Sonnet Sonnet A sonnet is a poem in a specific form which originated in Italy; Giacomo da Lentini is credited with its invention. The term "sonnet" is derived from the Italian word "sonetto" (from Old Provençal "sonet" a little poem, from "son" song, from Latin "sonus" a sound). By the thirteenth century it signified a poem of fourteen lines that follows a strict rhyme scheme and specific structure. Conventions associated with the sonnet have evolved over its history. Writers of sonnets are sometimes called "sonneteers", although the term can be used derisively. The sonnet was created by Giacomo da Lentini, head
Poetry sonnet), Michael Drayton, and Shakespeare, whose sonnets are among the most famous in English poetry, with twenty being included in the "Oxford Book of English Verse". However, the twists and turns associated with the "volta" allow for a logical flexibility applicable to many subjects. Poets from the earliest centuries of the sonnet to the present have utilized the form to address topics related to politics (John Milton, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Claude McKay), theology (John Donne, Gerard Manley Hopkins), war (Wilfred Owen, e.e. cummings), and gender and sexuality (Carol Ann Duffy). Further, postmodern authors such as Ted Berrigan and John Berryman