what are sonnets

A sonnet is a poetic form that originated in the poetry composed at the Court of the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II in the Sicilian city of Palermo. It is a 14-line poem written in iambic pentameter, employing one of several rhyme schemes, and adhering to a tightly structured thematic organization. There are two main types of sonnets: the Petrarchan (or Italian) sonnet and the Shakespearean (or English) sonnet. The Petrarchan sonnet is divided into two stanzas, the octave (the first eight lines) followed by the sestet (the final six lines), while the Shakespearean sonnet consists of three quatrains and a final couplet. Sonnets are often associated with themes of love and desire and have been written in various languages by poets around the world