The Italian poet Petrarch , a Roman Catholic priest, popularized the sonnet format. Other famous Italian sonneteers were Dante Alighieri , Italy's most esteemed writer, and Guido Cavalcante A Petrarchan sonnet consists of an eight-line stanza octave and a six-line stanza sestet.
Generally, the first stanza presents a theme, and the second stanza develops it. They translated Italian sonnets into English and wrote sonnets of their own. Wyatt and Surrey sometimes replaced Petrarch's scheme of an eight-line stanza and a six-line stanza with three four-line stanzas and a two-line conclusion known as a couplet. William Shakespeare adopted the latter scheme in his sonnets.
The meter of his lines was iambic pentameter. After his sonnets were published in a collection, the English sonnet became popularly known as the Shakespearean sonnet. Owen's Poem: a Hybrid Sonnet. All lines except 2 and 3 are in iambic pentameter , a verse format in which a line contains five pairs of syllables ten syllables in all. In each pair, the first syllable is unstressed and the second stressed, making up a unit called an iamb.
Lines 4, 5, and 6 of the poem demonstrate the pattern of iambic pentameter:. No MOCK.. Nor AN.. Writing Approach and Literary Devices. Owen wrote the poem from the perspective of a soldier on a battlefield. In the first eight lines octet , the soldier asks and answers a question.
Notice that the answer appears in the present tense and focuses almost exclusively on the sounds and frantic pace of war. Phrases with onomatopoeia — stuttering rifles , rapid rattle , patter out , and wailing shells —imitate the sounds on the field.
In the last six lines sestet , the soldier asks and answers another question. Notice that this time the answer appears in the future tense and focuses entirely on the sights of the mourning period and the agonizing slowness of its pace. Throughout the poem, Owen uses alliteration to promote rhythm and euphony, as in r ifles' r apid r attle and g limmers of g ood-byes.
Note that some alliterations occur subtly, as in the st in hasty that echoes the st in stuttering and in the sh in shrill that alliterates with the sh in shells and the sh in shires. In the octet, two personifications call attention to the terrifying rage and insanity of war: monstrous anger of the guns comparison of guns to angry humans and demented choirs of wailing shells comparison of the shells to deranged humans.
In the sestet, three metaphors center on the poignant suffering of the mourners at home. One compares the holy glimmers in the eyes of boys to candles, and another compares the pallor of the girls' brows to the pall that covers the casket. In the third, the tenderness of patient minds becomes the flowers that adorn the soldiers' graves.
Senseless Devastation. Tucker, Herbert. University of Virginia, n. Your email address will not be published. Notify me of followup comments via e-mail. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Search for:. The original text plus a side-by-side modern translation of every Shakespeare play. Sign Up. Already have an account? Sign in. From the creators of SparkNotes, something better.
Literature Poetry Lit Terms Shakescleare. Download this LitChart! Question about this poem? Ask us. Cite This Page. Anthem for Doomed Youth Full Text. Lines It gathers to a greatness, like the ooze of oil Crushed.
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