English sonnet

An English sonnet, also known as a Shakespearean sonnet, is a poetic form consisting of 14 lines. It is structured into three quatrains (four-line stanzas) followed by a rhyming couplet (two-line stanza). The rhyme scheme for an English sonnet is typically abab cdcd efef gg. This form originated in England in the 16th century as an adaptation of the Italian sonnet. While the Italian sonnet, or Petrarchan sonnet, usually presents a problem in its octave and a resolution in its sestet, the English sonnet's structure allows for the development of an idea across the three quatrains, with the couplet offering a concluding thought or summary.12