Sonnet Comparison Chart

[Tinker]

Explore the Craft of Writing Poetry
The Sonnet
Note:  I include in this chart All traditional and some not so traditional sonnet forms. Most of the sonnet forms on this chart have been established, recognized forms used over centuries or at least decades.  The hundreds of internet "invented sonnet forms" or "gadget sonnets" I do not include here but they can be found on posts within this forum.  I chose not to include them on this chart for space and sanity's sake. I also view them more as traditional forms being tweaked to slightly change an element and the inventor assigning a name to the frame. Unless that same "tweak" is emulated by many others over time, they are really just nonce forms, interesting, but not established sonnet forms.

Name	Composition	Rhyme & Meter	Pivot or Volta
Alfred Dorn sonnet 20th century American invented	Italian sestet followed by a rhymed couplet and a Sicilian sestet in that order	abcabc dd aeaeae, iambic pentameter	arrives in the 2nd sestet
Alternating Sonnet	alternating quatrains & tercets	abba ccd abba ede or ccd abba ede abba iambic pentameter	L8, L11 or L12.
Arabian Sonnet  invented	2 quatrains 2 tercets	aaaa bbbb ccc ddd  iambic pentameter	9th line
Arabian Onegin Sonnet invented	2 quatrains 2 tercets	AaAa BBbb CcC DDd, iambic pentameter	9th line
Asean Sonnet or Asean Royal Flush Sonnet , invented	octave followed by sestet	mono-rhymed aaaaaaaaaaaaaa iambic pentameter	Turns in the 9th line.
Balanced Sonnet	2 septets	ababcbc dedefdf iambic pentameter	invented no pivot prescribed.
Bardic Sonnet, invented	3 quatrains 1 couplet	abab cdcd efef gg interlaced true rhyme abab cdcd efef gg consonant end rhyme	late in sonnet
Beymorilin Sonnet 20th century Slavic	3 quatrains followed by a couplet	abab cdcd efef gg internal rhyme at 2nd or 3rd syllable same as end rhyme iambic pentameter	Deep into sonnet, sometime after 2nd quatrain, arrives as a sudden twist
Blank Verse Sonnet	14 lines	unrhymed iambic pentameter	narrative not lyrical
Blues Sonnet 19th century American	4 blues stanzas followed by a heroic couplet	AAa BBb CCc DDd ee, Strangely, iambic pentameter	Some say not a true sonnet, no designated pivot
Bowlesian Sonnet 20th century England	3 quatrains followed by heroic couplet	abba cddc effe gg	Between L9 & L13
Caudate or Tailed Sonnet 16th century Italian	17 to 24 lines, a Petrarchan sonnetfollowed by 1 or more 1/2 lines followed by a heroic couplet	abbaabbacdcdcd dee cff fgg giambic pentameter tail line iambic trimeter	slowly after L8
Chained Sonnet	a quatorzain, using any sonnet form, each line begins with the end word of the previous line	Rhyme of selected sonnet form Iambic pentameter	Pivot of selected sonnet
Cornish Sonnet 17thcentury England	2 septets made up of 2 tercets followed by a couplet refrain	rhyme Abacbc Dedfef AD or abacbC dedfeF CF lines of equal length	between L9 -L12
Couplet Sonnet	7 heroic couplets	aa bb cc dd ee ff gg iambic pentameter	at the poet's discretion.
Crown of Sonnets	7 Petrarchan Sonnet linked by the last line of proceeding sonnet beginning the next sonnet. L14 of the 7th sonnet is L1 of the 1st sonnet.	abbaabbacdecde or cdccdc or cdcdcd iambic pentameter rhyme should change from sonnet to sonnet	Unravels slowly between octave and sestet
Curtal Sonnet England 19th century	Petrarchan sonnet shortened 3/4 proportionately to a sixain followed by a quatrain followed by a half line	abcabc defde L1-L10 iambic pentameter, L11 iambic trimeter	between sixain and quatrain
Cyhydedd Fer Sonnet	7 couplets	8 syllable linesrhyme aabbccddeeffgg	sometime between L5 & L8
Double Sonnet		poem of any 2 sonnets. 1 poem of 2 same rhyme sonnets. poem with 2 octaves followed by 2 sestets
Echo Sonnet invented	3 quatrains followed by a couplet	rhymed with double refrain A1bbA2 accA2 addA2 A1A2 iambic pentameter	Invented revolving sonnet without turn.
Envelope Sonnet  20thcentury	octave & sestet	abbacddc efgefg or efefefiambic pentameter	after L8
French Sonnet, 16th century France	Octave followed by sestet	abbaabba ccdccd or ccdeed or ccdede In English iambic pentameter or Alexandrine lines, iambic hexameter	Arrives between L8 and L9
Glorionic Sonnet, invented	an octave followed by a sestet	rhyme aabbbccc ddedee iambic pentameter	pivot at declamatory couplet.
Heroic Sonnet England	18 lines 4 Sicilian quatrains followed by a heroic couplet	abab cdcd efef ghgh ii iambic pentameter	arrives logically late
