Sonnet/Elizabethan Time Period basics

Why was the sonnet form popularized during the Elizabethan/Renaissance time period?

• people of this time were very religious

• people of this time believed all citizens should write well

• people of this time enjoyed very intricate patterns and puzzles

• people of this time felt that writing poetry was a necessary part of life

Which person helped to spur the popularity of the sonnet form during this time?

• King James

• the upper-class

• Queen Elizabeth I

• Shakespeare

A typical upper-class evening of entertainment after dinner at someone’s home during the Elizabethan period would include all of the following except:

• women seeking husbands

• couples writing sonnets together

• men reading their newly written sonnets to the guests

• men and/or women playing musical instruments while others danced

How many lines must a sonnet have?

• 14

• 12

• 24

• 16

The two major parts or sections of a sonnet are:

• quatrain and octave

• quatrain and sestet

• sestina and octave

• octave and sestet

Typical English sonnets in the Petrarchan style almost always have to do with what topic?

• death or loss of someone close to the speaker

• the beauty of nature and the seasons

• a love that will never be attained

• a message of love to a loved one

What is the meter of a sonnet?

• rhymed iambic pentameter

• blank verse

• trochaic tetrameter

• unrhymed iambic pentameter

How many lines are in the Octave section of a sonnet?

• 2

• 8

• 10

• 14

How many lines are in the sestet section of a sonnet?

• 2

• 4

• 6

• 8

Is the speaker of a poem always the author or poet?

• Yes, the author or poet is always writing as him or herself.

• No, the author or poet can write as any persona they want to create for the poem.