English Sonnet

Introduction    Printable Worksheets    Example

Poetry projects for kids:  SonnetsIntroduction:

A syllable is a part of a word pronounced as a unit.  It is usually made up of a vowel alone or a vowel with one or more consonants.  The word "Sonnet" has two syllables:  Son-net; the word "introduction" has four syllables:  in-tro-duc-tion.

English Sonnets are a form of poetry that was created during the renaissance. English sonnets consist of 14 lines; three, four line stanzas accompanied by a two line closing stanza.  The rhyming scheme for an English Sonnet is:

abab
cdcd
efef
gg

This means that the first and third lines of each four line stanza rhyme and the second and fourth lines of each four line stanza rhyme.  The two lines of the closing stanza should rhyme as well.

Each line of the stanza should have no more and no less than ten syllables.

Example of a sonnet:

UNAWARE
by Kaitlyn Guenther

Isolation quickly overwhelms me
Begging for forgiveness, a fallen hand
Desolation I now begin to see
Hanging by a thin thread, a single strand

I watch them… Their fears, their misbehaviour
Mistreat, abuse…. Completely unaware
I am the land, their glorious saviour
Someday they will learn to treat me with care

I wish they would learn to trust each other
To join as one, to stand strong together
A bond, a band and a mighty brother
Forever as one, a powerful tether

You may not know, that fear is their captor
So you may not see each special factor

  

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Examples: