poet and politician Sir Thomas Wyatt. Wyatt translated many of Petrarca's sonnets into English, and as many of Petrarca's sonnets were about love, this caused the form to become associated with love poetry in English literature.

The Petrarchan sonnet has been popular in English literature since the sixteenth century, with poets such as Elizabeth Barrett Browning and William Wordsworth writing in this style.

Examples of Petrarchan Sonnets

An example of a Petrarchan sonnet can be found in multiple literary movements throughout English literature. Some Petrarchan sonnet examples include:

• Elizabeth Barrett Browning's 'Sonnet 43' (1850),
• William Wordsworth's 'Composed Upon Westminster Bridge, September 3 1802' (1807),
• and Oscar Wilde's 'The Grave of Keats' (1831).
• Modern examples of the Petrarchan sonnet include 'The Professor' (2012) by Joshua Mehigan.

Petrarchan Sonnets: key characteristics

Here are the key characteristics and examples of Petrarchan sonnets, including the stanza structure, meter, rhyme scheme, tone, and themes.

Petrarchan Sonnet: stanza structure

A key way to spot Petrarchan sonnets is to look at how the stanzas are arranged. As said earlier, in a Petrarchan sonnet, there are two stanzas: an octave (a stanza with eight lines) and a sestet (a stanza with six lines).

The poem below shows what this structure looks like when written down:

Petrarchan Sonnet: meter

Petrarchan sonnets are written in the standard metre for all sonnets, iambic pentameter. Take a look at the Petrarchan sonnet examples of meter below:

The syllables in bold show the stressed syllables in each line. Together, the unstressed syllable and stressed syllable create one metrical foot. In the passage taken from the Petrarchan Sonnet example above, it is shown that there are five metrical feet in each line. The metrical feet have been separated with a vertical line.

Petrarchan Sonnet: rhyme scheme

The rhyme scheme of a Petrarchan sonnet is usually ABBA ABBA CDE CDE. The octave will be broken into two separate quatrains (a stanza of four lines), and the sestet will be broken into two tercets (three lines). Traditionally, the sestet in a Petrarchan sonnet will provide a different view or idea than the octave – this is why they have separate rhyme schemes.

Petrarchan Sonnet: tone

A key characteristic of Petrarchan sonnets is the presence of a device called a volta.

In Petrarchan sonnets, voltas are used as climaxes or epiphanies. They can typically be found at the end of the octave or at the start of the sestet, and the sestet is then used to resolve this climax.

Petrarchan Sonnet: themes

Many of Petrarca's sonnets were written about love. Qhen Wyatt translated Petrarca's sonnets into English, it popularised the idea that Petrarchan sonnets are all about love. This idea has continued throughout the centuries, and the most popular theme of Petrarchan sonnets is love. However, they can be about anything.

Spenserian, Petrarchan, and Shakespearean Sonnets

Sonnets follow a strict structure, and all of the different types of sonnets share these same three characteristics: they are fourteen lines long with a strict rhyme scheme and written in iambic pentameter. However, in other areas, different types of sonnets will follow different rules. Use the table below to remember the key differences between Spenserian sonnets, Petrarchan sonnets, and Shakespearean sonnets.