A fixed verse form, usually of fourteen lines but occasionally twelve or sixteen, following a sophisticated rhyme scheme. The English form is usually written in of iambic pentameter.
The Petrarchan, or Italian, sonnet is divided into an octave which rhymes a b b a, a b b a, and a sestet which usually rhymes c d e c d e, or c d c d c d.
The Sestet usually replies to the argument of the octet.
The Miltonic sonnet follows the Petrarchan but without significant break in meaning between the octave and sestet - see more below.
The Shakespearean sonnet has three quatrains and a final couplet which usually provides an epigrammatic statement of the theme.
The Rhyme scheme is a b a b, c d c d, e f e f, g g, or else a b b a, c d d c, e f f e, g g.
The Spenserian sonnet rhymes a b a b, b c b c, c d c d, e e, and often has no break in meaning between the octave and sestet.