Sonnet 30 up of fourteen lines in three quatrains and a couplet, rhyming "abab cdcd efef gg". While using the rhyming and metrical structure of the 'English' or 'Surreyan' sonnet, Shakespeare often also reflected the rhetorical form of the Italian form also known as the Petrarchan sonnet. It divides the sonnet into two parts: the "octet" (the first eight lines) usually states and develops the subject, while the "sestet" (the last six lines) winds up to a climax. Thus a change in emphasis, known as the "volta", occurs between the end of the eighth and the beginning of the ninth lines —
Sonnet 57 undertone of forbidden love (reminiscent of Petrarch's signature poetry) and discusses the many double meanings present throughout the sonnet. Through his signature rhyme scheme and careful word choice Shakespeare not only creates a darkly lustful sonnet that resonates with many of his readers, but also manages to establish a connection between many of his sonnets and therefore weave an intricate and sophisticated story with many derived and extrapolated components. Literary critics such as David Schalkwyk see this sonnet as playing out a relationship with unequal power. He sees this relationship in Sonnets 26, 57, 58 and notes that it is