Sonnet 18 - Structure

Structure

Sonnet 18 is a typical English or Shakespearean sonnet. It consists of three quatrains followed by a couplet, and has the characteristic rhyme scheme: abab cdcd efef gg. The poem carries the meaning of an Italian or Petrarchan Sonnet. Petrarchan sonnets typically discussed the love and beauty of a beloved, often an unattainable love, but not always. It also contains a volta, or shift in the poem's subject matter, beginning with the third quatrain.

Iambic Pentameter of a line of Sonnet 18
Stress 8_ / 8_ / 8_ / 8_ / 8_ /
Syllable Thou art more love- ly and more temp- pe- rate

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