There are variants in terms of sonnets, but the Italian and English patterns are the two most prevalent. English or Shakespearean Sonnet: Named for William Shakespeare and a variation of the Italian sonnet, this sonnet pattern consists of three four-line Quatrains and a concluding couplet with the rhyme scheme ABAB CDCD EFEF GG.Italian or Petrarchan Sonnet: Named for the Italian Renaissance lyrical poet Francesco Petrarch, this sonnet pattern consists of an eight-line Octave with the rhyme scheme ABBA ABBA, followed by a six-line Sestet that follows one of two rhyme schemes, CDE CDE or CDC CDC.In English literature, there are two basic sonnet patterns: Left dark without the light I loved in vain,ĭead is the source of all my amorous strain,ĭry is the channel of my thoughts outworn,Īnd my said harp can sound but notes of pain. That changed this earth to some celestial isle,–Īre now but dust, poor dust, that nothing knows.Īnd yet I live! Myself I grieve and scorn, The hair’s bright tresses, full of golden glows,Īnd the soft lightning of the angelic smile The arms, hands, feet, the beauty that erewhileĬould my own soul from its own self beguile,Īnd in a separate world of dreams enclose, Those eyes, ‘neath which my passionate rapture rose, Those Eyes, ’neath Which (Petrarchan sonnet)īy Francesco Petrarca (1304–1374) Translated by Thomas Wentworth Higginson It’s clear from the examples that both poems feature 14 lines addressing the theme of love, yet they have differing rhyme schemes and artistic expressions. Below is an example of a well-known sonnet by Petrarch (translated by Thomas Wentworth Higginson) and a familiar sonnet by Shakespeare for comparison.

Shelley sonnets