Flashcard on Courtly Love and Sonnet Structure

Front

What is the purpose of the structure in a sonnet?

Back

To provide a framework for themes and rhymes.

Front

How many lines makeup a sonnet and in what meter are they written?

Back

14 lines, written in iambic pentameter.

Front

How many sonnets did Petrarch write to the same woman in his collection of poems, the Canonziere?

Back

Over 300.

Front

What poetic challenge did Elizabethan poets often engage in?

Back

One-upping each other's sonnets.

Front

What is a Petrarchan sonnet?

Back

A sonnet structured with an octave and a sestet.

Front

What does the octave in a Petrarchan sonnet typically present?

Back

A problem or situation.

Front

What does the sestet in a Petrarchan sonnet typically offer?

Back

A resolution or reflection.

Front

What is iambic pentameter?

Back

A metrical pattern consisting of five iambs per line.

Front

What is the rhyme scheme of a Petrarchan sonnet?

Back

ABBAABBA for the octave, and various for the sestet.

Front

What is the significance of the volta in a sonnet?

Back

It marks a shift in thought or argument.