The simple answer is that a sonnet is a poetic form made of 14 lines, a standardized rhyme scheme, a consistent meter, and a “ volta” (also known as a “ turn”) that marks a tonal or thematic shift. But what exactly is a sonnet, and when and why did sonnets become so popular? Thanks largely to the cultural awareness of William Shakespeare’s sonnets in particular (who among us doesn’t know the line “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?”), “sonnet” is almost a household word. History of the Sonnet The Sonnet by Shaun Russellįew forms are more associated with Renaissance poetry than the sonnet.
