Home › Glossary › Letter P

Palinode sonnet

Form
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

Want to hear it? Click the Listen button to hear the browser speak the word using text-to-speech!

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 in which the poet retracts or revises an earlier statement or feeling

Detailed Definition
A palinode sonnet is a fourteen-line poem that formally retracts or revises a prior statement, belief, or poem, often using the sonnet’s volta to enact reversal; derived from ancient Greek palinodes (like Stesichorus’s recantation of Helen), this form—used by Spenser in “Amoretti” or by modern poets addressing past errors—turns the sonnet into a space of self-correction, irony, or evolving understanding.
Example
Example in poetry:
Shelley’s "Ode to the West Wind" retracts earlier despair with hope; Sir Philip Sidney’s "Astrophil and Stella" includes palinodes reversing love complaints; W.H. Auden’s "Spain 1937" later disavowed its political stance; Robert Lowell’s "Waking in the Blue" reconsiders institutionalization; Anne Carson’s "The Beauty of the Husband" includes palinode chapters retracting earlier judgments.
Additional Notes
A palinode sonnet retracts or revises a prior statement—often within the same poem—using the sonnet’s volta for self-correction (e.g., Spenser’s “Amoretti” 30). It embodies second thoughts. Students should identify the shift: is it sincere, ironic, or conflicted? Related to “reconsideration device.”
Also Known As
Palinodic sonnet Retractive verse Recantation poem Reversal sonnet Recanting sonnet Retraction sonnet
Skip to main content