A sonnet has come from the Italian word ‘sonnetto’ meaning a ‘little song’. It is a lyrical poem that consists of fourteen lines, usually with iambic pentameter and a set rhyme scheme.
The sonnet was one of the most dominant form of poetry in the Elizabethan age. It took its origin in the 14th century, in Italy and was firmly established by Petrarch, as a major form of love poetry. Gradually it was adapted in Spain, France and reached England in the 16th century. The sonnet is a lyric poem comprising of 14 rhyming lines of equal length, written in iambic pentameter, have two basic patterns: The Italian sonnet (also called the Petrarchan sonnet) comprising an eight-line ‘Octave’ of two quatrains followed by a six-line ‘sestet’, and The English sonnet (also called the Shakespearian sonnet) comprising three quatrains and a final couplet. Rhyming ababed effe.
It was Sir Thomas Wyatt who introduced the sonnet in England. Though he wrote much earlier, it was in 1557, a year before the coronation of Elizabeth that his sonnets were published in the ‘Tottel’s Miscellany’.
Wyatt was followed by Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey whose sonnets were published posthumously. Petrarch was Wyatt’s role model because out of his thirty sonnets; Sonnets are adaptations of Petrarch. While Wyatt mostly adhered to the Petrarchan pattern, Surrey invented a new form in his sonnets, which was later adopted by Shakespeare.
The Italian or Petrarchan sonnets consisting of fourteen lines, carries the subject matter of “torments of sexual love, usually within a courtly love convention.” The nineth line referred to as Volta, is the turning in the sonnet. Each sonneteer used his own special rhyme scheme apart from Petrarch. Altogether it can be stated that Surrey’s sonnets display a tenderness, grace and occasional lyrical melody, which are absent in Wyatt’s.
For many years after the publication of Tottel’s Miscellany, the sonnets seem to have failed to attract the attention of poets. From 1590s the vogue of the sonnet was established in England and “sonnet-sequence” addressed to mistresses, real or imaginary, became common.
It was Thomas Watson who recalled the first the attention of the readers to the sonnet after Wyatt and Surrey. His HEKATOMPATHIA was published in 1582, at the time when Philip Sidney was composing his own sonnet series ASTROPHEL & STELLA which was published in 1591. It was with Sidney’s work that sonnet writing became fashionable.The vogue remained in full swing till the end of the 16th century
Philip Sidney’s most important work Astrophel and Stella composed of one hundred and eight (108) sonnets and eleven (11) songs. Sidney here tells the story of his unrequited love for Penelope, just as Petrarch in his own sonnets told the story of his unsuccessful love affair with Laura. Sidney’s sonnets may lack the Shakespearean depth of thought and emotion, yet they are carved delicately and passionately. Besides his sonnets, Sidney also composed the pastoral romance ARCADIA (1598) dedicated to his sister Mary Sidney and THE APOLOGIE FOR POETRIE (1598), a defence of poetry/literature against the contemporary critics.
The most prominent among the Sidney’s followers were Spenser and Shakespeare.
Edmund Spenser published AMORETTI (1595), a sonnet series of eighty eight (88) sonnets in which he narrates the story of his relationship with Elizabeth Boyle, his initial frustration and his final success culminating in their marriage. The Petrarch influence is obvious on these sonnets, both structurally as well as thematically, however they display a consistent level of craftsmanship. The usual rhyme scheme of Spenser’s sonnets is abab bcbc cdcd ee with the dominance of iambic pentameter, which later came to be known as Spenserian pattern. The sonnet sequence concludes with EPITHALAMION, the wedding song to celebrate the union of lovers.
…Besides his sonnets, Spenser’s masterpiece is the huge epic poem THE FAERIE QUEENE published in 1590. A second set of three books were published in 1596. This extended epic poem deals with the adventures of knights, dragons, ladies in distress and a moral message. Spenser has used his distinctive verse form, the Spenserian stanza in the Faerie Queene as well. He also composed works like The Ruins of Time, The Tears of the Muses, etc and prose works like A View of the Present state of Ireland (1594).
William Shakespeare’s sonnets have been at the center of critical and scholarly attention for generations. These sonnets numbering one hundred and fifty-four (154) were first published in a volume in 1609 by Thomas Thorpe.
The first one hundred and twenty-six sonnets are addressed to a young and handsome man “WH” who has been variously identified as William Herbert, Earl of Pembroke. The next twenty-six sonnets are addressed to a “dark and wanton lady” who betrays the poet for a young man. The identity of these characters have remained an enigma, instigating much critical endeavor to unveil the real personality behind the facade of Mr. W.H. and the Dark Lady. The Shakespearean sonnets reverberate with lyrical melody and meditative energy which is rare, if not unique in Elizabethan sonnets. Besides his sonnets, Shakespeare also composed two long narrative poems: VENUS & ADONIS (1593) and THE RAPE OF LUCRECE (1594).
Other notable poets of the age include Michael Drayton who is known for his POLY-OLBION, a long poem describing the geographical aspects of England, also composed historical poems like ENGLAND’S HEROICALL EPISTLES and THE BARON’S WARS and a sonnet sequence IDEA.
Samuel Daniel became the Poet Laureate in 1599. He composed a sonnet sequence in the English titled DELIA.
Thomas Campion published his lyrics in volumes such as A BOOKE OF AYRES, SONGS OF MOURNING and TWO BOOKES OF AYRES which exhibit his lyrical grace and melody.
Thomas Lodge’s PHILLIS.
Henry Constable’s DIANA are some other sonnet sequences of the day. The first of Milton’s sonnets are On his blindness and On the late Massacre in Piedmont.