[Bards] Italian Sonnet

[gemartt at mail.utexas.edu]

Greetings Bards!

The poem I sent to this list on Sunday was (as many of you probably know)
an example of an Italian sonnet.   The primary difference between an
Italian sonnet and an English sonnet is the rhyme scheme (which has a
subtle effect on the tone of the poetry).

The rhyme scheme for an Italian sonnet is usually:  abbaabbacdecde -
although there are other variations.    It should also be noted that
sonnets originated in Italy in the 14th century.  According to tradition,
Petrarch was inspired to first write sonnets after seeing a beautiful lady
named Laura.  Consequently, Italian sonnets are also often referred to as
Petrarchian sonnets.

					Thomas

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