Meaning & use
sonnet
Last updated
UK/ˈsɒnɪt/
US/ˈsɑːnɪt/
Meaning
nouncountable
A poem of fourteen lines, usually in a fixed rhyme scheme and meter.
Grammar: Countable: a sonnet, two sonnets, the sonnet as a form.
Patterns
- write a sonnet
- a Shakespearean sonnet
- a sonnet about something
For homework, we had to write a sonnet in iambic pentameter.
She read a sonnet by Shakespeare aloud to the class.
The poet published a collection of sonnets about love and loss.
Word forms
| plural | sonnets |
|---|
Common combinations
- Shakespearean sonnet
- A Shakespearean sonnet has three quatrains and a final couplet.
- Petrarchan sonnet
- The Petrarchan sonnet is divided into an octave and a sestet.
- write a sonnet
- He tried to write a sonnet for his girlfriend's birthday.
- sonnet sequence
- The sonnet sequence tells a story through a series of linked poems.
Synonyms and how they differ
Word family
- sonneteer noun
- A writer of sonnets, sometimes used disapprovingly for a minor poet.
Commonly confused: sonnet or sonata?
sonnet vs sonata
A sonata is a piece of music, not a poem. Both come from the idea of 'sounding', but they belong to different arts.
Practice
How many lines does a traditional sonnet have?
Choose one answer.
A sonnet is defined by having fourteen lines. Twelve, sixteen, and twenty do not match the fixed form.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “sonnet”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.
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