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Abridged sonnet

Form
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

A shortened sonnet form containing fewer than 14 lines while maintaining sonnet characteristics

Detailed Definition
Abridged sonnet is a condensed or shortened version of the traditional 14-line sonnet, often retaining key structural or thematic elements—such as volta or rhyme scheme—but reducing line count for concision or experimental effect; it may appear in modernist or minimalist poetry seeking sonnet-like resonance in fewer lines.
Example
Example in poetry:
Gwendolyn Brooks’s "The Sonnet-Ballad" condenses sonnet form into 13 lines for wartime urgency; W.H. Auden’s "A Bride in the 30s" trims the volta for modern brevity; Contemporary poets sometimes omit the couplet to subvert closure; Abridged sonnets in Claudia Rankine’s work compress emotional density; These variants retain iambic pentameter but sacrifice one quatrain or the final couplet.
Additional Notes
Sonnet with fewer than 14 lines (often 10-12). Sometimes called "curtal sonnet" when systematically shortened. Hopkins' "Pied Beauty" (10.5 lines) is famous example. See: curtal sonnet.
Also Known As
shortened sonnet truncated sonnet
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