Final answer:
Giacomo da Lentini is credited with inventing the sonnet, a structured 14-line poetic form featuring a volta.
Step-by-step explanation:
Giacomo da Lentini is credited with inventing the sonnet, a poetic form that has deeply influenced the tradition of English poetry. A sonnet is usually composed of fourteen lines and features a volta, or shift in thought. Despite the various forms of sonnets that exist, they traditionally follow a rhyme scheme, and in terms of meter, they typically utilize iambic pentameter. For example, the Italian (or Petrarchan) sonnet is divided into an octave with the rhyme scheme abba abba and a sestet that contains a different rhyme pattern, often concluding with the volta. The sonnet stands distinct from forms like the limerick, haiku, and villanelle, each with unique structural conventions.