Form: The Shakespearean sonnet and Petrarchan sonnet

Form: The Shakespearean sonnet and Petrarchan sonnet

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. In this lesson, we will learn how to recognise iambic pentameter in sonnets. We will continue to use Shakespeare's 'Sonnet 130' as an example.

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7 Questions

Q1.
How many lines are there in a Shakespearean sonnet?
10
Correct answer: 14
28
It's different every time
Q2.
Which of the below explanations best describes a rhyme scheme?
A rhyme scheme is the number of lines in the poem.
Correct answer: A rhyme scheme is the pattern according to which end rhymes (rhymes located at the end of lines) are repeated in a poem.
A rhyme scheme is the rhythm of the poem.
A rhyme scheme is the sounds in the poem.
Q3.
Which of the below rhyme schemes is correct for a Shakespearean sonnet?
AABBCCDDEEFFGG
Correct answer: ABABCDCDEFEFGG
ABBABBACDECDE
ABCABCEFGEFGGG
Q4.
There are 3 _______________ in a Shakespearean sonnet.
quarters
quartets
Correct answer: quatrains
quatres
Q5.
The final two lines of a Shakespearean sonnet share an end rhyme and are called _________________.
a couple of rhymes
a rhyme
Correct answer: a rhyming couplet
a rhyming pair
Q6.
Which of the descriptions below is the correct definition of a 'volta' in poetry?
A change in the rhyme scheme
A repeated idea
Correct answer: A turn or change in thought or argument
The number of lines in the poem
Q7.
Where does the volta occur in a Shakespearean sonnet?
After each quatrain
At the start
Correct answer: Between lines 12 and 13
Between lines 4 and 5

6 Questions

Q1.
Laura, the woman who inspired Petrarch's sonnets, was...
Correct answer: A woman he loved but didn't love him back
His mother
His sister
His wife
Q2.
What word would best fill the gap: 'Petrarch's sonnets depict a/an ______________ version of love'?
Correct answer: idealised
idolised
realistic
typical
Q3.
Which statement is correct?
Petrarchan and Shakespearean sonnets are exactly the same and both focus on unrequited love.
Petrarchan sonnets about the happiness love brings, whereas Shakespearean sonnets are about unrequited love.
Petrarchan sonnets are about idealised love, whereas Shakespearean sonnets are about the misery of love.
Correct answer: Petrarchan sonnets are about idealised love, whereas Shakespearean sonnets are more realistic in the way they portray love.
Q4.
Which of these rhyme schemes has been taken from a Petrarchan sonnet?
AABBCCDDEEFFGG
ABABCDCDEFEFGG
Correct answer: ABBAABBACDECDE
ABCABCDEFDEFGG
Q5.
Shakespearean sonnets consist of 3 quatrains followed by a rhyming couplet. Petrarchan sonnets consist of...
2 quatrains followed by 2 rhyming couplets
a rhyming couplet followed by 3 quatrains
a sestet followed by an octave
Correct answer: an octave followed by a sestet
Q6.
The volta in Petrarchan and Shakespearean sonnets...
always occurs at the very end of the poem
always occurs between lines 6 and 7
Correct answer: occurs in a different place but has the same effect
Petrarchan sonnets do not have voltas

Lesson appears in

UnitEnglish / The sonnet through time: Introduction to the sonnet

English