Shakespearean sonnet

American  

noun

1. a sonnet form used by Shakespeare and having the rhyme scheme abab, cdcd, efef, gg.

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Shakespearean sonnet British  

noun

1. Also called: Elizabethan sonnet.   English sonnet.  a sonnet form developed in 16th-century England and employed by Shakespeare, having the rhyme scheme a b a b c d c d e f e f g g

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Etymology

Origin of Shakespearean sonnet

First recorded in 1900–05

Compare meaning

How does shakespearean-sonnet compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• Petrarchan sonnet vs. Shakespearean sonnet

Example Sentences

Dame Judi read a Shakespearean sonnet, while the other performers included Gary Oldman and Robert Lindsay.

From BBC • Feb. 15, 2024

In less than a minute, the program had created in full a rhyming Shakespearean sonnet.

From Washington Post • Feb. 13, 2023

The Deebot N79S eventually gets there, of course, because even a bunch of monkeys with typewriters will pound out a Shakespearean sonnet on a long enough timeline.

From The Verge • Sep. 7, 2018

A Shakespearean sonnet is basically a high-level algorithm: three four-line stanzas in iambic pentameter, each with rhyme scheme ABAB, ending with a rhyming couplet.

From Slate • Jul. 1, 2016

In form this is a regular Shakespearean sonnet.

From Selections from Poe by Gambrill, J. Montgomery