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Petrarchan/Italian sonnets are fourteen lines long and follow an initial rhyme scheme of ABBAABBA. They use iambic pentameter as their meter.
Because of the structure of Italian, the rhyme scheme of the Petrarchan sonnet is more easily fulfilled in that language than in English. The original Italian sonnet form consists of a total of fourteen hendecasyllabic lines in two parts, the first part being an octave and the second being a sestet.
An Italian sonnet is composed of an octave, rhyming abbaabba, and a sestet, rhyming cdecde or cdcdcd, or in some variant pattern, but with no closing couplet. Usually, English and Italian Sonnets have 10 syllables per line, but Italian Sonnets can also have 11 syllables per line.
Sonnets usually conform to one of two different rhyme schemes, those connected to the Shakespearean and the Petrarchan sonnet forms. E.g. Throughout the ages, the rhyme scheme of sonnets has evolved from the classic Shakespearean form. The latter, made famous by the Italian poet Petrarch, is also known as the Italian sonnet form.
The rhyme scheme of the Petrarchan sonnet is ABBA.ABBA.CDE.CDE or ABBA.ABBA.CDC.CDE. The first eight lines form the octave, where lines end in either rhyme ‘A, or ‘B’. Lines 1 and 4, and 5 and 8 are ‘A’ rhymes, while lines 2 and 3, and 6 and ‘A’ are ‘B’ rhymes.
5 mar 2024 · The Petrarchan sonnet has a rhyme scheme that is partially flexible. The beginning of a Petrarchan sonnet is arranged as an octave with a rhyme scheme set out as ABBAABBA, but the final six lines of the poem can be more variable, such as adopting a CDCDCD or CDECDE structure.
The rhyme scheme of an Italian sonnet plays a vital role in defining its structure and artistry. Understanding this rhyme pattern is essential for composing your own Italian sonnets or analysing existing works.
