Exploring the Sonnet: From Famous Love Poems to Argument Form
The sonnet as a poetic form has long be utilized for its structured rules and focus on emoting. Originating in Italy in the thirteenth-century, thought to be created by a notary named Giacomo da Lentini, the sonnet has evolved into various styles, most notably the Italian (or Petrarchan) and English (or Shakespearean) sonnets. Both forms have been used to craft some of the most popular and famous love poems, but like any art form, have grown to explore themes of the eras in which they were written, like poems about home, poems about death, and even poems about fleeting power – like Shelley’s Ozymandias.
Italian Sonnets: The Petrarchan Form
The Italian sonnet, pioneered by Francesco Petrarch, is known for its strict pattern of 14 lines divided into an eight-line octave and a six-line sestet. The octave typically follows an ABBA-ABBA rhyme scheme, setting up a problem or situation, while the sestet, often following either CD-CD-CD or CDE-CDE patterns, resolves or reflects upon the octave’s narrative. This division allows the poet to shift tone or introduce a counterargument or resolution, making Italian sonnets particularly effective for exploring complex emotions and situations.
English Sonnets: The Shakespearean Innovation
In contrast, the English sonnet, popularized by William Shakespeare, comprises three quatrains followed by a concluding couplet. This form uses the ABAB-CDCD-EFEF-GG rhyme scheme, providing a more flexible structure for development and conclusion. The final couplet often offers a dramatic turn or a profound conclusion, giving English sonnets a punchy or summarizing finish that is ideal for epiphanic moments in love and life.
The “volta”: The turn or poetic switcheroo
The volta, or “turn,” in a sonnet is a pivotal moment where the poem’s mood, tone, or argument shifts, marking a transition from one emotional or thematic state to another. This device plays a role in both Petrarchan and English sonnets, but it is employed differently based on each structure, or even erratically depending on the skill of the poet.
Volta in the Petrarchan Sonnet
In the Petrarchan (Italian) sonnet, the volta typically occurs between the octave (the first eight lines) and the sestet (the last six lines).
ABBA-ABBA
Petrarchan Sonnet with volta on the sestet
volta-C
D-CD-CD or DE-CDE
The octave sets up a situation, question, or problem, often using a contemplative or narrative approach. When the poem shifts to the sestet, the volta introduces a resolution, counterargument, or a new perspective. This transition is not only thematic but often also marked by a change in the rhyme scheme, enhancing the shift in focus or emotional tone.
Volta in the English Sonnet
In contrast, the English (Shakespearean) sonnet can place the volta at either the turning point of the octave and the sestet, or at the beginning of the final couplet (the last two lines).
ABAB-CDCD
English sonnet with volta on third quatrain
volta-E
FEF-GG
ABAB-CDCD-EFEF
English sonnet with volta on couplet
volta-G
G
In the case of the couplet, the three quatrains develop a theme or argument, building upon one another with examples, metaphors, or elaborations. The volta in the final couplet then serves as a conclusion, summarization, or even a witty or poignant twist that reframes the earlier lines in a new light. This positioning allows the poet to lead up to a powerful, often memorable ending that can dramatically alter the reader’s understanding or emotional reception of the poem
Love in Sonnets: A Common Theme
Sonnets have often explored emotion, unrequited love, or pleas on a topic, which make them popular choice for expressing love or love lost. Sonneteers will often appeal to other popular love poems like Shakespeare’s Sonnet XVIII “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?” or Petrarch’s passionate sonnets to Laura like Sonnet XIII, which delve into the complexities of his love.
Sonnets as an Argument Form
Given the rhyming rules, structure, and inherent volta as a turn in the sonnet itself, sonnet forms easily lend themselves to argument forms on topics other than love and emotion, since they force the poet to present an argument, a counter-argument, and end with a conclusion, summary, sewing up, or deterioration of the original premise.
ABAB-CDCD – primary premise or argument
Example an English sonnet as an argument structure
volta-E – counter-premise
FEF – counter-argument
GG – conclusion, summary, or appeal
This sonnet form as argument structure, looking somewhat like a compact Socratic syllogism, forces the poet to consider the counter-premise to their original premise in fewer lines than the primary premise, furthering adding rules or structure within with to find creativity.
The conclusion, summary, or appeal does not always resolve the arguments, and will sometimes either leave the appeal to a poetic conceit, wherein the argument shall live on forever – often used in appeals to the human condition – or appeal to the absurd, which is an admission that the arguments coexist paradoxically.