Page 225 - DENG405_BRITISH_POETRY

British Poetry

Notes Italian Sonnet : The Italian sonnet was created by Giacomo da Lentini, head of the Sicilian
School under Frederick II.
Spenserian Sonnet : A variant on the English form is the Spenserian sonnet, named after
Edmund Spenser (c.1552–1599) in which the rhyme scheme is, abab, bcbc,
cdcd, ee.
English Sonnets : When English sonnets were introduced by Thomas Wyatt in the early 16th
century, his sonnets and those of his contemporary the Earl of Surrey were
chiefly translations from the Italian of Petrarch and the French of Ronsard
and others.

23.6 Review Questions

1. Write an essay on “Shakespeare as a poet”.
2. Describe the introduction to sonnets.
3. Explain different types of sonnets.
4. Discuss the sonnet-Being your slave what should I do but tend.
5. Discuss the Thou blind fool, that time of year thou mayst in me behold, what dost thou to
mine eyes.

Answers: Self Assessment
1. (a) 2. (c) 3. (a)
4. (c) 5. (c) 6. (b)
7. (c) 8. (c)

23.7 Further Readings

Sonnets — William Shakespeare
Sonnets: a poem of love — William Shakespeare
The art of Shakespeare’s Sonnets — Helen Hennessey Vendler

Online links http://www.cliffsnotes.com/WileyCDA/LitNote/id-169,pageNum-60.html
http://www.shakespeares-sonnets.com/sonnet/57

218 LOVELY PROFESSIONAL UNIVERSITY