Illini Sonnet, invented	a quatorzain	iambic L1,L4,L5,L8,L9 & L12 tetrameter L2,L3,L6,L7,L10,L11,L13 & L14 pentameter    aabcdbcdecee	pivot arrives after L8, Invented form.
Jeffrey's Sonnet, invented	2 sestets followed by concluding couplet	8 syllable lines aabccb ddeffe ge L7 (b), L13 (e), L14 (g) internal cross rhyme	pivot between sestets, invented form.
Keatsean Sonnet 19th century England	4 tercets followed by a couplet.	meter at discretion of poet, rhyme abc abd cab cde de	pivot between the final tercet and the ending couplet.
Kyrielle Sonnet  15th Century	3 quatrains followed by a couplet	8 syllables per line AabB ccbB ddbB AB or AbaB cbcB dbdB AB	None prescribed. Invented form.
LuVailean Sonnet , invented	7 couplets	iambic 6 couplets of alternating pentameter and dimeter ending with Heroic Couplet rhyme ababcdcdefefgg	None suggested, invented form
Mason Sonnet , invented	octave followed by sestet	rhyme a-b-c-a-b-c-c-b d-b-a-d-d-a iambic pentameter .	pivot after the octave
Miltonic Sonnet  17th century England	An unbroken quatorzain by use of enjambment	iambic pentameter abbaabbacdecde	slowly after L8
Petrarchan or Italian Sonnet   14th century Italy	octave (8 lines) question sestet (6 lines) resolution	abbaabba cdecde or cdccdc or cdcdcd iambic pentameter	Unravels slowly between octave and sestet
Pushkin Sonnet 19th century Russia	3 quatrains followed by heroic couplet	Frame patterned after the Onegin Stanza abab ccdd effe gg iambic tetrameter	At discretion of poet
Rainis Sonnet 19th century Slavic	9 lines made up of 1 quatrain 1 tercet followed by a couplet	abab cbc or cac aa or bb or cciambic tetrameter	Arrives in the tercet.
Redondilla / Napoleonic / Sardine, or Sonondilla Sonnet 20th century	A quatorzain made up of 2 redondilla quatrains followed by Envelope sestet.	abbacddceeffee 8 syllable lines or iambic or trochaic tetrameter	no pivot prescibed. Invented form.
Saraband Sonnet	2 septets	axabbcc axabbcc or abacdcd abacdcd orabacddc abacddc or abacdcd abacdcd or linking rhyme can be unrhymed octasyllabic or trochaic or iambic tetrameter or pentameter	pivot when natural.
Scupham Sonnet  20th century England	2 sixains followed by heroic couplet	abccba abccba dd iambic pentameter	invented form, no pivot prescibed.
Shadow Sonnet 21st century	a quatorzain using any sonnet frame	rhyme and meter consistent with the selected sonnet form added feature of the beginning word of each line is repeated as the end word of that same line	consistent the selected form
Shakespearean/English / Elizabethan Sonnet late 16th / 17th century	3 quatrains progression leaps to a surprising 1 couplet resolution	abab cdcd efef gg iambic pentameter	Deep into sonnet, sometime after 2nd quatrain, arrives as a sudden twist
Sicilian Sonnet 13th century Italy	octave (8 lines) question sestet (6 lines) resolution	abababab cdcdcd iambic pentameter	Unravels slowly between the octave and sestet
Signature Sonnet, invented	3 quintains	aabba bbaab ababa
Song That Luc Bat Sonnet recent invented form	3 Song That Luc Batquatrains followed byrhymed couplet	rhymed with Luc Bat climbing rhyme syllabic, quatrains 7-7-6-8couplet 7-7	Pivot arrives naturally.
Spanish Soneta 16th century	2 Petrarchan quatrains followed by a Sicilian sestet	hendecasyllabic lines rhyme abba abba cdcdcd	pivot develops logically after 2nd quatrain
Spenserian Sonnet mid 16th century England	3 quatrains each develop metaphor, conflict, question or answer 1 declamatory couplet	abab bcbc cdcd ee iambic pentameter	Slowly and logically, sometime after the 2nd quatrain
Stretched Sonnet		Any poem that stretches the boundaries of frame or meter of a traditional sonnet but has the sound and feel of the sonnet.
Terza Rima or Diaspora Sonnet 19th centuryEngland	4 tercets followed by1 heroic couplet	aba bcb cdc ded ff iambic pentameter	Logically, sometime after the 3rd tercet.
Tet Zayin, invented	4 quatrains	Aabb bbcc ccdd ddaA, syllabic, S1 11 syllables, S2 9 syllables, S3 9 syllables, S4 11 syllables
Unrhymed Sonnet 17th Century England	a quatorzain broken or unbroken atthe poet's discretion	unrhymedaccentual verse -5 stresses per line	naturally
Wordsworth Sonnet 19th century England	a quatorzain a Catalogue poem of sorts	abbaacca dedeff iambic pentameter	arrives in last line.
Wyatt/Surrey Sonnet 16th century England	1 Petrarchan octave, 1 envelope quatrain 1 declamatory heroic couplet	abbaabba cddc ee iambic pentameter	Unravels slowly after from octave to quatrain