Petrarchan sonnet tradition

E110086

The Petrarchan sonnet tradition is a highly influential poetic mode, originating from Francesco Petrarca’s Italian love sonnets, characterized by an octave–sestet structure, intricate rhyme schemes, and introspective explorations of love and desire.

All labels observed (4)

Label Occurrences
English Petrarchism 1
Petrarchan sonnet 1
Petrarchan sonnet tradition canonical 1

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (50)

Predicate Object
instanceOf literary tradition
poetic tradition
sonnet form
adoptedBy Edmund Spenser
Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey
Sir Philip Sidney
Thomas Wyatt
William Shakespeare
basedOn Petrarch’s love sonnets
characterizedBy intricate rhyme schemes
introspective exploration of desire
introspective exploration of love
octave–sestet structure
contrastedWith Shakespearean sonnet tradition
developedFrom Il Canzoniere
surface form: Petrarch’s Canzoniere
formalFeature hendecasyllabic meter in Italian originals
iambic pentameter in English adaptations
volta between octave and sestet
historicalPeriodOfOrigin 14th century
influenced Elizabethan love poetry
English sonnet tradition
French Renaissance poetry
Renaissance European poetry
Spanish Golden Age poetry
metaphysical poetry
influencedBy Francesco Petrarca
keyConcept conceit of the unattainable lady
division between body and soul
oxymoronic expressions of love
poet-lover persona
languageOfOrigin Italian
literaryMovementContext Renaissance humanism
majorTheme idealized beloved
inner conflict
religious and moral reflection
spiritualized desire
time and mutability
unrequited love
namedAfter Francesco Petrarca
originatedIn Italy
standardDivision octave
sestet
stylisticFeature antithesis and paradox
elaborate imagery
extended metaphors
highly patterned rhetoric
typicalLength 14 lines
typicalRhymeSchemeOctave abbaabba
typicalRhymeSchemeSestet cdcdcd
cdecde

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (4)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Francesco Petrarca subjectOf Petrarchan sonnet tradition
Il Canzoniere influenced Petrarchan sonnet tradition
this entity surface form: Petrarchism
Rerum vulgarium fragmenta influenced Petrarchan sonnet tradition
this entity surface form: English Petrarchism
The Dead rhymeScheme Petrarchan sonnet tradition
this entity surface form: Petrarchan sonnet