Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. A 14-line verse form usually having one of several conventional rhyme schemes.
- n. A poem in this form.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. A song; a ballad; a short poem.
- n. Specifically A short poem in fixed form, limited to fourteen lines with a prescribed disposition of rimes. The form is of Italian origin, A sonnet is generally written in decasyllabic or five-foot measure; but it may be written in octosyllabics. It consists of two divisions or groups of lines
- To celebrate in sonnets.
- To cover or fill with sonnets.
- To compose sonnets.
Wiktionary
- n. a fixed verse form of Italian origin consisting of fourteen lines that are typically five-foot iambics rhyming according to a prescribed scheme
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. A short poem, -- usually amatory.
- n. A poem of fourteen lines, -- two stanzas, called the octave, being of four verses each, and two stanzas, called the sestet, of three verses each, the rhymes being adjusted by a particular rule.
- v. To compose sonnets.
WordNet 3.0
- v. compose a sonnet
- n. a verse form consisting of 14 lines with a fixed rhyme scheme
- v. praise in a sonnet
Etymologies
- French or Italian sonetto (French, from Italian), from Old Provençal sonet, diminutive of son, song, from Latin sonus, a sound; see swen- in Indo-European roots.
Examples
“There are experimental sonnets that really do test the boundaries of the sonnet – the sonnet is all about innovation within tradition, and has been since it entered the English language, via translation, with Wyatt.”
Quick Review 08 : Christian Bök : Harriet the Blog : The Poetry Foundation
“That the sonnet is a cover story is suggested by Wordsworth's private account of meeting”
'Put to the Blush': Romantic Irregularities and Sapphic Tropes
“One of the great things about this sonnet is how the flow of thought is controlled (and transformed).”
“A collection of poems in sonnet form that deal with such themes as love, beauty, politics, and mortality.”
“A sonnet is short, but that doesn't mean it's easy to write a good one!”
Book Review and Author Interview: The Frog Scientist by Pamela S. Turner
“A script seems to be tougher to write in the same way that a sonnet is tougher to write than free verse.”
“Mrs Robinsons legitimate sonnets: In Sappho and Phaon, Robinsons fervent discourse on the nature of the "legitimate sonnet" is the cornerstone of her discussion of the poetics of sensibility, and helps to establish her claim for Sappho as the exemplar of strong poetic feeling.”
“This sonnet is one of 25 sonnets and one of over 100 poems from my collection called Eleven.”
“Wordsworth's sonnet, is also structured to transcend time; the poem devotes much less attention to Rosalind and Helen's union than to their deaths, and the final, conditional message is that if love die not in the dead/As in the living, none of mortal kind/”
'Put to the Blush': Romantic Irregularities and Sapphic Tropes
“Please fly over to this pink bit to autograph it a.s.a.p. The novel in sonnet form sounds interesting.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘sonnet’.
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GRE Barrons Wordlist
A complete Barron's Wordlist for GRE preparation. Your online flashcard replacement.
abase, abash, abate, abbreviate, abdicate, aberrant, aberration, abet, abeyance, abhor, abject, abjure and 4084 more...
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Language
word, sentence, novel, book, novella, vignette, memoir, anthology, paragraph, stanza, poem, haiku and 123 more...
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bbc uk china vocab.
conservationists, estimate, threats, infertility, eating away at, endangered, furry, panel, in trouble, gongs, triumphed, caps and 590 more...
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Poetry Terms
April is National Poetry Month. Add your favorite poetry terms to this new list!
alliteration, anapest, alexandrine, caesura, assonance, ballad, blank verse, iamb, conceit, couplet, consonance, dactyl and 22 more...
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Poetry Terms
Words related to poems and poetry composition, analysis, and exploration.
sestina, iambic, pentameter, sonnet, limmerick, haiku, tanka, meter, foot, rhythm
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