November 10, 2006

Sonnet

The sonnet is a poem with 14 lines, invented in the 13th century in Italy and perfected by Petrarch. Originally, the Italian sonnet was divided into an octave and a sestet. The octave stated a proposition, and the sestet stated its solution, with a clear break between the two sections. When the sonnet reached England in the 16th century, chiefly through translations of Petrarch's works, poets changed its meter, rhyme scheme, and line grouping. What is the origin of the term "sonnet?"
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