Facts about Shakespearean Sonnets

1. 05

   Written in iambic pentameter, each Shakespearean sonnet contains 14 lines with a characteristic volta, or turn, typically occurring before the final couplet.

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2. 04

   Sonnet 18, beginning 'Shall I compare thee to a summer's day,' is among the most widely recognized of all Shakespearean sonnets.

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3. 03

   A large portion of the Shakespearean sonnets address an unnamed young man, often called the 'Fair Youth,' urging him to marry and have children.

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4. 02

   Most Shakespearean sonnets follow the English or Shakespearean rhyme scheme of three quatrains and a concluding couplet, with the pattern ABAB CDCD EFEF GG.

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5. 01

   The 154 Shakespearean sonnets were first published as a collection in 1609 by publisher Thomas Thorpe.

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