Petrarchan sonnet

noun

1. a sonnet form popularized by Petrarch, consisting of an octave with the rhyme scheme abbaabba and of a sestet with one of several rhyme schemes, as cdecde or cdcdcd.

Petrarchan sonnet

noun

1. a sonnet form associated with the poet Petrarch, having an octave rhyming a b b a a b b a and a sestet rhyming either c d e c d e or c d c d c d Also calledItalian sonnet

Word History and Origins

Origin of Petrarchan sonnet¹

First recorded in 1905–10

Example Sentences

In some cases, the poems express what seem to be truly personal cris de coeur, even if the imagery employed — gardens, the breeze at dawn, tears, wine and roses — is as conventional as that found in a Petrarchan sonnet or a Japanese haiku.

From Washington Post

The home purge show is now as rigorously structured as the hero’s journey or a Petrarchan sonnet.

From New York Times

The enfolded quatrain-form is itself a reference to the rhyme scheme of the Petrarchan sonnet's sestet.

From The Guardian

No employer has ever asked me to analyze a Petrarchan sonnet, or expound on the intricacies of a Bach fugue, but I’m not sorry I have that knowledge, even if the latter meant suffering through the daily grind of musical scales on the piano as a child.

From Scientific American

The technique is impeccable, with complete command of the Petrarchan sonnet form and its dramatic timing.

From The Guardian