What is the structure of a shakespearean sonnet? a) a shakespearean sonnet has 16 lines and begins with a couplet. b) a shakespearean sonnet consists of four quatrains and ends with a couplet. c) a shakespearean sonnet has three quatrains and begins with a couplet. d) a shakespearean sonnet has three quatrains and ends with a couplet.

Shakespearean sonnet has twelve lines which are divided into three quatrains and the other two lines which are the couplet. Thus, the answer is a Shakespearean sonnet has three quatrains and ends with a couplet (D).  

EXPLANATION:  

Shakespearean sonnet is written in a meter which is defined as iambic pentameter. It is a rhyme scheme where the sonnet has ten syllables. The syllables, later, are divided into five pairs which are called iambic feet or iambs (an iamb is a metrical unit consists of unstressed syllables which are followed by stressed syllables). Yet, Shakespearean sonnet’s lines don’t have rhyme. Thus, it is considered as unrhymed. The lines are also not grouped into stanzas. The unrhymed iambic pentameter is the blank verse.  

Shakespearean sonnet consists of fourteen lines, where the first twelve lines are separated into three quatrains and the next two lines as the couplet. The quatrains are where the poet builds and establishes the theme or problem. The couplet is where the poet gives the solution or end. The quatrain in Shakespearean sonnet has a rhyme scheme which is abab cdcd efef, while the couplet has rhyme scheme gg.  

The Shakespearean sonnet is also popularly known and called English sonnet to distinguish it from the Italian Petrarchan sonnet which has a rhyming octave which is abbaabba and a rhyming sestet which is cdcdcd. Among all of the Shakespearean sonnets, there are only three sonnets that do not have these characteristics. They are sonnet 99 which has fifteen lines, sonnet 145 which has iambic tetrameter, and sonnet 126 which has twelve lines.  

LEARN MORE:  

If you’re interested in learning more about this topic, we recommend you to also take a look at the following questions:

1. What is the theme of William Shakespeare’s sonnet 116?  

2. Shakespeare often used mistaken identity as a device in his?    

KEYWORDS: Shakespearean sonnet, sonnet, the characteristic of Shakespearean sonnet, Shakespeare, Shakespeare sonnet  

Subject: English

Class: 10-12

Sub-chapter: Shakespearean sonnet  

a pirate walks into a bar with a steering wheel sticking out of his pants.

bartender: isn't that uncomfortable?

pirate: arrgh! it's drivin' me nuts!