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Dark 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 sonnet that explores themes of horror, despair, or the macabre within the traditional 14-line structure

Detailed Definition
Dark sonnet is a sonnet that repurposes the form’s traditional structure—14 lines, often iambic pentameter, with a volta—to explore themes of despair, violence, alienation, or moral corruption; it may retain rhyme but subvert the expected resolution, using the sonnet’s containment to heighten tension rather than offer catharsis.
Example
Example in poetry:
Shakespearean sonnet structure used to describe a decaying corpse; A Petrarchan sonnet where the sestet reveals a zombie lover; Fourteen lines on cosmic horror using iambic pentameter; A sonnet comparing love to a burial shroud
Additional Notes
A dark sonnet retains the 14-line structure but replaces love or idealism with themes of death, decay, or psychological horror; may follow traditional rhyme schemes or deliberately distort them to unsettle the reader
Also Known As
gothic sonnet horror sonnet shadowed sonnet dread-rhymed fourteen
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