- 3 couplets of 4 lines, ending with a 2 line rhyme.
(14 lines)
- the
rhymescheme is typically ABAB, CDCD, EFEF, GG.
- written in 'Iambic Pentameter'. Every line consists of 10 syllables, where the emphasis lies on every second syllable. (da-dum, da-dum, da-dum...)
- An Italian or petrarchan sonnet usually contains a volta (a turn). But Shakespearean Sonnets are believed to have no typical place for a volta. The climax is usually written in the last two lines (GG)