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Shakespearean 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 of three quatrains and a couplet, typically ABAB CDCD EFEF GG.

Detailed Definition
A Shakespearean sonnet is a 14-line poem in iambic pentameter with the rhyme scheme ABABCDCDEFEFGG, structured as three quatrains developing a theme and a concluding heroic couplet that offers resolution or twist; it showcases rhetorical agility and emotional compression, as in Sonnet 18 (“Shall I compare thee…”).
Example
Example in poetry:
Shakespearean sonnet: Sonnet 130: "My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun; / Coral is far more red than her lips’ red..."—three quatrains and a couplet, ABABCDCDEFEFGG.
Additional Notes
Shakespearean sonnet: A 14-line sonnet with three quatrains and a closing couplet (ABABCDCDEFEFGG); often presents a problem, explores it, then offers a twist or resolution in the final two lines.
Also Known As
English sonnet Three-quatrain sonnet Shakespearean form ABAB CDCD EFEF GG
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