Sonnet

A sonnet is a poetric form which originated in Italy during the late Middle Ages/Early Renaissance, but spread out across the world over the ensuing centuries. Over the years as it spread, the structure of the sonnet changed and mutated, branching out into several notable varieties:

Shakespearian (or English) Sonnet: The Shakespearian sonnet, named for William Shakespeare, who wrote 154 of them. The sonnet has 14 lines written in iambic pentameter (that is, each line has 10 syllables that naturally pair off). The sonnet is arranged into four quatrains with the rhyme scheme ABAB, and ending in a couplet. The couplet usually represents a "turn" in the poem, either commenting on the previous lines or subverting them.

Italian (or Petrarchan) Sonnet:

Occitan Sonnet:

Spenserian Sonnet:

Modern Sonnet:

Urdu Sonnet: