Sonnet

The term sonnet is derived from the Provençal word sonet and the Italian word sonetto, both meaning little song. By the thirteenth century, it had come to signify a poem of fourteen lines following a strict rhyme scheme and logical structure. These have changed during its history.

The Modern Sonnet

As mentioned earlier, many English poets have used the sonnet form to great effect. The sonnet also became popular in French poetry, with even such avant-garde figures as Arthur Rimbaud and Stéphane Mallarmé writing sonnets.

Related Topics:
French poetry - Avant-garde - Arthur Rimbaud - Stéphane Mallarmé

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With the advent of free verse, the sonnet came to be seen as somewhat old-fashioned and fell out of use for a time among some schools of poets. However, a number of 20th-century poets, including John Berryman, Edna St. Vincent Millay, Pablo Neruda, and Seamus Heaney, rose to the challenge of reinvigorating the form successfully.

Related Topics:
Free verse - 20th-century - John Berryman - Edna St. Vincent Millay - Pablo Neruda - Seamus Heaney

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The 21st century has seen a strong resurgence of the sonnet form, as there are many sonnets now appearing in print and on the Internet. Sara Russell is the editor of the UK e-zine Poetry Life and Times, in which she publishes hundreds of sonnets; Richard Vallance, the editor for rhymed verse in Poetry Life and Times, also publishes a Canadian e-zine, Sonnetto Poesia (ISSN 1705-4524), dedicated to the sonnet, villanelle, and quatrain forms, as well as the monthly Vallance Review on historical and contemporary sonneteers. Michael Burch publishes The HyperTexts, and there are sonnets from well-known poets on his site.

Related Topics:
21st century - Internet

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