sonnet

views updated Jun 11 2018

son·net / ˈsänit/ • n. a poem of fourteen lines using any of a number of formal rhyme schemes, in English typically having ten syllables per line.• v. (-net·ed, -net·ing) [intr.] archaic compose sonnets. ∎  [tr.] celebrate in a sonnet.

sonnet

views updated May 11 2018

sonnet (pros.) †short poem; poem of fourteen 10-syllable lines with a particular rhyme-pattern. XVI (sonet). — F. sonnet or its source It. sonetto, dim. of suono sound; see -ET.
Hence sonneteer XVII. Partly — It. sonettiere.

sonnet

views updated Jun 08 2018

sonnet Poem of 14 lines, most often in iambic pentameter and usually employing Petrarchan or Shakespearean rhyme schemes. The Petrarchan consists of an octet and a sextet, usually with an abbaabbacdecde rhyme scheme. The Shakespearean, having a final rhyming couplet, is ababcdcdefefgg.