Sonnet: Its Origin and Development in England
Sonnet (originating from the Italian “sonnetto”) refers to a short poem of fourteen lines with a special technical pattern. It originated in Italy in the master hands of Dante and Petrarch, although the latter’s influence was more potent on the subsequent sonneteers of different regions, including England.
The sonnet as a specific poetic genre was introduced in England under the impact of the Renaissance, during the great literary age under the rule of Queen Elizabeth. Sir Thomas Wyatt, a scholar and diplomat, was the first to innovate the form in English from the Italian model of Petrarch. A good many poets were drawn to it and served to develop it in diverse ways. Of the great sonneteers of the age, Wyatt, Sidney and Spenser, besides the great bard Shakespeare, were specifically remarkable for their contribution.
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Monami Mukherjee is an educator and lifelong student of English literature. She studied at Lady Brabourne College and the University of Calcutta, where she completed her MPhil, and has 21+ years of teaching experience. Her interests include Feminism, Post-colonialism and Modernism, and through NibblePop and its YouTube channel she breaks complex texts down into simple, relatable ideas. Read more
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