About Sonnets

About Sonnets

The dialogues and lyrics of #1314 are developed from sonnets by Shakespeare. So what characterises the genre? Where does it originate from?

The Origin of Sonnet

The term sonnet is derived from the Italian word sonetto, meaning "little song" literally. It does not necessarily refer to a poem with 14 lines. It is believed that Giacomo da Lentini, a court poet of Roman Empire, began to write about courtly love with sonnet in the 13th century. He is recognised as the inventor of the genre, and his contemporaries who employ the same poetic form is known as the Sicilian School.

It was Dante Alighieri and Francesco Petrarch, especially the latter, who further promoted this form of literary art during Renaissance. Italian sonnets, primarily written from the men’s perspective, express one’s adoration for women as well as unrequited love.

The Introduction of Sonnets to England

Sonnet was introduced from Italy to the English world in the 16th century. The first known sonnet in English was the translation of Petrarch’s poem by politician and poet Sir Thomas Wyatt. Apart from translations, Wyatt’s friend Henry Howard formulated the attributes that distinguished English sonnets from their Italian counterparts. The two noblemen were credited as “Fathers of English sonnet”.

The structure and rhyme scheme invented by Howard were observed by Shakespeare in writing his sonnets, which appeared later in history and established its status as the English literature canon.

Shakespearean Sonnets

Featuring 154 poems, Shakespeare’s Sonnets were published in 1609. Devoid of individual titles, the texts were generally collected in numerical order, e.g. Sonnet 27, which we will discuss in details. Apart from the 154 poems, Shakespeare penned 6 other sonnets for his plays, including Romeo and Juliet.

Shakespeare’s Sonnets cover a diversity of themes. Other than love, they revolve around time, mortality, desires, and procreation. The titles are also arranged according to their topics.

The collection can be divided into two categories:

• Sonnets 1 to 126 are dedicated to a “Fair Youth”. The sequence begins with the poet urging the young man to father children as they are the continuation of his life. The remaining parts centred on the admiration for the young man’s beauty and the friendship between the poet and protagonist.

• Sonnets 127 to 154 are devoted to the Dark Lady, depicting the lust for her and the suffering that ensues.

There have been divergent views on whether there existed real entities symbolised by the Fair Youth and the Dark Lady and whether the first-person narration in his verses refers to Shakespeare himself. Nonetheless, the influence on English literature casted by his poems is as substantial as his plays do.

William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare (1564 – 161) is regarded as the most preeminent playwright and poet in the history of English literature. While there was little record for his early life, he already rose to fame during the 1590’s; his creative peak lasted until 1613. During the initial period he penned such outstanding comedies and histories as The Merchant of Venice and A Midsummer Night's Dream. After 1608, his works were dominated by tragedies epitomised by Hamlet and Romeo and Juliet. Shakespeare has distinguished himself as a classic figure in world literature; a plethora of his expressions are quoted by English speakers. Furthermore, Shakespeare is a celebrated poet particularly recognised for his sonnets.