Question

Choose one Petrarchan sonnet and one Shakespearean sonnet from Unit 4. They do not have to be written by Petrarch and Shakespeare, although they may be. For each of the two, identify the type of sonnet it is, and discuss the important elements of that type of sonnet. If the sonnet of your choice changes the classic form in some way, describe how. Identify the main idea of the sonnet and how it develops from one part of the sonnet to another. Your answer should be at least one paragraph and should include examples from the text.

Answer 1

In Unit 4, one example of a Petrarchan sonnet is "Sonnet 292" by Petrarch, which follows the structure of an octave and a sestet. The sonnet explores unrequited love and develops from longing to the acceptance of unattainability. One example of a Shakespearean sonnet is "Sonnet 18" by Shakespeare, which consists of three quatrains and a rhyming couplet. The sonnet compares the beloved to a summer's day and develops from the comparison to the declaration of the beloved's timeless beauty.

In Unit 4, one example of a Petrarchan sonnet is "Sonnet 292" by Francesco Petrarch. This sonnet follows the traditional structure of a Petrarchan sonnet, consisting of an octave (eight lines) and a sestet (six lines). The octave presents a problem or conflict, while the sestet provides a resolution or conclusion.

In "Sonnet 292," Petrarch explores the theme of unrequited love. The main idea of the sonnet is the speaker's unfulfilled desire for the beloved. The sonnet develops by moving from the speaker's initial longing and admiration in the octave to the realization of the impossibility of attaining the beloved's love in the sestet. Here is an example from the text:

"Unhappy soul, so ready to be gone,

Towards the close that sickens at thy stay,

Protracted hope soon turned to sad delay,

And sad delay, with dreary wastes outspread,

To bitter fruit of bitterness 'twas sped.

O sweet constraint of love, desire's sole ray,

Sooner or later ye must go your way:

Late be it, for 'tis sweet to make delay."

On the other hand, one example of a Shakespearean sonnet is "Sonnet 18" by William Shakespeare. This sonnet consists of three quatrains (four-line stanzas) and a rhyming couplet at the end. The rhyme scheme is ABAB CDCD EFEF GG.

In "Sonnet 18," Shakespeare compares his beloved to a summer's day and asserts that their beauty surpasses the fleeting nature of seasons. The main idea of the sonnet is the enduring power of poetry and how it can preserve beauty throughout time. The sonnet develops by moving from the initial comparison of the beloved to a summer's day in the quatrains to the declaration of the beloved's everlasting beauty in the concluding couplet. Here is an example from the text:

"Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?

Thou art more lovely and more temperate:

Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,

And summer's lease hath all too short a date"